| Â Gm. 3/Gm. 4: Black Hills State (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) vs. Regis (1-1, 1-1) |Â vs. No. 4 Colorado Mines (6-0, 5-0) |
Black Hills State men's basketball will host Regis and No. 4 Colorado Mines on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, respectively.
The Yellow Jackets will tip off Sunday against Regis at 6 p.m., and then take on No. 4 Colorado Mines Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Black Hills State finished last season with a 20-9 record, and 17-5 in conference to tie with Dixie State for a regular season championship before falling to South Dakota Mines 80-71 in the first round of the RMAC Tournament. During the season, they strung together a 13-game winning streak, including key wins against Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, and UC Colorado Springs, and a win at New Mexico Highlands.
FRIDAY VS. REGIS
The Yellow Jackets and Rangers last met Jan. 11, 2020 in their only meeting last season, in which BHSU came out on top 51-49. Trailing at the half, BHSU outscored Regis 27-20 in the second half to secure the two-point victory and win their seventh of what would eventually be a 13-game winning streak. The Rangers ended last year with a record of 17-12, 12-10 in the RMAC. Their season came to a close in the first round of the RMAC Tournament, falling 84-71 to Dixie State.
SATURDAY VS. NO. 4 COLORADO MINES
BHSU last faced Colorado Mines Feb. 21, 2020, falling 79-43. The Orediggers went on to finish that season 22-10 overall and 16-6 in the conference. CSM advanced to the RMAC Championship game, falling to Colorado Mesa 69-61 but securing a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they were set to face Dixie State in round one before the event was canceled.
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets,
Ryan Thompson boasts a 39-21 record over his time at the helm. He was named RMAC Coach of the Year last season after a 20-9 record and a regular season championship (tied with Dixie State).
Regis head coach Brady Bergeson enters his sixth year at the helm after taking over prior to the 2015-16 season.
Colorado Mines long-time head coach Pryor Orser is in his 20th season leading the Orediggers having led them to 10 NCAA tournament berths, two RMAC Tournament titles and five RMAC regular-season championships.
ABOUT BLACK HILLS STATE
Before jumping to Division II, the Yellow Jackets had a lot of history at the NAIA level in the DAC, winning 14 conference championships. Since becoming a DII institution, BHSU has been improving, and has started to hit their stride over the last few years, last season taking a share as regular season conference champions with a 20-9 record. This year they look to take another step further under third-year head coach
Ryan Thompson.
ABOUT REGIS
The Yellow Jackets are 8-7 all-time against Regis dating back to a 69-67 win on Dec. 16 in the 2012-13 season. Since then, the series has been even. Regis has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams, winning two in the 2017-18 season and a win the following year, before BHSU broke that streak with a 51-49 win last season on Jan. 1.
ABOUTÂ NO. 4 COLORADO MINES
As a program, Black Hills State is 8-13 against the Orediggers dating back to December 10, 1960 when the Yellow Jackets earned a 50-38 victory. The two teams faced off six times from 1960 to 1977 before not playing again until Nov. 11, 2011. Since 2011, BHSU is 3-12 against the Orediggers but have won two of its last three meetings with CSM. Colorado Mines is currently 6-0 overall on the season and ranked fourth in the nation on the latest NABC Coaches Poll.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Head coach
Ryan Thompson and now sophomore
Joel Scott were honored by the RMAC for standout 2019-20 seasons. Thompson was named 2019-20 RMAC Coach of the Year while Scott earned RMAC Freshman of the Year.
Tyler Oliver, 2019-20 senior, was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of 12/16.
A SUNDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 2-1 on the season, giving BHSU men's basketball its best start to the season since opening 3-0 in the 2017-18 season. Before that, the team's best opening was a 2-1 start in the 2013-14 season.
A SUNDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 1-2 on the season. The men have started each of the last two seasons under
Ryan Thompson 1-3 through their first four games before turning a corner and finishing with winning records. BHSU finished last season going 19-6 to finish with an overall record of 20-9 and finished the 2018-19 season with a, 18-11 overall record.
PRESEASON POLL
Black Hills State men's basketball tallied two first-place votes and was picked second in the 2020-21 RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon.
The poll is voted on by all 15 head men's basketball coaches in the RMAC.
BHSU is coming off a shared 2019-20 RMAC regular season title with a conference record of 17-5. Head coach
Ryan Thompson led his team to a 20-9 overall record last year and will enter the 2020-21 season with a 38-20 record compiled over his first two seasons.
