DENVER – The MSU Roadrunners dropped their RMAC quarterfinal game at home Tuesday evening against the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets by a score of 79-69. 

With the loss, the Roadrunners' 2024-25 season could be at end, and will wait to see if they did enough to get a tournament bid. They fall to a 19-10 overall record, including 13-7 in conference play. Black Hills State improves to 18-11 on the year and will advance to the conference championship semi-finals later this week. 

Quave Propst-Allison led the Roadrunners with 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor. Brayden Carter contributed 14 points on an efficient 6-for-7 from the hardwood. Caleb McGill had a team-high 10 rebounds and five assists while also chipping in five points. 

Cam Lowe led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 22 points while shooting 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. 

The difference-maker in this one was the 3-point shooting, while the Roadrunners struggled, going 2-for-15 (13.3%) from deep. The Yellow Jackets shot a proficient 10-24 (41.7%). MSU Denver did dominate in the paint, outscoring Black Hills State 52-28 in that category.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
Black Hills State opened the scoring with a mid-range jumper to grab the first lead of the game. Carter answered with back-to-back buckets for the Red and Blue to nab their first lead. The Yellow Jackets reclaimed the lead at the 13:50 mark in the first half, with a layup down low from John Shanklin. 

Two consecutive 3-pointers in the 10th minute from BHSU earned them an eight-point lead, their largest lead of the half up to that point. Black Hills led MSU Denver 25-16 with 7:04 remaining in the first period. A 4-0 run by the Roadrunners over the next few minutes cut the visiting team's lead to five, 25-20, headed into the final timeout until halftime. 

Ryan Maslow drilled the first shot from deep for MSU Denver immediately out of the break, bringing it to a 25-23 contest. A Carter layup at 1:44 knotted the game at 27-27. That would be the score with both teams headed to the locker rooms for the half. 

Black Hills State began the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Cam Lowe and Caelin Hearne. Another Lowe score, this time inside the paint, plus an and-one quickly put BHSU up by nine a minute-and-a-half into the second period. A Tristan Hurdle driving layup and 3-pointer in consecutive possessions for the Yellow Jackets put them up 45-33 with just under 13 minutes to go. 

Caleb McGill knocked down his first points of the night with a shot beyond the arc, cutting the BHSU lead to seven with 11 minutes to go. The Roadrunners forced a timeout after Carter scored, making it a 48-43 Yellow Jacket advantage with 9:56 to go. 

A beautiful pass from McGill to Carter inside the paint led to a flush at the rim, drawing the and-one on the play. Carter missed the free throw, keeping it at a five-point deficit for MSU Denver at the 9:25 mark. 

Jaeton Hackley put the Yellow Jackets up by nine, 61-52, with five minutes to go on a driving layup. KJ Garrett brought the Roadrunners within five points of Black Hills State at the 3:04 mark. Propst-Allison headed to the free throw line at 2:17, drilling both, bringing MSU Denver within one possession of tying the game. 

Black Hills State knocked down a 3-pointer with just over a minute of game left, putting them back up by eight points. The Roadrunners were unable to catch up with the limited time left, leading to a Yellow Jackets win.