BISMARCK, N.D. – Bismarck State men's basketball dropped a heartbreaker Friday night at the BSC Armory, falling 80-77 to Mayville State (N.D.) in a game that came down to the final seconds and officially eliminated the Mystics from postseason contention.
Bismarck State built a 15-point first-half lead before watching Mayville State rally to take the advantage, and despite a furious second-half comeback that knotted the game at 65 and again at 69, the Mystics couldn't complete the comeback in one of the final games to ever be played at the historic BSC Armory.
The Mystics came out sharp, racing to a 20-5 lead behind Tristin Davis' early 11 points and a relentless interior attack. But MSU responded with a 27-8 run of their own, fueled by hot bench shooting that flipped the momentum entirely. The Comets' reserves, led by Malik Siggers' 11 first-half points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting and Kuon Kuon's 11 points, combined for 37 first-half bench points as Mayville shot 54.5% from the field and 50% from three to take a 48-40 lead into halftime.
BSC chipped away throughout the second half, with Jah Gulley orchestrating a relentless Mystics offense that repeatedly cut into the deficit. Gulley finished with 13 points and a game-high 10 assists, keeping BSC's attack moving all night. A Carter Zeller three-pointer with just under seven minutes remaining gave the Mystics their first lead since early in the first half at 72-69, and BSC pushed the advantage to five before Mayville State responded.
With the game tied at 77 and under a minute to play, Darius Brant hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to give the Comets a 79-77 advantage. The Mystics had time to draw up a play for the final shot during their timeout with 16 seconds left, but they never got that shot as a turnover in the closing seconds allowed Brant to convert one more at the line to seal the 80-77 final.
Alex Proctor led the Mystics with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting, adding four rebounds, two steals and a block. Houston Davis posted another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, his ninth of the season, while Carter Zeller added 14 points and nine rebounds. Tristin Davis rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.
BSC shot 44.6% from the field and connected on 11-of-25 from three (44%), but 18 turnovers, 10 of which came in the second half, ultimately proved too costly against a Mayville State team that converted 18 points off those miscues.
With the loss, BSC falls to 1-24 overall and 1-19 in Frontier Conference play, ending any postseason hopes with three games remaining. The Mystics close out their home slate and the era of basketball at the BSC Armory Saturday night against Valley City State (N.D.) at 7 p.m. before the program moves to the new Bavendick Center next season. They'll finish on the road the following weekend against Bellevue (Neb.) and Dakota State (S.D.) on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21.
Check out the men's schedule for information on how to follow and watch the team during their upcoming games, and attend the final home game.
Be sure to visit BSCMystics.com and download the MysticNation app to continue to stay up to date with everything going on in Mystic Athletics.
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