RANGERS' LAST TIME OUT
The second game of the season for the Regis University Men's Basketball Team (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) was a tough outing as the Colorado School of Mines (3-0, 2-0 RMAC) bested the Rangers Thursday afternoon 73-50. The Orediggers notably made it to the RMAC Conference Tournament final and even won a bid to the NCAA DII Tournament in 2020.
Colorado School of Mines started out hot, the team went on an 8-0 run to start the game. Regis did not back down though, a big 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Kevin Ebiriekwe at the 12:08 mark shrunk the Orediggers lead to 17-13. However, CSM was shooting lights-out from behind the arc as they were able to cash in seven 3-pointers, making the score 39-27 at the end of the first half.
The second half proved to be more of the same, Colorado School of Mines started the half with a 11-4 run. RU was unable to keep pace, however they did cut the lead to 12 after two big free throws by graduate guard Troy Brady two minutes into the second half.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. REGIS (Jan. 11, 2020)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team defeated the Regis University Rangers Saturday night 51-49 and pushed their win streak to seven in a row. The Yellow Jackets move to 10-5 on the season and 7-2 in the RMAC.
In a slow burner, low scoring game, the Yellow Jackets edged the Rangers in the final minutes to take the win. The Rangers held the advantage at half 27-24 and with only 11 minutes of play left, lead by ten in the second half. BHSU would slowly chip away at the deficit and
Tyler Oliver tied the game up at 45-45 with just under 3 minutes to play.
With the score tied at 45, the Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the second half 48-45 on a big three-point basket from
Joel Scott. A fast break by Trey Whitely and two missed free throws by Regis sealed the game for the Yellow Jackets 51-49.
The team struggled to connect with the basket making only 20 of 57 shots from inside the arc. BHSU continued to be conservative with the three pointers, only attempting 17 while making just 5. The team shot 54 percent from the charity stripe.
Joel Scott led the team with a double-double posting 16 points and 11 rebounds. Of those 11 boards, nine were defensive. He was strongest from the three-point line, making 60 percent of his attempts. Oliver was also in double digits with 10 points and pulled down nine boards.
OREDIGGERS' LAST TIME OUT
Brendan Sullivan's career-high 31 points helped No. 5 Colorado School of Mines survive its toughest test of the season, beating Fort Lewis 79-73 to end 2020 unbeaten.
The Orediggers (6-0, 5-0 RMAC) found a 7-0 run late in the game to overcome a one-point lead by the Skyhawks (2-2, 1-2 RMAC), who were receiving votes in this week's NABC top 25 poll.
A night after dropping 24 against Western Colorado, Sullivan shot 10-of-14 overall and was 10-of-13 from the line to build his career high in scoring. He was one of three Orediggers in double figures along with 12-point games by Ben Boone and Michael Glen, both of whom hit key shots down the stretch.
Riley Farris paced FLC with 22 points, 12 of them at the line, with six rebounds while Brenden Boatwright scored 13.
The game featured 11 ties and 21 lead changes in a see-saw battle that ended with Mines on top as the home team shot a torrid .633 in the second half to FLC's .444. Mines' largest lead of eight early in the second half evaporated on a string of three and-one opportunities for the Skyhawks, and the two sides traded leads over a 10-minute span that ultimately saw Fort Lewis lead 69-68 on Will Wittman's jumper with 3:16 left.
Mines responded with a crucial Boone basket to retake the lead, and Sullivan blocked Farris at the other end and then hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to 71-69. After another Farris miss, Kobi Betts came up with a clutch 8-foot floater to make it a two-score game with 1:51 left, and Sullivan made two free throws to lead 75-69 seconds later. Boone iced the game with his jumper coming with 36 seconds left and two subsequent foul shots, and the Skyhawks couldn't capitalize on a late Mines turnover to mount a comeback.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSM (Feb. 21, 2020)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team suffered a tough loss to the Colorado School of Mines 79-43. The Yellow Jackets are now 19 – 7 on the season and 16 – 4 in the RMAC. With a Dixie state loss tonight to Regis, the Yellow Jackets remain tied for first place in the RMAC.
Tough shooting was the story of the night for Black Hills. The team was cold out from the tip off and quickly fell to a 17-point deficit by half. Overall, they shot just 25 percent from the field (12 of 47) including just 2 of 15 (13 percent) three pointers. They were slightly more consistent at the free throw line hitting 17 of 24.
Trey Whitley lead the team with 11 points shooting fifty percent on the night.
Stefan Desnica lead with rebounds, pulling down six.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
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