SPEARFISH, S.D – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team extended their winning streak to seven after a hard fought, grind it out 79-77 overtime win against the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets on Thursday (Jan. 23) evening at the Young Center.
 
Ty Allred converted three free-throws as he was fouled on a three-point attempt with eight seconds to play to make it 73-73 and eventually send the game to overtime.
 
Yaak Yaak's bucket with 4:13 left to go in the overtime period gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game since the game was 6-5 with 17:28 to play in the first half.
 
After trading baskets throughout the extra period, the Mavericks were able to convert a layup by Will Mortimore with 1:05 to play in the game to take the decisive 79-77 lead. The possession was setup by a turnover that was forced by the Mavericks full-court press which they deployed several times late in the game.
 
Colorado Mesa forced one more defensive stop with just seconds left in the game when Yaak Yaak altered a Hackley shot which he later gathered the rebound to emphatically end the game.
 
Black Hills State led by as many as 15 in the second half at 51-36 with 17:01 left in the game. Colorado Mesa whittled the lead down from there.
 
The win for the Mavericks also snapped Black Hills State's streak of five straight overtime wins.
 
Allred finished with a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line but his final three makes were the most important of the game.
 
Harvey White finished with 19 points with 15 of those coming in the first half while Will Mortimore poured in 12.
 
Colorado Mesa shot 45.6 percent from the field and 91.7 from the free-throw line while the Yellow Jackets shot 54.4 percent from the field and but just 50 percent from the free-throw line. Black Hills State made 11 three-point baskets, but the Mavericks forced 20 Yellow Jacket turnovers and converted those into 17 points.
 
Black Hills State's Cam Lowe finished with a game-high 25 points while teammates Tristan Hurdle finished with 18 and Caelin Hearne had 13 to round out the Yellow Jackets in double figures.
 
The win moved the Mavericks record to 11-6 overall and 5-4 in the conference. It also evened their record on the road to 2-2 on the season.
The Mavericks will continue the road trip on Saturday when they travel to Chadron, Neb. for a contest with the Eagles. Tip-off is scheduled for 3pm from the Chicoine Center and you can catch all the action on the RMAC Network and on The Team 1340am/101.1fm.