SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team looks to bounce back on the road, as the team travels to Colorado for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. The Yellow Jackets take on UCCS on Friday, January 18, before playing at Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, January 19.
THE GAME – University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions
» The Yellow Jackets and Mountain Lions split last year's meetings. BHSU won the first matchup (Dec. 1) in Spearfish, 77-66, before falling on the road (Feb. 3), 82-64.
» UCCS has won eight straight games, most recently defeating Adams State (83-80) and Fort Lewis (100-99). The team is 7-2 in conference play, putting them in a tie for second in the RMAC standings. The Mountain Lions are tied for second, dishing out 15.9 assists per game, and third in steals per game (7.8).
» The team scores 83.5 points per game, which is fourth in the RMAC, while allowing 80.3 ppg. Five Mountain Lions average double-figure scoring, led by Blend Avdili, who scores 14.2 points per game. Padiet Wang (12.7 ppg) leads the squad with 5.3 rebounds per game, and also leads the team, and the league, with 2.3 steals per game.
THE GAME – Colorado School of Mines Orediggers
» The Yellow Jackets and Orediggers met once in the 2017-18 season, with Mines winning, 70-51 (Dec. 8). BHSU had won the only meeting in the season before, defeating then No. 18 CSM, 57-56.
» Colorado School of Mines are undefeated in RMAC play, sitting at 9-0, in first place. Overall, the Orediggers are 12-3. Most recently, CSM defeated FLC (92-79) and ASU (84-70). Mines is top-five in almost every statistical category in the league.
» The team scores 84.2 points per game, while allowing just 70.7 ppg. Five Orediggers score in double figures, led by Mason Baker at 15.7 ppg. Michael Glen scores 10.4 ppg, and leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game.
THE COACHES
» Ryan Thompson enters his first year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets after spending the previous three years as the assistant coach. He recorded his first win as the head coach in a 65-62 victory over Augustana (Nov. 17, 2018).
» Jeff Culver is in his seventh season as the head coach of UCCS, coaching an NBA Draft pick, and two All-Americans.
» Pryor Orser is in his 17th year at the helm of Mines. He has led the Orediggers to eight NCAA tournament appearances.
Last Time Out
The Yellow Jackets fell in back-to-back games last weekend, getting edged by Colorado Christian University, 86-83, before losing to Regis University, 80-65.
On Friday, Fraser Malcolm led the Yellow Jackets with 26 points, while Stefan Desnica (11 points), Dez Stoudamire (10 points), and Antonio Capley (10 points) also scored in double figures. Malcolm finished the game 4-for-5 from three.
On Saturday, Makaleb McInnis had 17 points, making four three-pointers. Desnica had nine points and three assists.
Denied
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 3.2 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Antonio Capley averages 1.3 blocks per game, which puts him tied for fifth in the RMAC.
Score on 'Em
Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 15.7 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for 11th in the league.
Defense First
The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 71.6 points per game scored against them, which is fourth in the RMAC. Teams are making just 44.7 percent of their shots against BHSU, which is sixth best in the conference.
Charity Stripe Work
BHSU is currently second in the league in free throw percentage, making 75.7 percent from the line.
Downtown Living
The Green and Gold currently sit fifth in the conference in three-point field goals made per game, with 9.1. The team has made double-digit treys in seven of 13 games so far. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.3 three-pointers per game is sixth in the RMAC, while Fraser Malcolm makes 2.0 treys per game, which is tied for 12th in the conference.
Keep It Efficient
Stefan Desnica makes 54.4 percent of his shots from the field, which leads the Yellow Jackets, and is ninth in the RMAC.
Dish It
Tyler Oliver averages 2.8 assists per game, which puts him 15th in the RMAC.
Crash the Glass
Tyler Oliver is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits 11th in the conference. His 5.2 defensive rebounds per game are fifth in the league. Fraser Malcolm is 13th in the RMAC in offensive rebounds per game, with 1.8.
Player of the Week
Junior Tyler Oliver was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week on December 17 for his play against Adams State and Fort Lewis. The guard averaged 19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 4.0 apg in the two games, as the Yellow Jackets moved to 5-0 in conference play for the first time as a member of Division II.
Weekend Sweep
The Yellow Jackets men's and women's basketball teams went 4-0 against Adams State and Fort Lewis on the road December 16-17. This was the first time since BHSU joined the RMAC (2012-13) that the two teams swept a weekend on the road. The Green and Gold are a combined 11-3 in league play during the 2018-19 season.
Six in a Row
BHSU opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with six consecutive victories. The streak was the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Yellow Jackets won at least six games in a row. The Green and Gold won the Dakota Athletic Conference that year, and made it to the second round of the NAIA Tournament.
Moving On Up
Fraser Malcolm makes a number of appearances in the BHSU career record lists. Malcolm currently sits fifth in free throws made (197), fourth in field goals made (394), fourth in rebounds (499), and fourth in blocks (53). 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 44 blocks, good for sixth all time, and Stefan Desnica, who has 26 blocks to put him 10th.
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.
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