SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team competes in the MSUB Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend. The Yellow Jackets take on Alaska Fairbanks on Friday, November 23, at 5:30 p.m., before playing host MSU Billings on Saturday, November 24, at 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME – University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks

» The Yellow Jackets and Nanooks will meet for the second time on the hardwood, when they play on Friday. UAF won the first meeting, 68-60, in 2014.

» Alaska Fairbanks has begun the 2018-19 season with a 1-4 record, falling in the first four games before defeating Northwood University, 84-79, in the last time out. The Nanooks were selected to finish ninth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They finished last season tied for seventh, and return eight players and four starters.

» The team scores 74.2 ppg, while allowing opponents to score 82.2 points per game. Four Nanooks average double-figure scoring, led by Michael Kluting with 15.8 ppg. Kluting also leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 8.6 boards per game.

THE GAME – Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets

» The Yellow Jackets and Yellowjackets meet for the 19th time this weekend. MSUB leads the all-time series, 11-7, and are 2-1 in the last three meetings.

» MSU Billings has opened the season with a 2-2 record, falling to Point Loma and Fresno Pacific, before defeating the University of Mary and Minot State. Most recently, the Yellowjackets edged Rocky Mountain College, 79-73, in an exhibition game. MSUB will play Cal State Dominguez Hills in the MSUB Thanksgiving Tournament prior to taking on BHSU.

» The Yellowjackets averaged 68.8 ppg, while opponents score 72.8 points per game. Four players on the squad average double-figure scoring. Brendan Howard leads the way with 15.0 ppg. Melvin Newbern Jr. leads MSUB with 8.3 rebounds per game, and also scores 11.8 points per game.

THE COACHES

» Ryan Thompson enters his first year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets after spending the previous four years as the assistant coach. He recorded his first win as the head coach in a 65-62 victory over Augustana (Nov. 17, 2018).

» Greg Sparling is in his first year coaching the Nanooks. Previously, Sparling spent 24 seasons at Central Washington, compiling a 386-253 record.

»Mick Durham is his first year at the helm of the Yellowjackets. Prior to joining MSUB, Durham spent seven years as the head coach of Alaska Fairbanks.

 Last Time Out

The Yellow Jackets opened the 2018-19 season at the East-West Challenge in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Yellow Jackets fell to Northern State University, 82-50, before defeating Augustana, 65-62, for new head coach, Ryan Thompson's, first victory at the helm of BHSU.

In Friday's loss to last year's DII Runner-Up, Fraser Malcolm led the way with 15 points. Stefan Desnica had seven rebounds and added four points.

On Saturday, BHSU defeated Augustana for the first win of the season. The Yellow Jackets outlasted the Vikings, led by Malcolm, who scored 21 points. Dez Stoudamire added 12 points, while Desnica had eight boards. Antonio Capley had two blocks in each game over the weekend.

Denied

The Yellow Jackets are averaging 5.5 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 15th in the country. Antonio Capley has four total blocks, and averages 2.0 blocks per game. That average is tied for third in the conference, and is 40th in Division II.

Top 10

Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 18.0 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for 10th in the league.

Share the Rock

Tyler Oliver's 7.0 assist to turnover ratio is second best in the league. He is currently averaging 3.5 assists per game, and just 0.5 turnovers per game. That ratio is also No. 9 in the country.

Crash the Glass

Stefan Desnica leads the RMAC in offensive rebounds so far this season, and is 14th in Division II. He averages 4.5 offensive boards per game, with nine total through two games. He is also tied for 10th in the conference in rebounding, with 7.5 rpg. Oliver is 10th in the league in defensive rebounds, with 5.5 per game.

First of Many

Head coach Ryan Thompson earned his first career win as the head coach of Black Hills State University against Augustana University, Nov. 17, 2018. The Yellow Jackets got the win, 65-62, in a back-and-forth affair at the East-West Challenge.

Preseason Nod

Fraser Malcolm was selected to the Preseason All-RMAC Team. He was one of 10 players to make the team, and earned the accolade after leading the Yellow Jackets in scoring and rebounding last year, tallying 14.2 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

BHSU Picked Eighth by RMAC Coaches

Black Hills State was tabbed eighth in the RMAC Coaches' Poll with 116 points. Regis was voted to finish first with eight first place votes (216 points), while Colorado School of Mines (four first place votes), Fort Lewis (two  first place votes), and Dixie State (two first place votes) were selected to finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, after all receiving at least two first place votes.

Moving On Up

Fraser Malcolm makes a number of appearances in the BHSU career record lists. Malcolm currently sits fifth in free throws made (174), sixth in field goals made (325), sixth in rebounds (437), and fifth in blocks (46). With one season to play, Malcolm was sixth in career points per game (11.2), fifth in field goal percentage (.459), seventh in rebounding average (5.5), and third in free throw percentage (.790). Also making an appearance in the career record lists is Antonio Capley, who currently has 30 blocks, good for a tie for seventh all time.

Post Season Accolade

Fraser Malcolm, after leading BHSU in scoring and rebounding, was named to the All-RMAC Second Team following the 2017-18 season.

All-Academic

Two Yellow Jackets were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll for the 2017-18 season. Stefan Desnica and Wyatt Krogman each earned the honor.

New Faces

The Yellow Jackets will be playing under the eye of a new head coach this season. Ryan Thompson, who acted as the BHSU Assistant Coach for the previous four seasons, now moves to the helm of the program. Coach Thompson welcomes seven newcomers as the Green and Gold will have a lot of new faces. Five freshmen and two transfers join nine returners.

National Team Representation

Fraser Malcolm played for the Scottish National Team at the Commonwealth Games in April 2018. Malcolm has now represented his country on five different occasions, however, this was his first appearance with the Senior Team.

International Relations

The Yellow Jacket men's basketball team has five players from across the oceans. Patrick Mendes and Edin Hanusa made their way to the Black Hills from Sweden. Fraser Malcolm traveled across the pond from Scotland, while Stefan Desnica and Sava Dukic both came from Serbia with a pit stop at San Gabriel Academy in California.

###

Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.

---BHSUAthletics.com---