SPEARFISH, S.D. – Chadron State men's basketball stayed within three points at the half of a Black Hills State team that is nationally ranked and picked to win the RMAC, but the Yellow Jackets pulled away in the second half to win 90-67 on Thursday night in Spearfish. 

The loss drops Chadron State to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC after the Eagles' first conference game of the season. Black Hills State, ranked No. 21 in this week's NABC Coaches Poll, improved to 7-1 and 2-0 in conference play.

Isaiah Randolph led the Eagles with 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, marking the third consecutive game CSC has had a 20-point scorer with three different players. Randolph's 21 points is a season-high, eclipsing his 19 in the season-opener against West Texas A&M. 

Freshman Luka Djuvoric finished one rebound shy of a double-double for the second time in his young career, accumulating 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting and nine rebounds. Ethan Russell broke a two-game scoreless streak with a season-high 10 points and four rebounds. 

Russell shot 1 of 5 from beyond the arc, and that was the best performance by an Eagle from deep. Chadron State made only 1 of 17 three-point attempts as a team despite a respectable 42.9 percent shooting night from the floor overall. 

Black Hills State shot 50 percent from the field (30-60) and made 8 of 23 threes, outscoring the Eagles by 21 in beyond-the-arc points. The hosts also got to the line more frequently than CSC, making 22 of 28 (78.6 percent) while the Eagles hit 12 of 16 (75 percent). 

Following a pattern from last week's home games, CSC's opponent started hot only for the Eagles to reign them in as the first half concluded. The Yellow Jackets went up 16-6 after six-and-a-half minutes of play and led by as many as 12 on multiple occasions, including with just 2:06 to go in the first half. 

The Eagles closed the opening period on an 11-2 run to make it a one-possession game at the break, with Randolph in the middle of it all. The guard converted a three-point play before stealing the ball on back-to-back possessions, converting a fastbreak layup after the first and being fouled and sinking both from the line after the second. 

After another BHSU turnover, Djurovic was fouled on a putback attempt and drained both free throws. The Yellow Jackets halted CSC's 9-0 run with free throws of their own, but point guard Mack Keighran found Randolph for a dunk as time expired to send teams to the locker room at halftime with BHSU up 41-38. 

Unlike the previous two games, however, the Eagles had no answer for Black Hills's counterpunch. The Yellow Jackets used a lightning-quick 7-0 run to get the lead back up to double digits just 75 seconds into the second half. After Myles Johnson went 1 of 2 from the line to put BHSU up 10 with 14:52 to play, the Yellow Jackets led by double digits for the rest of the game and had stretched it to 20 with just under 10 minutes to go and up to a high point of 30 with 5:04 left. 

Chadron State did hold the Yellow Jackets without a point for the final five minutes, ending the game on a 7-0 run. Alexi Anderson scored the first points of his Chadron State career with a layup plus the foul shot for CSC's final points of the evening. 

The Eagles will return home to face South Dakota Mines, which lost to these Yellow Jackets by 28 points on Tuesday. Tip-off is set to begin after the conclusion of the women's game, around 3 p.m. Saturday.

​Chadron State—Isaiah Randolph 21, Luka Djurovic 10, Ethan Russell 10, Blessing Adesipe 6, Jovan Jovanovic 6, Mack Keighran 5, Jackson Schauer 4, Alexi Anderson 3, Collin Nick 2. Totals: 27-63 FG (1-17 3PT) 12-16 FT. 67 points, 31 rebounds, 6 assists, 15 turnovers.

​Black Hills State—Cam Lowe 18, Jack Haggett 16, Tristan Hurdle 13, Jaeton Hackley 12, Myles Johnson 12, Blake Vollmer 8, Jackson Seale 5, Willie Patterson III 4, Johnnie Reed 2. Totals: 30-60 FG (8-23 3PT) 22-28 FT. 90 points, 40 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 turnovers.