SPEARFISH, S.D. - Kobi Betts' free throws with seven seconds left in overtime helped #4 Colorado School of Mines escape Black Hills State with an 85-83 win on Monday.

The Orediggers (8-0, 7-0 RMAC) saw a 15-point halftime lead evaporate as the Yellow Jackets (2-2, 2-2 RMAC) roared back in the second half, but Brendan Sullivan scored nine of his 21 points in overtime before Betts won it at the line.

Ben Boone scored a game-high 22 points to go with Sullivan's 21, while Titus Reed had a terrific game off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds. BHSU had five scorers in double figures led by Joel Scott's 16, and Kevin Senghore-Peterson and Sindou Cisse each had 14.

Regulation was a tale of two halves as the Orediggers shot a blistering .704 to BHSU's .481 in the first, but the Yellow Jackets flipped the script in the second half hitting .593 to Mines' .455. Ultimately, foul shooting was Black Hills State's demise as they made just 15 of their 28 tries, including 4-of-8 in overtime. 

Mines raced out to a 46-31 halftime lead, but the Yellow Jackets began the second half on a 16-7 run to make the deficit manageable before making it a one-possession game on Trey Whitley's layup with 7:42 left. Mines clung to the lead for nearly the entire rest of the half, byut it was Adam Moussa's three-pointer - the last of his three straight buckets to end regulation - that tied the game at 74, and after Betts missed the front end of a 1-and-1, BHSU missed two looks to win in the final six seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Sullivan scored Mines' first nine points, starting things with a three before an and-one opportunity made it 80-76. Moussa's three-pointer and a Senghore-Peterson free throw tied it again at 80-80 with 1:39 remaining before Sullivan again banged home a three-pointer with 1:02 left. Cisse's free throw made it a two-point game, and a Mines miss led to Scott's layup with 10 seconds remaining to make it 83-83; BHSU then fouled Betts in the backcourt looking for a steal, and Betts converted both foul shots for the 85-83 lead. BHSU didn't get a good final look as Mines held on for the win.

NOTABLES
- The Orediggers are 8-0 for the fifth time in program history, all coming under Pryor Orser.
- Mines ultimately shot .571 for the game and 13-of-18 at the line. BHSU shot .525 overall and .536 at the line.
- Black Hills State was the #2 pick in the RMAC preseason poll behind Mines; both of the Yellow Jackets' losses this year have been to ranked teams as they also lost to #22 Colorado Mesa, 75-70, on Dec. 11.
- Brendan Sullivan's 21 points continued an impressive run for the junior, who is the first Oredigger since Gokul Natesan in the 2015-16 season to score 20+ in four straight games. He's averaged 25.3 points per game in that span.
- Boone was one point short of his career high in scoring as he shot 8-of-15 and 4-of-7 for three with five boards and three assists.
- With both Betts and Michael Glen in first-half foul trouble, Reed played 33 minutes off the bench and provided 13 points and a game-high eight boards. Thurman Knowles also played a career-high 30 minutes and scored four points with three assists and three rebounds.
- Betts was limited to 15 minutes with foul trouble and finished with five points.
- Trent Dykema had a career-high seven points off the bench with a perfect 2-for-2 shooting, 2-for-2 at the line game.
- The Orediggers improved to 14-8 all-time against BHSU. It was the first overtime meeting between the two.

NEXT UP
Mines will host Regis on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; no spectators will be admitted. The New Mexico Highlands game originally scheduled for Jan. 9 has been canceled due to NMHU opting out of the winter season.