Black Hills State men's basketball will participate in the East-West Challenge in Aberdeen, S.D. this weekend as they take on Augustana and Northern State.

The Yellow Jackets will take on Augie on Friday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. and then will play NSU on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.

 

BLACK HILLS STATE  vs.  Augustana   FRIDAY, NOV. 19 // 4 P.M. // ABERDEEN, S.D. // WACHS ARENA Live Stream / Live Stats / Radio / Game Notes / Tickets

BLACK HILLS STATE (2-0) VS. No. 20 AUGUSTANA (2-0)
The Vikings are currently ranked 20th in the nation after winning both their games to open the 2021-22 season. Augie defeated Southern Arkansas, 74-66 on Nov. 12, and then took down then No. 11 Washburn, 72-58 on Nov. 13. Last season, Augie finished 9-7 overall.

BHSU has played Augustana three times since they've been Division II, going 2-1 over the Vikings in that time. The Yellow Jackets most recently fell to them in 2019, but earned victories against them in 2018 and 2013.

VIKINGS' LAST TIME OUT
The Augustana men's basketball team moved to 2-0 on the season with a 72-58 win over No. 11 Washburn Saturday night at the Central Region Challenge.

Washburn falls to 1-1 as the Vikings top their first ranked opponent since the National Championship game in the 2016 season. The Vikings were led by Isaac Fink with 23 points, Adam Dykman with 18 points and Tyler Riemersma with 16 points. Dykman and Riemersma each tallied double-doubles with 11 and 14 rebounds each, respectively. The double-double is the fourth-straight for Riemersma dating back to the final two games of 2021.

The conclusion wasn't much in question throughout as the Vikings ran out of the gates to an 18-4 lead. After an opening free throw from Dykman and layup from Fink, the Vikings hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets to cruise to the opening advantage. It wasn't until Fink hit Dykman for a 3-point basket for the 18th point that forced the Ichabods into a timeout.

Washburn was able to cut into the deficit several times to just 11 points, but each time Augustana answered back. With the score sitting at 27-16, Fink hit back-to-back treys before Dykman slammed one through the rim to push AU to a 35-16 lead with 4:30 on the clock.

Augustana entered halftime holding a 43-21 lead. The Vikings shot 53.3 percent from the field in the opening half and made 7-of-14 3-point shot attempts to aid in the lead. Conversely, the Vikings' defense limited Washburn to just seven made field goals while shooting 24.1 percent from the field.

On the opening possession of the second half, Dykman scored a 3-point basket to push the lead to the largest of the game at 25 points.

Although Washburn would slightly cut into the deficit again, the lead always hovered between 17 and 20 points throughout the half. It wasn't until a pair of baskets late in the contest by WU that gave the final score of 72-58.

Augustana ended the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field on 25-of-56 shot attempts while hitting 39.1 percent from 3-point range. The Ichabods shot 34.4 percent from the field.

Several Vikings made their collegiate debuts in the game, a night after Akoi Akoi made his debut against Southern Arkansas. Against Washburn, Alex Distras, Veron Eze, Zac Johnson and Angelo Winkel all saw time on the floor in the Vikings' win.

 

BLACK HILLS STATE  vs.  Northern State   SATURDAY, NOV. 20 // 3 P.M. // ABERDEEN, S.D. // WACHS ARENA Live Stream / Live Stats / Radio / Game Notes / Tickets

BLACK HILLS STATE (2-0) VS. NORTHERN STATE (2-2)
Northern is 2-2 to start the season, falling to No. 1 Northwest Missouri State and to No. 11 Washburn. They've beaten Rockhurst and Southern Arkansas so far this season after going 19-2 last season, winning the NSIC tournament, and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Black Hills State has met Northern State 61 times in its history, four times over the last five years, but only seven times over the last 40 years. A rivalry which started in 1948, both teams played each other as many as three times per season from 1948-1980.

Following that stretch, the two teams met up only once in each 1983, 1992 and 2005. Since then, however, the now non-conference meeting has become somewhat of an annual occurrence at the East-West Challenge, playing in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and now 2021. BHSU last defeated Northern State in 1978 and is 17-44 against them all-time.

WOLVES' LAST TIME OUT
The Northern State men's basketball program got off to a blistering start, then held off a persistent rally from Southern Arkansas to claim a 78-69 victory Saturday night at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City, Mo.

The win is Northern's second victory of the season and evens its record at 2-2 after three games against top 25 or receiving votes squads. Southern Arkansas was among those receiving votes in the latest national poll.

QUICK HITS
Final score: Northern State 78, Southern Arkansas 69
Records: Northern State 2-2
Attendance: 105

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a more than 2-hour delay from the game's original start time, Northern raced out to an early 18-point advantage, leading 37-19 with under 5 minutes to play in the opening half.

Southern Arkansas cut Northern's lead to just eight at the break and never went away in the second half.

Jordan Belka notched a career-high 30 points in the Wolves' winning effort.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jordan Belka: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 12-of-17 shooting (70.6 percent)
Jackson Moni: 15 points, 7 rebounds
Kailleb Walton-Blanden: 10 points, 4 assists
Sam Masten: 5 points, 5 rebounds

COACHES
Head coach Ryan Thompson enters his fourth season leading the Yellow Jackets, boasting a 49-27 record over his first three seasons at the helm. He has taken the BHSU men's program to the RMAC tournament each of the last three years and was named RMAC Coach of the Year following the 2019-20 season.

Augustana is headed by long-time head coach, Tom Billeter. Billeter is entering his 18th season with the Vikings, having led the team to over 300 wins and a 2016 NCAA DII National Championship in his time.

Saul Phillips enters his third season with the Wolves, joining a prestigious list of successful head coaches at NSU, and just the sixth head coach since 1946.

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, making the RMAC Tournament each of the last three seasons while combining for an overall record of 49-27 over that time. This year they look to continue taking steps forward under fourth-year head coach Ryan Thompson.

A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since the 2017-18 season when they opened 3-0 in their first three games, and 3-1 in their first four, finishing 15-12.

A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Give the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 start to the season, matching last's season's start in which they finished the year at 11-7 overall and 10-6 in conference play.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Joel Scott opened the 2021-22 campaign with double-doubles in each of the first two games of the season. He's the first Yellow Jacket to open the year with two straight double-doubles in the Division II era, and the first to have a double-double in the first game of the season since Fraser Malcolm in 2017-18 season.

PRESEASON POLL
Black Hills State men's basketball tallied one first-place vote on their way to being picked third in the 2021-22 RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released Wednesday morning.

The poll is voted on by all 15 head men's basketball coaches in the RMAC.

2020-21 Honors and Awards
Last season, Joel Scott was named NABC First Team All-District and First Team All-RMAC. Sindou Cisse earned Second Team All-RMAC while Adam Moussa and Trey Whitley each earned All-RMAC Honorable Mention.

Tommy Donovan was named as the 2021 MBB RMAC Summit Award winner for having the highest GPA among student-athletes at the RMAC Tournament.