SPEARFISH, S.D. – The No. 13 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team found the quick start they needed on Friday night in a 77-75 victory over Fort Lewis in the semifinals of the 2026 RMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament in A2 Arena.

In the win, the Yellow Jackets never trailed grabbing the momentum from the tip-off with a trio of 3-pointers in the first three minutes of play and then pushing their lead to as many as 18 points in the second half.

Fort Lewis, however, would once again turn the game into a thriller, going on a 35-18 scoring run down the stretch to claw back within a single point in the closing seconds.

In the victory, the Yellow Jackets hit nine first half triples and finished the game with 14 made shots from deep and 20 assists.

Meanwhile, in the women’s game:

The Yellow Jackets were unable to get past the Colorada Mesa Mavericks and the Mavericks showed why they were the #4 team in the country with a 37-point win over BSHU 94-57.

The Yellow Jackets fell down big early as Mesa took a 28-point lead into half and were unable to really stop Mesa offensively, who shot 59.7 percent from the field and Olivia Reed Thyne had a 40-point double-double while Brinlee McRae had 18 for the Yellow Jackets.