SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games this weekend. The Yellow Jackets take on CSU-Pueblo on February 8, at 7:30 p.m., before traveling to New Mexico Highlands on February 9, at 7 p.m.
THE GAME – Colorado State University-Pueblo Thunderwolves
» The Yellow Jackets and Thunderwolves meet for the second time this season. BHSU won the first meeting, 94-79, on January 26 in Spearfish. Fraser Malcolm and Dez Stoudamire combined for 51 points in the win.
» The Thunderwolves are 6-15 overall, and 4-11 in RMAC play, which puts them in a tie for 13th in the league. Most recently, CSUP defeated UCCS, 86-78, after falling to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines, 90-67.
» The team scores 75.7 points per game, led by Donovan Oldham, who averages 13.5 ppg. Jason Anderson (10.5 ppg) also averages double-figure scoring, while also leading the squad with 5.1 rebounds per game.
THE GAME – New Mexico Highlands University Roadrunners
» The Yellow Jackets came back to upset NMHU earlier in the year, 81-70 (Jan. 25). BHSU outscored the Cowboys, 62-33, in the final 22 minutes to earn the victory.
» NMHU is currently 15-6 overall, holding a 10-5 conference record. The Cowboys and Yellow Jackets are tied for third with their RMAC record. Most recently, New Mexico Highlands was edged by #16 ranked Colorado School of Mines, 81-78.
» The team scores 87.5 ppg, led by Gerad Davis, who scores 20.0 points per game. Davis is one of just two players in the RMAC to average at least 20.0 ppg. Raquan Mitchell scores 19.1 ppg, while Nnamdi Okoro (10.8 ppg) leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 7.9 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).
» Ralph Turner, a former NAIA National Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season at the helm of the Thunderwolves.
» 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.
Last Time Out
The Yellow Jackets stayed hot, winning their third and fourth consecutive games last weekend. BHSU took down Chadron State College, 82-62, on Friday, before defeating MSU Denver, 64-62, on Saturday. The win over the Roadrunners was the first ever for the Green and Gold.
Dez Stoudamire recorded another 20-point game against the Eagles, scoring a career-high 26 points. Makaleb McInnis and Fraser Malcolm each added 11 points, while Stefan Desnica had seven points and nine rebounds.
In Saturday's win over the Roadrunners, Stoudamire led the way again, putting up 17 points. Tyler Oliver recorded 16 points, eight boards, and four assists. Malcolm had 13, and McInnis added 10 points.
All-Academic
Stefan Desnica was named a member of the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll this week. 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 2.9 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 sixth in the RMAC.
Score on 'Em
Fraser Malcolm is currently averaging 17.1 points per game to lead BHSU, which is also good for eighth in the league. He makes 53.2 percent of his shots from the floor, ranking fourth in the RMAC.
Dish It
Tyler Oliver currently ranks 14th in the RMAC, dishing out 3.1 assists per game. His 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is 11th in the conference.
Defense First
The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 71.3 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 76.1 percent from the line. Fraser Malcolm makes 82.0 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 19 games so far. Individually, Dez Stoudamire's 2.7 three-pointers per game is fifth in the RMAC, while Fraser Malcolm makes 2.1 treys per game, which is 11th in the conference.
Crash the Glass
Tyler Oliver is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which sits tied for 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 1,215 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 537 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.
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 (221), fourth in field goals made (435), third in rebounds (537), seventh in three point field goals made (124), 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 47 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 111 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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