SPEARFISH, S.D. – Excitement and strong shooting was not in short order on a chilly Friday night.

The Colorado Christian men's basketball squad broke into the RMAC win column with an 86-83 victory against Black Hills State.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The contest started with the home team holding a single digit lead through a majority of the first half. Colorado Christian spread out their scoring in the opening 20 minutes with Jeremiah Hanson leading the way with nine points. Both teams hit more than half of their shots as Black Hills State took a 44-38 lead into the locker room.

Colorado Christian scored nine of the second frame's first 11 points in taking a 47-46 lead – their first lead since the midway point of the first half. It would be the first of many lead changes as the game's final stages unfolded.

With the scored knotted at 67-67 with just over eight minutes left, the Cougars scored six unanswered points to take their largest lead of the contest. The home team battled back and retook their lead to set-up a tightly knitted finish.

With 2:49 left the Yellow Jackets took their final lead of the game when Malcolm Fraser hit a pair of free throws to give his team a 79-78 lead. Colorado Christian earned the win by finishing the game on an 8-4 scoring spurt.

While their hot shooting got them the win, Colorado Christian came up with key stops defensively down the stretch. Black Hills State turned the ball over with six seconds left and down by two then the Cougars wouldn't let the Yellow Jackets get a clean look at a potential game tying three at the buzzer.

QUOTEABLE: "Fortunately, we were able to hit a couple of three pointers in critical junctures that help us beat one of the top teams in the RMAC," said head coach Jeff Hironaka. "The guys did a good job of playing with energy and offensively we did a good job executing. Now we have an opportunity tomorrow to keep the momentum going and get another win."

COUGAR STANDOUTS: All five starters scored in double figures led by Stefan Hackethal's and Hanson's 19-point efforts. Jake Hornick went 6-for-9 from the floor en route to his 16-point evening while Braxton Tucker notched 14 points in 29 minutes.

Rounding out the double figure scorers was Justin Engesser who recorded 13 points on the strength of a 6-for-9 shooting performance. He also handed out a team best five assists.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

- As a team the Cougars hit 10 of their 14 shots behind the arc. The 71.4 percent shooting effort was the third best mark by an RMAC team this season
- Colorado Christian held a 16-7 edge in points off turnovers
- The Cougars hit 54.8 percent of their field goal attempts marking the seventh game this season they hit at least half their shots
- The game had 21 lead changes

UP NEXT: The Cougars complete their swing through South Dakota on Saturday when the tip-off against South Dakota Mines at 5:30 p.m.