And Black Hills State's Dez Stoudamire hit a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to send the game into extras as the Jackets had three chances in the final seconds to try to tie the game.

The Hardrockers struck first in overtime on a free-throw by Troy Brady, but Oliver added two free throws to put the Jackets back in front. The two teams then traded baskets by Mines' Mitchell Sueker and BH's Connor O'Hearn before both teams turned the ball over.

O'Hearn and Brady added one free throw each to make it a 55-54 game to set up the wild final seconds.

"It was a crazy game," BHSU coach Ryan  Thompson said. "There were a lot of big plays by both teams back and forth and a lot of mistakes by both teams back and forth. But I'm happy for my guys. I thought they were resilient and stayed the course and had the presence of mind to make the right plays down the stretch."

With the win, the Yellow Jackets move to 2-3, while Mines falls to 2-6.

"Give all of the credit to Black Hills State, they made all of the plays at the end," Mines coach Eric Glenn said. "Unfortunately that is what it came down to was a couple of plays."

On the game-winner, O'Hearn got the ball quickly down the court and found a streaking Oliver for the layup just a split second before the horn went off.

"Connor really demonstrated some composure. He had the presence of mind to not panic, weave through a couple defenders, and see Tyler running up the court wide open," Thompson said. "He made the right play throwing ahead to Tyler, and Tyler also had presence of mind to have time to get to the basket."

The Hardrockers played well early, especially on defense, leading 8-2 nearly nine minutes into the game. BHSU chipped away and took its first lead at 16-14 on a Stoudamire basket with 4:32 remaining in the first half.  Mines regained the lead and led 23-22 at the halftime break.

The Hardrockers would score the first six points of the second half, but BHSU made its move behind leading scorer Fraser Malcolm, who was scoreless in the first 20 minutes. Malcolm, who went in averaging over 19 points a game, scored five quick points on a 3-pointer and dunk to put the Jackets back in front 30-29.

Black Hills State would maintain a three-point lead for the next three minutes before the 'Rockers came back and went up by four on six points by Jake Heath.

The two teams then battled to the wild end.

Oliver led the Jackets with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while O'Hearn finished with 11 points and Patrick Mendes had 10. BHSU shot just 36 percent from the field and hit just 2-of-19 3-pointers.

 "We have to a lot to improve on, we're not a finished product now. But I think you'll take road wins whenever you can," Thompson said. "It's a rivalry and Mines plays well at home and they are a good team. I'm pleased the guys made plays down the stretch to put us on the right track with our first conference win."

Sueker had a big game with 19 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots  for the Hardrockers. Elers finished with 12 points and six boards, while Heath added 10 points.

Glenn said that despite the loss, he was proud of his players as they have to continue to see the improvement they have going for them.

"We said this from the very beginning this was a big game for everybody, a rivalry game, but for us it is also a part of our process," Glenn said. "At the end of the day when you look at our team and how far that we have come, our defense is playing tremendous. We take their top scorer (Malcolm) and hold him to eight points, and we take their second leading scorer (Stoudamire) and hold him to five points. If you tell me very time that this is what we're going to do, I'm predicting a win for us."

Both teams will return to action at home next weekend against Dixie State and Westminster College.