SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team takes its six-game winning streak on the road for the final two away games of the year. The Yellow Jackets travel to Denver on February 15 to take on MSU Denver at 7:30 p.m., before playing at Chadron State on February 16, at 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME – Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners
» In the first matchup between the Yellow Jackets and Roadrunners this year, BHSU defeated MSU Denver for the first time in school history. The Green and Gold won, 64-62, Feb. 2, with four different players scoring in double figures.

» The Roadrunners are 8-13 overall, and stand in 13th with a 6-11 RMAC record. Most recently, MSUD fell to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines, 66-60, after falling to UCCS, 71-70. The team enters the matchup with BHSU on a four-game losing streak.

» The team scores 71.1 points per game, led by Druce Asah, who scores 16.9 points per game. Garrett Carter (12.5 ppg) and Kendall McIntosh (11.2 ppg) also score in double figure scoring. Elijah Straughter leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 6.7 boards per game.

THE GAME – Chadron State College Eagles
» The Yellow Jackets defeated the Eagles, 82-62, on Feb. 1, and have now won the last six meetings between the teams. Dez Stoudamire led BHSU with 26 points.

» CSC has a 10-13 overall record, while holding a 8-9 conference record, which puts them in a tie for ninth in RMAC standings. The Eagles have lost five straight games, most recently falling to UCCS, 97-87.

» The team scores 72.7 ppg, with two players scoring in double figures. Diontae Champion leads the squad in scoring (11.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg), while Michael Sparks scores 11.5 points 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).

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

» 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.

 Last Time Out
The Yellow Jackets have now won six games in a row, after defeating Colorado State University-Pueblo, 89-64, and New Mexico Highlands, 66-65.
 
In Friday's blowout win over the Thunderwolves, Makaleb McInnis led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points, making five three-pointers. Tyler Oliver had 19 points and nine assists, while Fraser Malcolm chipped in 18 points.
 
On Saturday, the Green and Gold trailed the Cowboys by two points, when McInnis hit a three-pointer with eight seconds to play to secure the one-point victory for BHSU. Stefan Desnica recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Oliver had 15 points, while Malcolm added 14.
 
Where It Stands
With five games to play in the regular season, Black Hills State stands in third place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The top four seeds will host a first round game in the RMAC Shootout tournament.
 
Six in a Row
BHSU has two different six-game winning streaks this year. The team is currently sitting on one, while also opening 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.
 
All-Academic
Stefan Desnica was named a member of the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll. The junior has a 3.507 in business administration, while averaging 4.1 ppg and 2.2 rpg.
 
Conference Accolades
Two Yellow Jackets have been named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week so far this year. Tyler Oliver earned the accolade on December 17 for his play against Adams State and Fort Lewis. He averaged 19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 4.0 apg in the two games. 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 2.8 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for eighth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Antonio Capley averages 1.0 blocks per game, which puts him tied for eighth in the RMAC.
 
Score on 'Em
Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 17.0 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for eighth in the league. He makes 54.0 percent of his shots from the floor, ranking third in the RMAC.
 
Dish It
Tyler Oliver currently ranks ninth in the RMAC, dishing out 3.3 assists per game. His 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is ninth in the conference.
 
Defense First
The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 70.7 points per game scored against them, which is fourth in the RMAC. BHSU is one of just six teams in the conference with a positive scoring margin (+3.3).
 
Charity Stripe Work
BHSU is currently second in the league in free throw percentage, making 75.8 percent from the line. Fraser Malcolm makes 83.1 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 9.6. The team has made double-digit treys in 10 of 21 games so far. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.6 three-pointers per game is fourth in the RMAC, and he is making 33.1 shots from beyond the arc, good for sixth in the league. Meanwhile, Fraser Malcolm makes 2.1 treys per game, which is 10th in the conference.
 
Crash the Glass
Tyler Oliver is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits tied for 19th in the conference. His 4.9 defensive rebounds per game are eighth in the league. BHSU has a +1.0 rebounding margin, which is sixth in the RMAC.
 
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 1,247 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 545 total.
 
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.
 
Moving On Up
Fraser Malcolm makes a number of appearances in the BHSU career record lists. Malcolm currently sits fifth in free throws made (225), third in field goals made (447), third in rebounds (545), sixth in three point field goals made (128), 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 48 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 114 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.