SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team wraps up a four-game home stand this weekend when the team hosts Chadron State College and MSU Denver. The Yellow Jackets welcome the Eagles on February 1, at 7:30 p.m., before playing the Roadrunners on February 2, at 6 p.m.   

THE GAME – Chadron State College Eagles

» The Yellow Jackets have won the last five meetings with the Eagles, including both matchups last season. BHSU won, 76-63, in Spearfish, before winning, 89-60, in Chadron.

» The Eagles and Yellow Jackets are both 8-5 in RMAC play, sitting in a tie for fifth along with Colorado Mesa. Most recently, Chadron State fell to Colorado School of Mines (82-75) to snap a four game winning streak.

» The team scores 74.1 points per game, with three players averaging in double-figures. Michael Sparks leads the squad with 12.0 ppg, while Diontae Champion averages 11.8 ppg, and Cobly Jackson records 11.0 points per game. Jeremy Ruffin leads the Eagles with 6.9 rebounds per game, while also scoring 8.5 ppg.

THE GAME – Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners

» The Yellow Jackets will be looking for their first ever win against the Roadrunners. MSU Denver won both meetings last year, taking the game in Spearfish, 62-56, and winning in Denver, 72-64.

» MSUD is currently 6-7 in conference play, sitting in a tie for ninth in the RMAC. Most recently, the Roadrunners defeated UCCS, 93-81, after falling to Colorado School of Mines, 77-71.

» The team scores 72.6 points per game, led by Druce Asah, who averages 17.0 ppg. Garrett Carter (13.2 ppg) and Kendall McIntosh (11.8 ppg) also score in double figures. Elijah Straughter leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 6.6 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).

» Houston Reed is in his third year as the head coach of the Eagles. Prior to coming to Chadron, he was the head coach at Otero Junior College for 10 years.

» Michael Bahl is in his second season at the helm of the Roadrunners, after serving as an assistant for seven years.

 Last Time Out

The Yellow Jackets snapped a five-game losing streak by upsetting New Mexico Highlands University, 81-70, before taking down Colorado State University-Pueblo, 94-79, last weekend. Fraser Malcolm earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for his play in the two games.

Against the Cowboys, Malcolm had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Makaleb McInnis added 18 points, while Stefan Desnica recorded 13 points and six boards. Tyler Oliver had eight points, seven rebounds, while also dishing out seven assists.

Malcolm also put up 27 points against the Thunderwolves. Dez Stoudamire tied his career-high with 24 points, making seven three-pointers, while also tallying six assists. Desnica added 13 points.

Conference Accolades

Fraser Malcolm was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on January 28 for his play in a pair of wins against New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo. The senior scored 27 points in each game, recording a double-double against the Cowboys with 10 rebounds.

Denied

The Yellow Jackets are averaging 3.1 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. Stefan Desnica rejects 0.8 shots per game, ranking tied for 15th in the league.

Score on 'Em

Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 17.6 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for sixth in the league. He makes 53.7 percent of his shots from the floor, ranking fifth in the RMAC.

Dish It

Tyler Oliver currently ranks 15th in the RMAC, dishing out 2.9 assists per game. 

Defense First

The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 72.4 points per game scored against them, which is fifth in the RMAC.

Charity Stripe Work

BHSU is currently best in the league in free throw percentage, making 76.3 percent from the line. Fraser Malcolm makes 82.5 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 9.5. The team has made double-digit treys in nine of 17 games so far. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.6 three-pointers per game is sixth in the RMAC, while Fraser Malcolm makes 2.2 treys per game, which is eighth in the conference.

Crash the Glass

Tyler Oliver is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits 18th in the conference. His 4.9 defensive rebounds per game are ninth 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 1,191 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 526 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 (218), fourth in field goals made (426), third in rebounds (526), seventh in three point field goals made (121), and fourth in blocks (55). 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 45 blocks, good for sixth all time, and Stefan Desnica, who has 31 blocks to put him eighth. Patrick Mendes currently sits ninth in free throws made (152), while Dez Stoudamire's 104 three-point field goals made rank ninth.

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.

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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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