Spearfish, SD - Two big road wins last weekend, and a Dixie State loss, moved the Black Hills State University men's basketball team to the number one seed in the conference. The Yellow Jackets remain hot, having not lost since December seventh. For those keeping track, that's 13 wins in a row over the last nine weeks. The Green and Gold have moved into number four in the South Central Regional Rankings and received votes in the D2SIDA national polls.
 
This weekend, the Yellow Jackets are back on their home court at the Donald E. Young Center. Friday evening they will face Colorado State University Pueblo at 7:30 p.m., and New Mexico Highlands University on Saturday at 6 p.m. These games, and this weekend homestand, will have huge play off implications. NM Highlands is stout and currently fourth in RMAC.
 
Last time out, Junior Trey Whitley had a big weekend, scoring 37 points versus Chadron State and averaging 29.5 points per game on the weekend. Whitley has been a consistent team key for the Yellow Jackets. He sits at number two in the RMAC with his 88.1 shooting percentage from the free throw line. Whitley thinks the team is right where they should be, playing as a team.
 
"We know each other's strengths and weaknesses at this point in the season, making it that much easier to play together," said Whitley. "We still have a lot of basketball left but we treat every game like it is the championship game."
 
Freshman Joel Scott leads the team with 18.3 points per conference game, shooting a solid 61% from the field (which leads the conference) and 47% from the three line. Tyler Oliver is the second leading scorer and leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game. His rebound average is second best in the league, and he is fifth in the RMAC in both steals and assists.
 
The Yellow Jackets allow their opponents the least amount of points in the RMAC only allowing an average of 68.6 PPG. They also have the longest winning streak in the conference – 13 games.
 
CSU – Pueblo
CSU Pueblo is coming off two RMAC losses to South Dakota School of Mines and University of Colorado - Colorado Springs. They are 7-8 in conference play and are on the edge of making tournament play. The Thunderwolves are led by David Simental with 18.1 PPG, which places him fourth in the conference for PPG. They are also led by three other players scoring double digits. CSUP should hopefully not be a problem for the Yellow Jackets as they are coming off a 94-76 win just a few weekends back. The Green and Gold lead the series 8-6.
 
NM Highlands
NM Highlands are 9-6 in conference play and are sitting fourth in conference standings. They lead the league in PPG, averaging 88.9. This is relevant, as they have two players scoring over 20 PPG. Sammy Barnes-Thompkins and Raquan Mitchell lead the Cowboys and the conference in scoring, with 25.1 and 24.9, respectively. Collectively, the team averages 10.4 offensive rebounds per game and leads the RMAC in the turnover margin, making their opponents average 16.9 turnovers compared to their 12.9 TPG. Highlands will be out for blood, just two weekends ago, the Yellow Jackets narrowly won 87-83 in a bitter rematch of the 2019 RMAC championship game.
 
Special Notes:
 

• Fans are encouraged to wear pink to "Pink out" Saturday's Games against New Mexico Highlands in honor of Kenadi Weis and the Kenadi Jean Weis Foundation.

 

• Due to increased activity in the fieldhouse this weekend, including a youth soccer tournament, parking will be limited. BHSU Athletics will be running a shuttle free of charge from the dirt parking lot to the front doors Friday from 4:30pm to 10:00pm and Saturday from 3:00pm until 9:00pm.