SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team travels to Colorado for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games to wrap up the 2018 portion of the season. The Yellow Jackets take on Adams State on December 15, before playing Fort Lewis on December 16. Saturday's game tips off at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday's game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

THE GAME - Adams State University Grizzlies        

» The Yellow Jackets and Grizzlies have split the last two meetings between the schools, with BHSU winning, 67-65, in Spearfish last year.

» The Grizzlies are currently 2-6, falling most recently to New Mexico Highlands, 100-95, after opening RMAC play with victories over CSU-Pueblo (86-74), and Fort Lewis (68-60 OT). ASU is one of three teams who are 2-1 in conference play, while BHSU is one of four teams to be undefeated over three league games.

» The team scores 85.9 points per game (third in RMAC), while allowing an RMAC-worst 90.1 ppg. John Dewey leads the Grizzlies, and is fourth in the league, scoring 18.9 ppg, while Shemar Johnson (14.5 ppg), Davere Creighton (14.1 ppg), and Rickey Norris (12.9 ppg) all average double-figure scoring as well. Creighton and Norris both pull down 6.5 rebounds per game to lead the squad. Dewey's 4.9 assists per game is second in the conference.

THE GAME - Fort Lewis College Skyhawks

» The Yellow Jackets and Skyhawks meet for the seventh time this weekend. FLC leads the series, 5-1, however, BHSU is coming off an upset win last year. The Green and Gold beat then #21 Fort Lewis, 67-64, in Spearfish.

» The Skyhawks have begun the season 5-3, most recently taking down CSU-Pueblo, 73-61. Prior to that, Fort Lewis opened RMAC play falling to Adams State in overtime (68-60), and losing to New Mexico Highlands, 104-69.

» The team scores 73.8 ppg, allowing 71.6 ppg. Marquel Beasley leads the squad, and is fifth in the RMAC, scoring 17.3 ppg. Alex Semadeni (10.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg) leads the squad in rebounding.

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).

»  Russ Caton is in his fourth year as the head coach of ASU. Before that, he was the coach at UCCS for six years.

»  Bob Pietrack is in his fifth year at the helm of the Skyhawks.

 Last Time Out

The Yellow Jackets moved to 3-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play when they defeated Westminster, 88-55, and Dixie State, 91-70, last weekend. BHSU has now won three consecutive games, and is 2-0 at home this season.

In Friday's game against Westminster, Dez Stoudamire led the way with 24 points, making seven three-pointers. Fraser Malcolm (16 points) and Connor O'Hearn (14 points) also scored in double-figures.

On Saturday, five Yellow Jackets reached double figures. Makaleb McInnis put up 20 points, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Malcolm and O'Hearn each tallied 16 points, while Tyler Oliver had 13, and Stefan Desnica added 12.

Denied

The Yellow Jackets are averaging 3.4 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Antonio Capley averages 1.0 blocks per game, which puts his tied for seventh in the RMAC. Stefan Desnica and Fraser Malcolm both average 0.9 blocked shots per game, which is tied for 13th most.

Top 10

Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 16.7 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for seventh in the league.

Defense First

The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 69.0 points per game scored against them, which is second in the RMAC, and 60th in the NCAA.

Downtown Living

The Green and Gold currently sit third in the conference in three-point field goals made per game, with 9.1. That average is also 68th in Division II. The team has made double-digit treys in four of seven games so far, including 15 in both games last weekend. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.9 three-pointers per game is fifth in the RMAC and 80th in the nation. Malcolm's 2.1 three-point field goals per game is also top-10 in the league, ranking ninth.

League Streak

This is the first time that the Yellow Jackets have begun the RMAC schedule 3-0 since joining the league in 2012.

Crash the Glass

Fraser Malcolm is ninth in the RMAC in offensive rebounds so far this season, averaging 2.1 per game. Tyler Oliver is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits 20th in the conference. His 4.7 defensivve rebounds per game is tied for 12th in the league.

Moving On Up

Fraser Malcolm makes a number of appearances in the BHSU career record lists. Malcolm currently sits fifth in free throws made (185), sixth in field goals made (354), fourth in rebounds (467), and tied for fourth in blocks (50). 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 33 blocks, good for seventh all time.

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.

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.   

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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---