|  Gm. 7: Black Hills State (3-3, 3-3 RMAC) at Chadron State (3-4, 3-4) |
Black Hills State men's basketball will tip off at Chadron State at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night in Chadron, Neb.
Black Hills State men's basketball had only been able to play four games prior to their two-game split this past weekend. The team is 3-3, 3-3 RMAC, with two losses coming at the hands of the top two teams in the conference, Colorado Mesa and Colorado Mines, and both being decided by five points or fewer.
BHSU finished last season with a 20-9 record, and 17-5 in conference to tie with Dixie State for a regular season championship. During the season, they strung together a 13-game winning streak, including key wins against Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, UC Colorado Springs and New Mexico Highlands.
Chadron State is 3-4 on the season with wins coming against Western Colorado, Westminster and Regis. The Eagles gave No. 22 Colorado Mesa a run for its money, taking the Mavericks to double-overtime in their Dec. 12 77-68 loss. CSC is averaging only 67.9 points per game but has been able to hold its opponents to an average of 67.6 points, making points difficult to come by.
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets,
Ryan Thompson boasts a 41-23 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).
Shane Paben is in his first year as the head coach of Chadron State's men's basketball program after spending the last 11 years leading Bellevue University men's basketball to a 275-100 record and appearing in 10 straight NAIA tournaments.
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.
ABOUTÂ CHADRON STATE
As a program, Black Hills State is 14-3 against Chadron State, having won its last nine meetings in a row. The two teams first played Nov. 22, 2011 in which BHSU won 85-70. Chadron State's last victory over the Yellow Jackets was a 74-59 win on Dec. 11, 2015 in Chadron, Neb. The Eagles have only once defeated BHSU in Spearfish in a 82-81 victory on Jan. 9, 2014.
A TUESDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 4-3 on the season with 12 games left to play before the RMAC Tournament March 2-6. With the uncertainty of games played, teams must compete in at least 11 regularly scheduled games to be eligible for the RMAC Tournament.
A TUESDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 3-4 on the season. The men have started each of the last two seasons under
Ryan Thompson at 3-4 (2019-20) and 4-3 (2018-19) over their first seven games before turning a corner and finishing with winning records each year. BHSU finished last season going 18-6 to finish with an overall record of 20-9 and finished the 2018-19 season with an 18-11 overall record.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball fell 79-78 to South Dakota Mines in a hard-fought game at the King Center Saturday night.
The Yellow Jackets (3-3, 3-3 RMAC) shot 50 percent from the field compared to the Hardrockers' 49.1 percent, but couldn't complete the comeback.
Joel Scott put together his fifth career double-double, leading the team with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Trey Whitley went 6-of-8 from the field, scoring 18 on the night along with a team-leading four assists.
Adam Moussa tallied a pair of steals and a blocked shot while going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, scoring 13.
Both teams traded baskets over the first five minutes of play before the Hardrockers scored nine unanswered to move ahead 18-9. Despite SD Mines shooting over 60 percent in the opening minutes, the Yellow Jackets used key threes from Scott and Moussa to keep pace.
A jumper by
Ethan Forrester at 6:10 kicked off an 8-0 scoring run as BHSU took advantage of a pair of turnovers, scoring on four straight possessions to make it a 29-25 ballgame. The Yellow Jackets wouldn't quit, and a pair of made free throws by Whitley sent the team to the locker room down 37-35.
Out of the break, SD Mines extended their lead, going ahead 51-41 on a 3-pointer with 14:44 left to play. BHSU scored seven unanswered after a
Tommy Donovan layup to pull back within two at 53-51.
The two teams continued to go back and forth before Moussa turned a steal into a 3-pointer to pull BHSU within one at 66-65 with 4:44 to go. Shortly after, a Donovan free throw would pull the Yellow Jackets even for the first time in the game at 66-all.
Moussa hit a big 3-pointer with 44 second left to play, giving BHSU its first lead of the game at 77-76. Tied 78-all, the Hardrockers made a free throw to go ahead 79-78 with four second left to seal the game.
EAGLES' LAST TIME OUT
Kolten Mortensen, a 6-foot-8 junior, nailed a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining in overtime to give South Dakota Mines a 60-59 victory over Chadron State in the King Center in Rapid City on Thursday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
The Hardrockers are now 5-4 for the season and Chadron State is 3-4.
Although both teams were below par offensively, the game was a nail-biter most of the way. Chadron State's biggest lead was 6-2 after four minutes had been played. The Hardrockers' biggest lead was 32-24 at halftime after they tallied nine of the final 12 points in the half.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 7-0 run to get back in the game. Mines went ahead 51-46 with a follow shot by Brannagh Walsh with 1:50 to play, but Chadron State tied the score on a 3-pointer by Brady Delimont and a turning jump shot by Deundra Roberson in the final minute.
The Hardrockers had a chance to win the game down the stretch, but missed a free throw and a dunk attempt, to send it into overtime.
Chadron State took a 58-55 lead with 25 seconds left when Psalm Maduakor grabbed his 10th rebound of the game after a teammate missed a free throw, was fouled and made both of his shots from the line.
The Hardrockers' Alejandro Rama immediately dribbled the length of the floor for a layup.
With 12.6 seconds left, Chadron State's Teddy Parham, the game's leading scorer with 24 points, was fouled. He made the first free shot but missed the second. The Hardrockers got that rebound, and at the other end of the court, found Mortensen open on the left wing for his winning trey.
Mortensen led the Hardrockers with 16 points while Rama tallied 14 and both Wilfred Dickson and Brevin Walter added eight.
Besides Parham's 24 points, CSC center Jacob Jefferson scored 12 points before leaving the game with a knee injury midway through the second half. Marcus Jefferson added eight points for the Eagles.
Chadron State shot 41 percent (23-56) from the field, was five of 21 from 3-point range and just eight of 17 from the free throw line. Mines shot 42 percent (24-57) from the field, including six of 19 from long range, and went six of 11 at the line.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSC (Feb. 15, 2020)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team held off a strong Chadron State effort to win 93-87 and move to 16-3 in the RMAC and 19-6 on the season. As of writing, the Yellow Jackets remain tied for first place with Dixie State in the RMAC.
The night kicked off with celebration of three seniors,
Antonio Capley,
Tyler Oliver, and
Stefan Desnica.
The now 2-16 Eagles put up an impressive fight against the Yellow Jackets remaining within just three points (38-41) at half. At one point in the second half, the Yellow Jackets allowed CSC to take a slight lead. However, calm heads, decent free throw shooting, and solid defense allowed the Yellow Jackets to pick up the win, and the weekend sweep.
On the night the team was good for an impressive 33-61 shots from the field including 31 percent (6-19) from downtown. They were solid at the free throw line hitting 21-28 (75 percent).
The Yellow Jackets were led by a big night from
Trey Whitley who posted 28 points shooting 66 percent (10-15) from the field and hit 8-9 shots at the charity stripe. He also pulled down eight boards and recorded three steals leading the team in all those categories.
Joel Scott also had a solid night as he shot 75 percent (9-12) and recorded 23 points and five rebounds. After a rough hit the night before,
Sava Dukic was back with 14 points unphased. He shot 50 percent on the night and pulled down 4 boards.
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.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Last season, 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, a 2019-20 senior, was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
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