COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ryan VanPelt scored 10 of his career-high 12 points in the second half to match TreShawn Wilford for the team lead as the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball won its conference-opener in a 78-57 victory against Black Hills State. The Mountain Lions (2-4, 1-0 RMAC) shot a season-high 53.2 percent from the field against the Yellow Jackets (3-4, 0-1 RMAC).

UCCS scored on four of its first five possessions to open a quick 8-2 lead against Black Hills State in the first three minutes. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 12-1 run to take a 14-9 advantage with 14:03 left in the first half. A layup from Ed Bourke and three-pointer from Dalton Walker tied the game at the 12:42 mark, and the teams stayed within a possession of each other for the next five minutes before a pair of free throws from Geoff Kelly made it a five-point UCCS lead at 26-21 with 6:41 to play in the half. The Mountain Lions took an 11-point lead into halftime after three-pointers from Brandon Malone and Wilford and the defense held Black Hills State to no points in the final two minutes of the half.

After a free throw from Padiet Wang pushed the lead to 12 points early in the second half, Black Hills State scored seven straight points to cut the Mountain Lion advantage down to five points at 40-35 with 17:04 left. UCCS responded with a 10-0 run and led by double-digit points the rest of the night. The teams combined for 43 free throw attempts off of 33 combined fouls in the second half.

VanPelt led the bench scoring and shot four-of-six from the field in his longest appearance as a Mountain Lion. Wilford went three-of-four with a three-pointer and scored five points at the free throw line for his 12 points. Malone and Blend Avdili both finished with 11 points. Malone and Avdili both led the team with six rebounds as UCCS out-rebounded Black Hills State 44-29 in the largest margin since Jan. 29, 2016.

The Mountain Lions will finish a three-game home stretch on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m., game against South Dakota Mines. The Hardrockers (4-3, 0-1 RMAC) fell 73-54 tonight at MSU Denver.