Black Hills State men's basketball will hit the road to take on Western Colorado on Monday and CSU Pueblo Tuesday in a stretch that sees them playing four road games in a six-day span.
The Yellow Jackets will take on WCU Monday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. in Gunnison, Colo. before heading to Pueblo, Colo. to face the Thunderwolves Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m.
Black Hills State men's basketball is 7-5, both overall and in the RMAC, through 12 games this season as they look to earn a berth in the 2021 RMAC Championships, as well as home court in round one. Having won their last four games in a row, the Yellow Jackets sit in fourth place in the RMAC standings. The top eight teams in the conference gain a spot in the tournament, while the top four host first round games.
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BHSU (7-5, 7-5 RMAC) at WCU (6-9, 6-8)
After losing its first four to start the season, WCU has since gone 6-5, after winning two of its last three. Western ranks third in the RMAC in scoring offense, averaging 78.4 points per game, and will take plenty of shots from beyond the arc.
The Mountaineers are sinking 39.0 percent of their 3-point attempts, which is good for second in the conference. They are also second in the RMAC in 3-point attempts with 390 in 15 games, averaging 26 attempts per game.
MOUNTAINEERS' LAST TIME OUT
The Western Colorado men's basketball team celebrated Senior Night on Saturday, but fell to Adams State 94-82 at Paul Wright Gym.
The Mountaineers recognized seniors Jackson Ehrlin, Joran Ticeson and Jake Wilcox prior to the game.
As for the game, the Mountaineers (6-9 overall, 6-8 RMAC) bounced back from an early 19-4 deficit against the Grizzlies (8-7, 8-7) to tie the game on a Jonathan McCloud 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to make it 43-43.
Western five straight points from Cole Sienknecht early in the second half to take a 50-45 lead on the Grizzlies before Adams State went on a 17-2 run - capped by a Rylan O'Brien 3-pointer with 12:57 remaining - to make it 62-52 ASU.
The Mountaineers stayed within single digits for much of the rest of the game, but only got within a possession of Adams State once the rest of the way.
Sienknecht paced Western with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds while Matthew Ragsdale had 17 points, Avery Rembao had 14 points and Jonathan McCloud had 10.
Frederick Jackson led the Grizzlies with 30 points and nine rebounds while Kaelin Crane had 21 points and Destan Williams had 20 points and six assists.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. WCU (Jan. 22, 2021)
Black Hills State men's basketball defeated Western Colorado in a resounding 79-53 victory at the Donald E. Young Center Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 3-2 RMAC) defense held the Mountaineers to only 29.0 percent shooting from the field while once again showcasing their depth offensively with 27 points off the bench.
BHSU had three in double-figure scoring while shooting 46.8 percent from the field as a team.
Joel Scott led the scoring attack with 18 points and nine rebounds, one rebound shy of his fifth career double-double.
Ethan Forrester brought down seven boards while scoring eight points and going a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. In addition, the redshirt freshman dished out three assists.
Adam Moussa and
Snjolfur Stefansson each drained a team-best three 3-pointers, scoring 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Moussa also led the defense with a trio of steals.
Tommy Donovan helped out on defense, leading the team with three blocked shots while scoring six.
Both teams got off to slow starts and the Yellow Jackets saw themselves down 4-2 going into the first media break. But a Donovan layup at 12:57 drew the score even at 4-4 and BHSU would not trail again the rest of the game.
The teams traded baskets until threes from
Trey Whitley and Moussa kicked off an 8-0 scoring run to give the team a 22-14 lead. Eight more unanswered points over the final two minutes of the period sent the Yellow Jackets to the locker room leading 34-20.
The Yellow Jackets played add-on out of the break, using an 11-2 scoring run highlighted by a trio of threes to push their lead over 20 points and going ahead 45-24 with 15:21 left in the game.
BHSU would extend its lead by as much as 29 points in the final minutes of play, making 53.1 percent of their shots and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc in the second half as they rolled onto the 79-53 win.
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BHSU (7-5, 7-5 RMAC) vs. CSU PUEBLO (3-11, 3-11)
The Thunderwolves are 3-11 this season and have dropped their last five in a row. Despite the record, CSU Pueblo is averaging 77.7 points per game, ranking fourth in the RMAC.
The team ranks fourth in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting at a 76.5 clip.
THUNDERWOLVES' LAST TIME OUT
Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball lost a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road game Saturday, 89-77, to Fort Lewis College.
There were six lead changes and on eight occasions, the contest was tied, but an offensive drought by the ThunderWolves (3-11, 3-11 RMAC) during the end of the first half and start of the second half was costly in the loss.
Despite the slump, the Pack still shot 50 percent from the field, but the Skyhawks (6-7, 5-7 RMAC) finished the game shooting 62.5 from the field. CSU Pueblo lost the rebounding battle 35-22.
Junior guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) led the team with 27 points. He shot 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the field.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSUP (Jan. 26, 2021)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team were stunned by the CSU Pueblo Thunderwolves Friday night, falling 68-67.
It was a tough first half for the Yellow Jackets. They managed to connect only 12 baskets and hit just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. They trailed 26-38 at half. The Green and Gold mounted a valiant second half come back and pulled ahead with 6.2 seconds left on a huge three pointer by
Joel Scott.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets could not stop a quick Pueblo Layup and, with 1.1 second left, could connect with the basket falling 67-68.
Overall, the team shot 46 percent from the field hitting 29 of 63 baskets including 7 of 19 from downtown. They didn't have much opportunity at the free throw line only shooting three free throws on the night.  Â
Joel Scott lead the team with 17 points and 6 rebounds. He shot 50 percent on the night.
Trey Whitley and
Antonio Capley each recorded 12 points while
Tyler Oliver posted 10.
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets,
Ryan Thompson boasts a 45-25 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).
Mountaineers head coach Bradd Schafer is currently in his seventh season leading WCU. He began there in 2014 after spending the previous eight seasons at Black Hills State.
Matt Hammer is in his second season leading the Thunderwolves after leading the team to an 11-17 finish last year.
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 WESTERN COLORADO
The Yellow Jackets are 8-3 all-time against Western Colorado, having now won eight of their last nine meetings. WCU won the first two matchups between the programs, both coming in the 2012-13 season, before BHSU won the next six in a row.
The Mountaineers last defeated the Yellow Jackets Jan. 27, 2018 by a score of 90-76. The first meeting between the two teams on Nov. 30, 2012 is the only time BHSU has fallen to WCU at home, a game that went into double overtime, finishing 93-89 in favor of Western.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
As a program, Black Hills State is 8-7 all-time against the Thunderwolves, dating back to an 88-74 loss, Jan. 26, 2013. The two teams haven't played in over a year, dating back to Feb. 7, 2020 when CSU Pueblo snapped BHSU's 13-game winning streak with a 68-67 win. Before that, the Yellow Jackets had won their last five meetings with CSU Pueblo.
A MONDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 8-5 on the season with three 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, and potentially hosting a first-round game.
A MONDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 7-6 on the season. Going into Monday'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 three games left to play.
SHARP SHOOTING
The Yellow Jackets currently lead the RMAC and rank twelfth nationally at the Division II level in shooting with a field goal percentage of 51.0% (352-690) over their twelve games this season. The team is also tied for fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 77.7 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.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
