SPEARFISH, S.D. -  The Regis University men's basketball team (5-9, 3-5 RMAC) will play their next four games on the road, and in their first road test Regis matched up with the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets (6-6, 4-4 RMAC) and dropped the game by a score of 75-65. 

RU came out of the gates hot and started the game on a 15-4 run before BHSU went on an 11-5 run of their own, cutting the Regis lead to five, 20-15, after ten minutes of play. As the half rolled on, the Rangers locked down on defense and that led to great offensive opportunities. Sophomore Dexter Sienko (Spokane, Wash.) was relentless on the offensive glass as he tracked down a few offensive rebounds on one series that ended in the forward recording a layup in the middle of three Yellow Jacket defenders.

Senior Billy Hansen (Ashland, Ore.) and freshman Ryan Beisty (Newcastle, Australia) led the way for RU as they both tallied nine points in the first half with Beisty also collecting seven rebounds. Hansen knocked down all three of his attempts beyond the arc including three of the four made three-pointers from Regis in the first half. Junior Elijah Sanders (Lacey, Wash.) chipped in eight points on 4-6 shooting off the bench and Sienko added another six, giving the Rangers a 36-27 halftime lead.

RU provided much of the same effort defensively early in the second half, and fought for good looks offensively. The Regis lead reached as much as 12 points in the first seven minutes of play stemming from a three-pointer by Beisty, 45-33 in favor of the Rangers.

A three-pointer from BHSU cut the RU lead to two with 11 minutes remaining in the second half. Back to back baskets from the Yellow Jackets put BHSU up two mid-way through the second half. From that point the Yellow Jackets seemed to take control of the game offensively, getting any shot they took to fall. BHSU extended their lead to 11 points with less than four minutes left in the half.

The closest Regis would get to the Yellow Jackets is eight points before the game came to an end 75-65 in favor of BHSU. As a team the Rangers shot 36.9 percent from the field including 6-24 from beyond the arc. Poor free throw shooting from RU proved costly as the team knocked down only 11 of their 19 attempts on the night. Sienko and Beisty led all Regis scorers with 14 points apiece while Sienko collected a game-high 11 rebounds giving him a double-double on the night. Beisty and Sanders each tracked down eight rebounds with Sanders chipping in 12 points for the game. 

The men's basketball team will face the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers tomorrow night, Saturday, January 9 at 5:30 p.m. The following weekend the Rangers will travel to New Mexico to face both Western New Mexico, Friday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, January 16 at 7 p.m.