SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team come home to begin a four-game stand this weekend. The Yellow Jackets welcome New Mexico Highlands University at 7:30 p.m., January 25, before taking on Colorado State University-Pueblo on January 26. Game time on Saturday tips off at a special 7 p.m. start time. The Kenadi Jean Weis Foundation will be present on Saturday.
THE GAME – New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys
» The Yellow Jackets and Cowboys met once last year, with NMHU winning, 75-62.
» New Mexico Highlands is 8-3 in conference play. The Cowboys are 4-1 in their last five games, but split their road trip last weekend, defeating MSU Denver (83-81) after falling to Chadron State (80-69). NMHU leads the RMAC with 9.6 steals per game and a +6.7 turnover margin.
» The team scores a league-best 88.1 points per game, but also allow 81.0 ppg, which is bottom-five in the conference. Raquan Mitchell (20.5 ppg) and Gerad Davis (20.4 ppg ) both score over 20 points a game, and are second and third, respectively, in the conference. Nnamdi Okoro leads the squad and the RMAC in rebounding, pulling down 8.2 boards per game, while also scoring 11.1 ppg.
THE GAME – Colorado State University-Pueblo Thunderwolves
» The Yellow Jackets and Thunderwolves met twice during the 2017-18 season, with BHSU winning both matchups.
» CSU-Pueblo is 5-12 overall this year, and enter this weekend on a three game losing streak. Most recently, the Thunderwolves fell to Chadron State, 71-62.
» The team scores 76.3 points per game, led by Donovan Oldham, who scores 14.6 ppg. Jason Anderson (11.7 ppg) also averages double figure scoring, and leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 5.7 boards 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).
» Craig Snow is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Cowboys. Prior to coming to NMHU, Snow was an assistant at the University of New Mexico for three seasons.
» Ralph Turner, a former NAIA National Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season at the helm of the Thunderwolves.
Last Time Out
The Yellow Jackets fell in a pair of RMAC games on the road last weekend, now having lost five in a row. BHSU was edged by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 73-72, before falling to Colorado School of Mines, 78-67.
Fraser Malcolm led the Green and Gold against the Mountain Lions, scoring 23 points. It was the senior's fifth 20-point game this season. Tyler Oliver (18 points) and Makaleb McInnins (11 points) both scored in double figures as well, while Connor O'Hearn had nine points and six assists. UCCS made a free throw in the final second to earn the victory.
In a battle against the top team in the conference, Malcolm scored 19 points, Dez Stoudamire scored 14, and Oliver had 10.
Denied
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 2.9 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 him seventh in the RMAC.
Score on 'Em
Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 16.4 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for 10th in the league. He makes 51.7 percent of his shots from the floor, ranking 15th in the RMAC.
Defense First
The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 72.1 points per game scored against them, which is fourth in the RMAC.
Charity Stripe Work
BHSU is currently best in the league in free throw percentage, making 75.5 percent from the line. Fraser Malcolm makes 85.7 percent of his shots from the free throw line, which is ninth in the RMAC.
Downtown Living
The Green and Gold currently sit third in the conference in three-point field goals made per game, with 9.3. The team has made double-digit treys in eight of 15 games so far. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.4 three-pointers per game is sixth in the RMAC, while Fraser Malcolm makes 2.1 treys per game, which is ninth in the conference.
Crash the Glass
Tyler Oliver is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits 13th in the conference. His 5.1 defensive rebounds per game are fourth in the league.
1000 Point/500 Rebound Club
Fraser Malcolm is the latest member of the Yellow Jackets to reach 1,000 career points. He surpassed the milestone on a three-pointer in the first half in a win against Dixie State (Dec. 8, 2018). The senior now sits at 1,137 total points. Malcolm also now has over 500 rebounds to go with his 1,000 points. He grabbed his 500th board in a loss to UCCS (Jan. 18, 2019), and now sits at 508 total.
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 (207), fourth in field goals made (407), third in rebounds (508), tied for seventh in three point field goals made (116), and fourth in blocks (54). 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 27 blocks to put him 10th. Patrick Mendes currently sits ninth in free throws made (148), while Connor O'Hearn's 156 career assists put him in 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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