Black Hills State men's basketball will host Chadron State on Tuesday and South Dakota Mines Thursday in a pair of weeknight matchups.

The Yellow Jackets will host their Senior Day game Tuesday, Feb. 16 against the Eagles. BHSU will honor its two seniors with a short ceremony before tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Then, the men will take the court again on Thursday, Feb. 18 as they play the Hardrockers in the team's final home game of the 2020-21 regular season.

Black Hills State men's basketball is 6-5, both overall and in the RMAC, through 11 games this season. 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 were decided by five points or fewer.

 

BLACK HILLS STATE  vs.  CHADRON STATE   TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 2021 // 7:30 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes (PDF)

BHSU (6-5, 6-5 RMAC) vs. CSC (4-4, 4-4)
Chadron State has had its last five games postponed and hasn't played since Jan. 26 when they defeated BHSU in Chadron, Neb., 71-58. The Eagles are 4-4 on the season with the rest of their wins coming against Western Colorado, Westminster, and Regis.

The Eagles gave No. 22 Colorado Mesa a run for its money, taking the Mavericks to doubleovertime in their Dec. 12, 77-68 loss. CSC is averaging only 68.3 points per game, but has been able to hold its opponents to an average of 66.4 points, making points difficult to come by.

EAGLES' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball fell 71-58 to Chadron State Tuesday night at the Chicoine Center.

Despite shooting over 56 percent from the field, the Yellow Jackets (3-4, 3-4 RMAC) couldn't find their groove as they turned the ball over 27 times, resulting in 24 points off turnovers for the Eagles.

Sindou Cisse scored a team-leading 23 points, making 9-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Adam Moussa led the team with five assists and 34 total minutes.

Moussa joined Joel Scott and Trey Whitley, as they each tallied a pair of steals. Whitley scored 17 points and Scott had nine.

Four early points from Cisse got the game out to a 6-6 tie before Chadron State would outscore the Yellow Jackets 16-4 and go ahead 22-10 midway through the first half.

The Eagles lead got to 28-12 before BHSU rattled off a 12-2 scoring run going into halftime with five points from each Cisse and Whitley to enter the break trailing 32-24.

The two teams traded points out of the locker room until a 10-1 advantage extended the Chadron State lead to 44-29 with 15:17 left to go.

After going down 65-44 with just over six minutes to play, BHSU would inch their way back but couldn't overcome the deficit, falling 71-58.

 

BLACK HILLS STATE  vs.  SOUTH DAKOTA MINES   THURSDAY, FEB. 18, 2021 // 7:30 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes (PDF)

BHSU (6-5, 6-5 RMAC) vs. SDM (8-8, 8-8)
The Hardrockers are 8-8 this season despite averaging the fewest points scored per game in the RMAC (66.2). They are very efficient cleaning the glass averaging 27.2 devensive rebounds per game, good for second in the RMAC.

HARDROCKERS' LAST TIME OUT
The South Dakota Mines Hardrockers defeated the Colorado Christian University Cougars 68-52 Saturday afternoon in Goodell Gymnasium.

Kolten Mortensen came out of the gate hot scoring the first nine points for the Hardrockers on three consecutive three-pointers. The Hardrockers used everyone in the half as 7 of 8 'Rockers scored. The 'Rockers never looked back after that in the first half leading 30-22 heading into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, the Cougars tried to make a game of it closing the gap late in the half. But, the 'Rockers went on a 10-0 run in the remaining minutes to pull ahead for a 68-52 victory. Wilfred Dickson scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Hardrockers. Josiah Gardiner tallied a double- double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mortensen and Alejandro Rama each had 11 in the win.

Andy Stafford paced the Cougars with 22 points to lead all scorers.

The win evens the Hardrocker's record at 8-8 overall and in the RMAC. The Cougars drop to 1-11 overall.

LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. SDM (Jan. 26, 2021)
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.

COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Ryan Thompson boasts a 44-25 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.

Eric Glenn is in his third season with the Hardrockers, being promoted after serving as assistant coach for the previous 13 years.

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 CHADRON STATE
As a program, Black Hills State is 14-4 against Chadron State, losing its last matchup 71-58 on Jan. 26. Before that, BHSU had 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 82-81victory on Jan. 9, 2014.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
As a program, Black Hills State is 33-27 all-time against the Hardrockers, dating back to a 66-59 loss Dec. 30, 1994. SD Mines has won the last two meetings with the last matchup coming Jan. 23 this season. Before that, the Yellow Jackets had won the last six meetings in a row.

A TUESDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 7-5 on the season with five games left to play before the RMAC Tournament, March 2-6. BHSU currently sits in fourth place in the RMAC and has met the minimum 11 games played threshold to be eligible for the RMAC Tournament. Another win would bring BHSU closer to earn a spot in the tournament.

A TUESDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 6-6 on the season. Going into Tuesday's game, the men sit in fourth place where they would safely earn a top-8 seed berth in the RMAC Tournament, but a loss would drop the team down into the danger zone of falling out of the top eight with five games left to play.

SHARP SHOOTING
The Yellow Jackets currently rank second in RMAC and rank fifteenth nationally at the Division II level in shooting with a field goal percentage of 50.5% (257-509) over their nine games this season. The team is also fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 75.9 points per game.

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.