Joel Scott connected on a four-point play with one second remaining, lifting Black Hills State to a 59-58 comeback win over rival South Dakota Mines and handing the Yellow Jackets the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season title.

Trailing 58-55 with the clock in its final seconds, Scott fielded a pass and quickly sent an arching shot over the outstretched hand of Mines defender Jack Fiddler just above the three-point line. The shot hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded to tie the score and Fiddler was whistled for making contact with Scott.

Game officials put one second back on the clock and after a timeout, Scott went to the free throw line and netted the charity toss to give the Yellow Jackets a 59-58 lead, the visitor's first lead since 3-2. Mines attempted a full-court pass for a desperation buzzer shot but the Yellow Jackets stole the ball beneath the Hardrockers' basket.


With the victory, Black Hills State finishes the regular season at 20-8. More importantly, the win results in a 17-5 conference mark and the RMAC title.

The Yellow Jackets looked nothing like the top team in the conference in the first half, hitting just 16 percent of its shots (5 of 31). The Hardrockers built a 19-5 lead during the game's opening 13 minutes. Black Hills State had scoring droughts that lasted four minutes and eight minutes in the first half.

Mines led 27-13 at half and had many opportunities to extend the advantage through the first 20 minutes of action. The Hardrockers shot just 32 percent from the field the first half (9 of 28). Mines scored only two baskets the final nine minutes on two of 11 shooting while BHSU netted just one bucket the final five minutes on one of eight shooting.

Both teams shot well in the second half with Mines hitting at a 59 percent clip (13 of 22) while the Yellow Jackets rallied to convert 54 percent in the second half, taking 11 more shots than the Hardrockers (18 of 33).

Black Hills State outscored Mines 14-4 during the first seven minutes of second half action and pulled to within two points twice at 44-42 with just over five minutes remaining on a bucket from Scott. Mitchell Sueker responded for Mines, scoring seven straight points for the Hardrockers. Three-pointers by Sueker and Troy Brady put the hosts up 54-46 with 2:54 left. Allec Willliams drove from deep in the back court all the way to the basket to give Mines a 56-49 edge with 90 seconds remaining.

Sueker's basket from the lane with 36 seconds left gave Mines a 58-54 edge. Tommy Donavan hit a free throw for Black Hills then Fiddler missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15 seconds left to set up the final play.

Sava Dukic led Black Hills State with 16 points, including four three-pointers, while Scott added 15. Black Hills State outrebounded Mines 43-33, including a 22-8 advantage on the boards in the second half (11 offensive caroms).

Sueker led Mines with 17 and Williams tossed in 16.