THE GAME - Colorado Mesa

• Black Hills State and the Mavericks split last season with each team winning on its home floor. The meeting in Spearfish took place on February 12 that saw the Yellow Jackets waltz away with an 88-77 victory that snapped a six-game losing skid.
• After winning at least 19 games the last two years, CMU is having a bit of a down year with a 5-14 record and 4-9 in the RMAC. However, the Mavericks swept last weekend with victories over MSU Denver and UCCS. CMU won 69-67 over MSUD while claiming the 80-75 win over UCCS.
• Eimer Lopez leads a quartet of Mavericks with double-digit points at 14.2 points per game. CJ Davis is second at 13.7 points per game with Connor Nichols and Kabir West just above 10 points per game.

THE GAME - Western State

• The Yellow Jackets claimed victory in the only meeting last season, 88-79 in Gunnison, Colorado, giving BHSU five-straight wins over Western State.
• Currently 4-13 overall, the Mountaineers own a 3-10 RMAC record but have dropped their last three games including a sweep from UCCS and MSU Denver last weekend. The last WSCU victory came January 7 an 89-71 victory over Chadron State.
• Former BHSU guard Ben Beauchamp leads the team with a 17.2 point per game average, ranking seventh in the RMAC. Another former Yellow Jacket, Collin Smith, is second on the team with 11.8 pooints per game. Patrick Sniff leads the Mountaineers with 5.3 rebounds per game.

Looking Ahead
Black Hills State looks to enjoy some home cookin' playing five-straight games in the Donald E. Young Center. Following this weekends action, the Yellow Jackets welcome MSU Denver and UCCS on February 3 and 4, respectively. The final home game of the season is February 11 against South Dakota Mines.
 
Familiar Faces
Four familiar faces embark on the Young Center this weekend with one of them being former head coach Bradd Schafer. Schafer guided the Yellow Jackets to the 2010-11 DAC Championship and 2011 DAC Tournament Championship while securing a 55-58 record as a head coach. Two of Schafer's players include two-year Yellow Jacket Colin Smith and one-year Yellow Jacket Ben Beauchamp. The other familiar face is from Colorado Mesa in guard Trent Clay. Clay was a redshirt quarterback for the Yellow Jacket football team in 2014.
 
A Look Around the RMAC
Including this weekend, the Yellow Jackets have eight games remaining on the 2016-17 schedule and are in need of a winning streak in order to make the RMAC Tournament. The Yellow Jackets are in 15th place with a 2-12 record and are five games out of eighth place in the win column. UCCS currently holds the eight spot with a 7-7 rcord in the RMAC.
 
Winless on the Road
Black Hills State is 0-10 in the 2016-17 season on the road. BHSU started the 2014-15 campaign off with an 0-5 record in true away contests with another loss on a neutral court, which was previously the worst road start in the NCAA era. The last victory away from the Young Center was February 19, 2016, at UCCS.
 
Looking for a win
The Yellow Jackets are currently on an eight-game losing skid, matching the longest such streak of the NCAA era. BHSU dropped eight-straight games from January 26, 2013 to February 22, 2013. That 2012-13 season, the Green and Gold won its final two games of the year with a 65-62 triumph over UCCS and a 57-51 victory over Chadron State. 
 
Welcome to the 1,000-point club
Junior Zach McLemore surpassed 1,000 points in his collegiate career with a 3-point basket against Adams State on January 14. McLemore transferred to BHSU from Colorado Christian where he tallied 787 points including 441 as a sophomore.
 
Jump on the Bus
The BHSU Athletics department is sponsoring a fan bus to the Chadron State game on February 24. The cost is $30 per person. If interested, contact Melissa Christensen at 605-642-6460.
 
Let's Get Together
The Black Hills State basketball teams are hosting a Round Ball Reunion on February 11 when the Yellow Jackets host South Dakota Mines. All basketball alumni are encouraged to attend while the 1946-47 men's team, 1986-87 men's team and 1996-97 men's and women's championship teams are honored.

Feeding South Dakota Through SAAC
Through the remaining five home games, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is collecting nonperishable food items in a Food War with South Dakota Mines. The two school's SAAC's are competing against each other with the school raising the most amount of weight winning a traveling trophy. The food will all be donated to Feeding South Dakota.