SPEARFISH, S.D.- Colorado Christian opened their final road trip of the season on Friday night as they took on Black Hills State in South Dakota. It was a close battle throughout much of the contest, but in the end the Cougars fell by a final score of 65-56. 

Schafer Reichart got the scoring started with a pair of free throws, and Tanner Hecht connected for a three to tie the game at five. Hecht continued a strong night as he hit a trio of free throws after getting fouled shooting a three, and a Jacob Everson three and Bradley Land layup made it a four-point lead midway through the half. '

CJ Barnes converted a layup to push the lead to six, but BHSU grappled their way back and took the lead with 1:03 to go in the half. The score remained 26-24 for the final moments and that is where the score stood at halftime. 

The Yellowjackets took control in the second half, maintaining a 6-8 point lead for the first portion of the half. Shaylen Woodberry made a layup to cut the gap to five with 10:44 to play, but that was as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the night.

Black Hills State pushed their lead to 15 from there, and despite a late rally from CCU, managed to win a low-scoring 65-56 game. 

Hecht paced the offense with 15 points, going 4-6 from beyond the arc. Land chipped in nine points and nine rebounds, while Zeil also tallied nine points. 

The Cougars will close their season at South Dakota Mines on March 2 with tipoff slated for 6 p.m. MST.