SPEARFISH, S.D. – Black Hills State men’s basketball downed rival South Dakota Mines 76-60 in front of a record crowd of 3,077 Tuesday night.
After surrendering 25 points in the first half to Hardrocker junior Alejandro Rama, the Yellow Jackets (17-1, 11-1 RMAC) held him scoreless in the second half while BHSU shot 57.7 percent themselves.
The Yellow Jackets had five in double-digit scoring while taking advantage of SDM turnovers, outscoring them 21-9 on points off turnovers.
Matthew Ragsdale led the scoring attack with 19 points to go along with his four rebound and a steal.
Joel Scott finished with 16 points, two steals and two blocks while Sindou Cisse tallied 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
PJ Hayes scored 11 with six rebounds and five assists and Caelin Hearne totaled 10 points and six rebounds.
Hoku Fisher made his presence known over a season-high 22 minutes with eight points, nine rebounds an assist and a steal.
Meanwhile,
Black Hills State University women’s basketball (15-3, 10-2 RMAC) hosted rival South Dakota Mines on Tuesday night, defeating the Hardrockers 52-46 in a gritty defensive matchup.
Despite the Yellow Jackets being held to a 29.3 percent look from the floor, they were 45 percent from beyond the arc. BHSU’s defensive unit played a large role in the win against SDSMT as they forced 20 turnovers in the game, notching on 21 points off the takeaways.
The Hardrockers played tough on defense, outrebounding the Yellow Jackets 47-36 but only holding nine points from their takeaways.
Leading the Yellow Jackets scoring totals was Niki Van Wyk, who dropped 16 against the Hardrockers on 5-of-13 shooting, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 on freebies. Niki also played well defensively, recording a team-leading five steals and five defensive boards.
Danica Kocer was the second of two double-digit scorers for BHSU, recording 10 points on her night with 4-of-8 shooting totals and 1-of-2 from long range. Ellie Moore and Alessia Capley both carried the three blocks on defense for the Yellow Jackets with Moore knocking down two of her own.
