Spearfish, SD - The Black Hills State University men's basketball team is back on the road this weekend. Friday evening, they will be at Golden, CO to take on Colorado School of Mines at 8 p.m. Saturday, they will face University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at 7:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets were able to secure wins earlier this season versus the Orediggers and the Mountain Lions.
 
Last weekend the Yellow Jackets ended their last regular season games at the Donald E. Young Center with two big wins. Trey Whitley led the way, averaging 22 points per game. The team remains tied with Dixie State for first place in the RMAC with a 16-3 RMAC record and 19-6 overall record. The Yellow Jackets have already clinched a spot in the post season tournament but are looking to secure home advantage.
 
The Yellow Jackets sit second in the conference for defensive rebounds, averaging 27 per game and second in scoring defense, only allowing their opponents to average 69 PPG. They also sit second in field goal percentage, at 51%. Three Yellow Jackets – Joel Scott, Trey Whitley and Tyler Oliver – lead the way for the team, all averaging double-figures. Scott has the second best accuracy in the RMAC, shooting 60 percent from the field. His 17.6 PPG is fourth best. Oliver leads the team in rebounding, averaging about 7 RPG, which is second most in the conference. Oliver also paves the way in sharing the ball, with 3.5 assists per game while Snjolfur Stefansson and Sava Dukic average 2 APG. Stefan Desnica also adds 9.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG for the Yellow Jackets.
 
CO School of Mines
CO School of Mines are right behind the Yellow Jackets, sitting third in conference standings. They have a 14-5 conference record and 18-8 overall record. The Orediggers have five players averaging double-digits, all shooting between 31-49 field goal percentage. Mason Baker paves the way, with 16.9 PPG and Brendan Sullivan with 13.2 PPG and 5.6 RPG. The team also leads the conference in blocked shots per game, averaging almost 5 per game. The Yellow Jackets took the win earlier this season 65-61 at home.
 
UCCS
UCCS is sitting sixth in the conference, with an 11-8 conference record and 15-9 overall record. The Mountain Lions are led by Padiet Wang who averages 16.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 4.3 APG. Blend Avdili also plays a big role, averaging 14.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 2.4 APG. UCCS sits second in the conference for offensive rebounds, averaging 10.2 per game. UCCS kept it close earlier this season as the Yellow Jackets narrowly won 66-64 at home.