LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 6 Black Hills State University men's basketball team captured its first win of the 2026-27 season on Sunday afternoon, defeating the host school, (RV) Florida Southern, 89-76 in the George W. Jenkins Field House. The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic brought together a loaded field that consisted of six top-10 teams, nine top-25 teams, and one that was receiving votes, and saw the teams beat up on one another throughout the weekend as six of those teams went 1-1, two went 2-0 and the remaining two went 0-2.
Similar to BHSU's opening contest of the weekend, it was a tale of two halves, as the Mocs built a nine-point halftime lead while BHSU went without a field goal the final 5:47 of the opening half. Then Black Hills State was able to flip the switch in the second half by shooting 70.8 percent from the field (17-of-24), the highest single-half shooting percentage since Dec. 19, 2025, against Dickinson State. While shooting well, the defense held Florida Southern to 23.1 percent from the field (9-of-39), and the Yellow Jackets utilized a 35-10 scoring run over nearly 12 and a half minutes to build a lead as large as 17 points.
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Quick details
Score: No. 6 Black Hills State 89, (RV) Florida Southern 76
Team records: No. 6 Black Hills State 1-1 (0-0 RMAC), (RV) Florida Southern 1-1 (0-0 SSC)
Attendance: 508
How it happened
- With a pair of 3-pointers by Starrell Hearns and Khalil Ross, Florida Southern jumped out to an early 10-6 lead just over four minutes into the contest. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jackson Seale from the top of the key and the left wing momentarily evened the game at 12-12 with 14:15 to play in the first half; however, it was another pair of triples from the Mocs by Ameer Ramadan and Hearns that sparked an 8-1 scoring run for a seven-point advantage (20-13) with 12:52 on the clock.
- The back-and-forth action continued as the Yellow Jackets strung together another response, retaking the lead (24-23) with an 11-2 scoring run. During the scoring run, Hussein Elmaraghy entered the match-up, scoring a pair of layups, securing a pair of rebounds, and dishing out an assist in the nearly two-minute stretch.
- Following a left-wing 3-pointer by Caiden Braketa to give the Green & Gold a 29-27 edge with 9:18 remaining in the first half, Florida Southern responded with an 11-2 run to push its lead back to seven (38-31) as Charlie Dalton connected on a left-wing triple.
- Late in the first half the shooting went cold for both squads, as the teams hit a scoring drought of 2:42 and a drought of 3:12 without a made field goal. The Mocs regained their momentum in the closing minutes; however, the Yellow Jackets went the final 5:47 without a made field goal, allowing FSC to gain its largest lead of the game at nine (47-38) with 40.4 seconds remaining as Brady Corso connected on a pair of free throws.
- Out of the halftime break, a turnaround jumper by Seale and back-to-back layups by Willie Patterson III gave Black Hills State the first six points of the second half to bring the Yellow Jackets within three points (47-44) with 17:06 to play in the game. Florida Southern briefly regrouped; a 3-point play by Gabe Hernandez as he converted the free throw after hitting a jumper in the paint to answer Patterson's second layup and sparked a 9-4 response to give FSC a 56-48 lead off a tip-in by Roberts with 14:20 left on the clock.
- The ensuing 4:18 of game time was all Black Hills State, as the Yellow Jackets poured in 17 unanswered points, making six consecutive baskets during the run with Braketa leading the way with eight points during the stretch with a pair of 3-pointers and a layup. Seale capped the run with a pair of free throws to give BHSU the nine-point edge (65-56) with 10:02 to play.
- The Yellow Jacket lead grew to double figures with 7:17 remaining as Patterson found Jaxon Smith cutting to the rim for a layup off a screen to make it a 69-58 contest. Then BHSU's sharp shooting, and 14-of-15 performance at the charity stripe in the second half, continued, as Hackley connected on a pair of free throws with 2:00 remaining to end another stretch of eight unanswered points and give the Green & Gold its largest lead of the game at 17 points (83-66). The overall second-half scoring run also then was capped at 35-10 over 12:20 of playing time.
- Florida Southern chipped away at the 17-point lead of Black Hills State over the final two minutes, going on a 10-3 scoring run that included a pair of 3-pointers; however, Jonas Miller found Kareem Artharee, who concluded the scoring in the contest with a two-handed dunk as they broke the press and brought the final score to 89-76.
Black Hills State statistical leaders
Jackson Seale: 22 points, 6-8 field goals, 3-4 3-pointers, 7-10 free throws, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Willie Patterson III: 18 points, 7-13 field goals, 4-6 free throws, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Caiden Braketa: 17 points, 5-8 field goals, 3-6 3-pointers, 4-4 free throws, 5 rebounds
Jaeton Hackley: 11 points, 4-6 field goals, 1-2 3-pointers, 2-3 free throws, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic all-tournament team
Jaeton Hackley: 11.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 42.1 FG%, 80.0 FT%
Jackson Seale: 16.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 64.7 FG%, 37.5 FT%
Other all-tournament team members
- Parker Applegate, Gannon
- Mackenzie Morgan, Gannon
- Lucas Morgan, Gannon
- Austin Coner, Oklahoma Baptist
- Amir Reaves, Lander
- Jameel Rideout, Lander
- Tyce Paulsen, Point Loma
- Tyson Rudd, Washburn
- Jaayden Bush, Cal State East Bay (MVP)
