SPEARFISH, S.D. – Playing on the road against one of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's best teams, MSU Denver put up a strong effort and led by eight points early in the second half, but ultimately dropped a close 80-75 decision.
 
The Roadrunners finish the regular season at 17-11 overall and 11-11 in the RMAC and expect to play a first-round road game Tuesdsay night in the RMAC Tournament.
 
"We played incredibly hard, and we told our guys that we are in a one-game season now and every game will be like this," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "At the end of the day, a lot of Division II college basketball teams are done playing after tonight, and we are still playing, so we have given ourselves a chance to play one more game and now it's up to us." 
 
Laolu Oke posted his fourth straight double-double – extending his single-season school record to 18 – with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals, and Ra'Shawn Langston scored a team-high 20 points while connecting on all four of his 3-point tries.
 
Miles Gibson had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Keyshaad Dixon had nine points, three assists and two steals.
 
Up 40-36 at halftime, MSU Denver extended its lead to 44-36 on Gibson's jumper with 19:07 left, and Maris Colton's 3-pointer restored the eight-point margin at 47-39 with 17:41 to go.
 
Colton's layup gave the Roadrunners a 52-46 lead with 14:14 to play, but Black Hills State responded with a 16-2 run to take a 62-54 lead at 9:03.
 
MSU Denver scratched back within 65-62 on a pair of Langston free throws with 6:52 left, and kept pace with the Yellow Jackets the rest of the way, trailing by at least four – but no more than seven – until Gibson's basket made it 78-75 with 14 seconds left.
 
But Black Hills State (18-7, 16-4) hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it.