Black Hills State men's basketball will take on Metro State Friday night in Spearfish before heading to play UC Colorado Springs on Monday.
The Yellow Jackets will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29 against the Roadrunners and at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Through seven games this season, Black Hills State men's basketball is 3-4, 3-4 RMAC, with wins against Westminster, Regis and Western Colorado. Two of the team's losses came 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.
Metro State is currently 4-6 on the season after dropping its first three games to open the season. The Roadrunners followed that by stringing three wins together and have since gone 1-3 over their last four games. Metro State currently leads the RMAC with 130 offensive rebounds this season, and second in the conference averaging 13.0 per game. They are also third in the RMAC in turnover margin (1.40).
The Mountain Lions are 3-4 this season but have won two of their last three games. They have been the best in the RMAC this season at defending the 3-pointer, allowing only 26.1 percent, although they also rank last in the conference at shooting beyond the arc (29.7). UCCS also leads the RMAC in free throw percentage, making 81.1% from the line and in offensive rebounds at 13.5 per game.
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets,
Ryan Thompson boasts a 40-22 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).
Roadrunners head coach Michael Bahl is in his fourth season leading Metro State's men's basketball team. Before moving to head coach, he served on the Roadrunners coaching staff for seven seasons, and before that he was a member of the team from 2002-2007.
Jeff Culver is in his ninth season as head coach of the UCCS men's basketball team. He led the team to its first RMAC Championship in 2015.
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 METRO STATE
As a program, Black Hills State is 3-15 against Metro State, but the three wins have come within the last four games. The two teams first played Dec. 19, 2009 in which the Yellow Jackets fell 65-63. BHSU lost the first 14 meetings in a row before beating the Roadrunners for the first time on Feb. 2, 2019 by the score of 64-62.
ABOUT UC COLORADO SPRINGS
Black Hills State is 8-10 against UCCS, and have won two of their last three meetings, although the Mountain Lions won their last matchup 73-61 on Feb. 22, 2020. BHSU won the first four meetings between the two teams starting with an 87-76 win on Nov. 21, 2009 before losing then next five in a row. Since then, the Yellow Jackets are 5-4 over their last nine matchups.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 4-4 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 FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 3-5 on the season. The men started last season at 3-5 through their first eight contests as well, before going 17-4 the rest of the way to finish the year 20-9 overall and 17-5 in the RMAC.
SHARP SHOOTING
The Yellow Jackets currently lead the RMAC in shooting with a field goal percentage of 50.9% (197-387) over their seven games this season. The team is also fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 75.3 points per game.
ROADRUNNERS' LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Alijah Comithier led the UC Colorado Springs men's basketball team to an 86-75 win at Metropolitan State University Denver Thursday night as the Mountain Lions won their second straight road game. Comithier finished with a game high 33 points. UCCS made 30 free throws tonight, the most by any team in the RMAC this season.
Comithier and DaRaun Clark combined to score the first five points of the game. Cameron Underwood helped keep the lead, 11-8, at 13:23 in the first half with a basket but the Roadrunners went on an 8-0 run to snag a 16-11 lead.
For the next seven minutes both teams swapped the lead seven times before MSU Denver hit a three-pointer with 3:03 left in the half to knot the game at 37 all.
The Mountain Lions responded and closed out the half with three straight three-pointers by Jezza McKenzie and back-to-back treys from Comithier, giving UCCS a 46-41 lead at halftime.
UCCS continued to fire off threes in the second half as Clark and Geoff Kelly made back-to-back baskets from downtown, giving UCCS a 52-43 lead just 90 seconds into the second half.
The Mountain Lions, who led the entire second half, grabbed their largest lead of the game with 7:32 remaining in regulation as Comithier capped a 12-3 run with a steal and fastbreak layup, giving UCCS a 16-point advantage, 72-56.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. MSUD (Feb. 15, 2020)
Black Hills State University men's basketball team defeated the MSU Denver Roadrunners 71-56. The Yellow Jackets now move to 15-3 in RMAC and 18-6 on the season. They remain tied for first place in the conference.
After 10 minutes of play the score was tied at 4-4. However, the Yellow Jackets woke up and drove the score 31-21 to end the first half. In a bitter second half in which both teams quickly reached double bonus, the Yellow Jackets managed to put up 40 points to the Roadrunners 35 to get the win.
On the night, the team hit 23 of 55 (41%) from the field including 7 of 18 (38%) from beyond the arc. They struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just 62% (18 of 29).
The Yellow Jackets had four scorers in double digits and were led by
Trey Whitley, who posted 16 points. Whitley was 7 for 13 on the night and pulled down five boards.
Tyler Oliver posted 15 points shooting 5 for 8 and getting six rebounds. He also posted three assists.
Stefan Desnica was back to form tonight posting 13 points and an impressive 8 rebounds.
Joel Scott was good for 11 points, pulling down six boards. He was perfect at the free throw line tonight. Snjolfur Steffansson led the team in rebounds, pulling down 9 on the night. He also posted 5 points.
MOUNTAIN LIONS' LAST TIME OUT
Regis University snapped a two-game winning streak by the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs men's basketball team Tuesday night. The Mountain Lions fell at home to the Rangers, 74-69.
In the first half of action, both teams swapped leads before the Mountain Lions went on a 7-0 run late in the first half. Alijah Comithier scored all seven points in the run, beginning with a bucket with 2:46 left in the half. He followed with back-to-back free throws after getting fouled from grabbing an offensive rebound. With 1:13 left in the half, Comithier grabbed another offensive rebound and put it back in for a layup. With only 11 seconds left, he drained a three-pointer from the right side of the court to give UCCS a 37-26 lead.
Regis had the last say in the half as Brian Dawson sank a three-pointer as time expired.
Leading 37-29 at halftime, the Rangers came out of the locker room and went on a 13-4 run to snag a 42-41 lead at the 15-minute mark in the second half.
Two lead changes later, Regis regained the lead, 47-46 and went on a 13-3 run as UCCS trailed by as many as nine points just under the halfway mark in the second half.
UCCS climbed their way back and came within one point of the Rangers, 69-68, after a three-point play from Cameron Underwood with 2:08 left in regulation.
On the Rangers next possession, RU made 1-of-2 bonus free throws for 70-68 lead. On the Mountain Lions next trip down the court, Underwood made his second of two free throw attempts to bring UCCS within one point again, 70-69.
The Rangers sealed the win after scoring four straight points in the final 20 seconds, 74-69.
Comithier, the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, led UCCS with 25 points after hitting on 10-of-17 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws. He pulled in six rebounds and dished out one assist.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSC (Feb. 15, 2020)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team dropped their first weekend since early November as they fell 61-73 to the UCCS Mountain Lions. The Yellow Jackets fall to 16-5 in the RMAC and 19-8 overall.
The Yellow Jackets struggled in the first half scoring just 20 points. They rallied in the second half dropping 41 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 14-point deficit they built in the first.
On the night, the Yellow Jackets hit 43 percent of their shots from the field (26 for 60) including just 33 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 9). They didn't have many chances at the free throw line shooting 6 for 8 (75 percent).
Joel Scott led the team with 24 points shooting an impressive 10 for 13 from the field. He also pulled down five boards.
Trey Whitley was again in double digits, scoring 14 points.
Antonio Capley posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
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-
