LAKELAND, Fla. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team started off the 2026-27 season on the wrong side of a 76-66 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the George W. Jenkins Field House to No. 7 Lander, the same exact result that ended their season a year ago in March back in Pittsburgh. The marquee battle was the lone top-10 matchup in a day that featured four ranked games in the 10th Annual Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, which brought together nine ranked teams and one receiving votes, and five of last year's Elite Eight qualifiers, including BHSU and LU, who was the eventual national runners-up. The Yellow Jackets were red hot to begin the game, knocking down six of their eight 3-pointers in the game to race out to a 14-point lead with 8:25 remaining in the opening half; however, the Bearcats wouldn't go away as they closed the half on a 24-9 scoring run and scored the final 11 points of the stanza. Then similar to the first half, Lander would grab the momentum late in the game and close the contest on a 19-8 scoring run to capture the key opening-season win.
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Score: No. 6 Black Hills State 66, No. 7 Lander 76
Team records: No. 6 Black Hills State 0-1 (0-0 RMAC), No. 7 Lander 1-0 (0-0 PBC)
Attendance: 227
- After missing the final 27 games of the 2025-26 season, Willie Patterson III was finally back on the court for Black Hills State and once again showed he would be a key piece to watch as he secured his own offensive rebound and tip-in for the first points of the game on the opening possession. With the teams trading points out to an 8-8 tie with 16:49 to play in the first half, it wasn't until then that the Yellow Jackets eventually snagged the early momentum, stringing together a 7-0 scoring run with back-to-back baskets by Patterson and a right-wing 3-pointer by Jaeton Hackley off a Ben Henderson assist to make it a 15-8 game and force a Lander timeout with 14:06 to play until the break.
- Following a stretch where the teams again traded buckets, it was the freshman, Caiden Braketa, that caught fire from deep to spark a 14-4 scoring run to open up the Yellow Jackets' largest lead of the game at 31-17 with 8:25 to play in the first half. During the scoring run he connected on three of the team's four 3-pointers, including a quick left-corner triple as the Green & Gold pushed the pace following a made basket to give them the 14-point (31-17) advantage.
- The momentum saw a heavy swing in the final 8:25 of the first half as Lander closed the frame on a 24-9 scoring run, led by Amir Reaves who scored 12 points during the run in his first career game as a Bearcat. The Bearcats rode the momentum and snagged their first lead of the contest at the buzzer. JR Ingram and Jameel Rideout closed the run with back-to-back 3-pointers as Rideout's shot from the top of the key off a screen was good to beat the halftime buzzer and give Lander the 41-40 advantage.
- After the halftime break the Yellow Jackets settled back in after surrendering the lead, and Hackley buried a midrange, fadeaway jumper from the left side of the court inside the arc for the first bucket of the second half to again give Black Hills State the lead (42-41). During the first ten minutes of the second half, a back-and-forth game would see the lead exchange hands eight times, with no one leading by more than four points. The final time that the Yellow Jackets would see the lead would be at the 10:57 mark, as the transfer duo of Henderson and Jaxon Smith would lead a 7-2 scoring run that answered five unanswered by the Bearcats. Henderson first managed to earn second-chance points with a tip-in off his own missed turnaround jumper in front of the basket and then added a right-handed layup on a backdoor cut and assist from Hackley to even the score at 55 apiece with 11:42 to play. Smith would give BHSU their final lead at 58-57 with 10:57 on the clock as he received the dribble handoff and screen from Jackson Seale to connect on a right-wing 3-pointer.
- Following a two-minute dry spell for both squads, Lander closed the final nine minutes of action with a 19-8 scoring run, including a stretch of three and a half minutes where they went on a 10-0 scoring run to extend their lead to double digits for the first time. In the final minute, following a tip-in from Henderson and a pair of free throws by Hackley to trim the deficit back down to eight (74-66) with 45 seconds to play, it was Rideout who iced the game away with a pair of free throws to make it a 76-66 ball game.
Black Hills State statistical leaders
Ben Henderson: 12 points, 2-of-2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Willie Patterson III: 12 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 4 rebounds
Jaeton Hackley: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Jackson Seale: 10 points, 5-of-9 field goals, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
The opening weekend of basketball at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic will conclude for No. 6 Black Hills State on Sunday, November 8, as they face the host school, (RV) Florida Southern, at 3:45 p.m. MT (5:45 p.m. ET) at the George W. Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Florida. The game will be broadcast live for free on the SSC Digital Network and live on KDSJ Radio.
