SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team returns to action for the 2019 portion of the season this weekend. The Yellow Jackets travel to Western State Colorado University on Friday, January 4, before playing Colorado Mesa University on Saturday, January 5.

THE GAME – Western State Colorado University Mountaineers      

» The Mountaineers snapped the Yellow Jackets' six-game series winning streak last season when they won the meeting, 90-76, in Gunnison.

» Western is 3-8 overall, and has yet to win a conference game in the 2018-19 season. Prior to the holiday break, the Mountaineers fell to MSU Denver (86-75) and Chadron State (77-58).

» The team scores 79.2 points per game, led by Quincy Harding, who scores 21.0 ppg. Harding has the third highest scoring average in the league. Brady Subart (14.2 ppg) and Jaire Roberts (12.9 ppg) also score in double figures. Former Yellow Jacket, Jackson Ehrlin, leads the squad with 6.8 rebounds per game. The Mountaineers lead the RMAC, pulling down 12.0 offensive rebounds per game.

THE GAME – Colorado Mesa University Mavericks

» In the last four meetings between the Yellow Jackets and Mavericks, BHSU leads, 3-1. The teams split the two meetings last year, with CMU edging the Green and Gold, 68-67, in overtime, before BHSU got revenge on Senior Night, winning 84-74.

» The Mavericks are 8-3 overall, most recently defeating Chadron State, 79-69, after falling to MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines.

» The team scores 86.1 points per game, led by Connor Nichols, who scores 21.7 ppg, ranking second in the RMAC. Nichols also leads the squad with 7.8 rebounds per game. Tommy Nuno (13.5 ppg) and Damon Dubots (11.9 ppg) also score in double figures. Brandon Hoffer dishes out a league-high 5.6 assists 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).

»  Brad Schafer is in his fifth season at Western after previously coaching at BHSU.

»  Mike DeGeorge is in his first year as the head coach of the Mavericks. Prior to coming to CMU, he spent eight years at Rhodes College.

 Last Time Out

The Yellow Jackets are now 5-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as they wrapped up the 2018 portion of the schedule with victories over Adams State and Fort Lewis. Tyler Oliver was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performances in the two wins.

BHSU defeated ASU, 85-69, on Saturday evening. Stefan Desnica scored a career high 20 points, while Oliver recorded a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Connor O'Hearn (14 points) and Dez Stoudamire (13 points) each scored in double figures as well.

The Green and Gold edged FLC, 70-66, in overtime in the final game before the holiday break. Oliver led the way with 21 points and nine boards, while Fraser Malcolm tallied 16 points, and O'Hearn had 13 points and six assists.

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.

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 9-1 in league play during the 2018-19 season.

Record Record

BHSU stands 5-0 in conference play, sitting in a tie for first place entering the 2019 portion of the season. This is the best ever start to a RMAC season for the Yellow Jackets. This is also the first time that the Green and Gold have won five-straight games since the 2010-11 season.

Denied

The Yellow Jackets are averaging 3.2 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for seventh in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Antonio Capley averages 1.1 blocks per game, which puts his tied for sixth in the RMAC. Stefan Desnica and Fraser Malcolm both average 0.8 blocked shots per game, which is tied for 14th most.

Score on 'Em

Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 15.8 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for 11th in the league.

Defense First

The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 68.7 points per game scored against them, which is second in the RMAC.

Downtown Living

The Green and Gold currently sit third in the conference in three-point field goals made per game, with 9.4. The team has made double-digit treys in six of nine games so far, including in the last four games. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.7 three-pointers per game is sixth in the RMAC.

Dish It

Tyler Oliver and Connor O'Hearn each average 2.8 assists per game, which puts them in a tie for 15th in the league.

Crash the Glass

Tyler Oliver is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits ninth in the conference. His 5.7 defensive rebounds per game is third in the league, and 90th in Division II.

Moving On Up

Fraser Malcolm makes a number of appearances in the BHSU career record lists. Malcolm currently sits fifth in free throws made (190), sixth in field goals made (371), fourth in rebounds (480), and fourth in blocks (52). 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 37 blocks, good for sixth all time, and Stefan Desnica, who has 25 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.

---BHSUAthletics.com---