No. 3 BLACK HILLS STATE  VS.  No. 2 COLORADO MINES   FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021 // 7:30 P.M. // GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. // BROWNSON ARENA Live Stream / Radio / Live Stats

Black Hills State men's basketball takes on Colorado Mines in the semifinal round of the RMAC Tournament on Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Yellow Jackets defeated Fort Lewis in their first-round win on Tuesday, defeating the Skyhawks, 75-67. The team now advances into the semifinal round against No. 2 seeded Colorado Mines, in which the winner will face the winner between No. 1 seeded Colorado Mesa and No. 5 seeded Adams State in the RMAC Championship, Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
BHSU finished the 2021 regular season with a 10-6 record, both overall and in the RMAC to earn the 3-seed in the tournament. This will be BHSU's fourth straight RMAC Tournament berth after finishing the 2021 not-so-regular season winning seven of their last eight games.
 
CSM was once the top team in the nation before losing its first game of the year to CMU. Since then, the Orediggers have won back-to-back games. The Yellow Jackets have gone 8-1 since starting the season 3-5, turning themselves into the best scoring offense in the RMAC, averaging 78.9 points per game.
 
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 COLORADO MINES
As a program, Black Hills State is 8-14 all-time against the Orediggers dating back to Dec. 10, 1960 when BHSU earned a 50-38 win. Since 2011, BHSU is 3-13 against CSM, but the two teams have gone 2-2 over their last four meetings.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Advance the Yellow Jackets to the 2021 RMAC Championship to play the winner between No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa and No. 5 seed Adams State. This would be the second time, and first since the 2018-19 season, that BHSU has made it to the championship game.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
End the season for the Yellow Jackets with an overall record of 11-6, eliminating them from the RMAC Tournament.
 
SHARP SHOOTING
The Yellow Jackets currently lead the RMAC and rank seventh nationally at the Division II level in shooting with a field goal percentage of 51.3 percent (475-925) over their 17 games this season. The team is also first in the conference in scoring, averaging 78.9 points per game.
 
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Ryan Thompson boasts a 49-26 record over his time at the helm. With the 2021 bid, he has now led BHSU to an RMAC Tournament berth each of his first three seasons.
 
Thompson was named RMAC Coach of the Year last season after a 20-9 record and a regular season championship (tied with Dixie State).
 
Pryor Orser is in his 20th season as head coach of the Orediggers, and has lead CSM to five RMAC regular-season championships, two RMAC Tournament titles and 10 NCAA tournament berths.
 
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball earned a first-round victory over the No. 6 seeded Fort Lewis, 75-67 Tuesday night at the Donald E. Young Center.

The Yellow Jackets will move on to the RMAC Tournament semifinal round, which will be held in Grand Junction, Colo., to face Colorado Mines.

Joel Scott put up 30 points and 11 rebounds on the night to earn his second double-double of the season, and sixth of his career.

Kevin Senghore-Peterson tallied 16 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Sindou Cisse grabbed eight boards while both he and Tommy Donovan scored nine.

Trey Whitley recorded three steals and two blocks on defense to go along with five points.

BHSU held an early lead to open the game, using a Senghore-Peterson three to go ahead 5-2, and later a Donovan layup to stretch to a 10-6 lead. Seven straight points from Fort Lewis would follow to put the Skyhawks on top 13-10, a lead they would hold the rest of the half.

FLC would go up by as many as seven points on a pull-up jumper a few minutes later, but the Yellow Jackets kept the game within striking distance trading buckets the rest of the half. In the closing minutes of the first, a Cisse free throw drew BHSU within three before a Skyhawks three sent Fort Lewis into the locker room with a 36-30 lead.

Out of the half, FLC extended its lead to 41-32, but the Yellow Jackets would storm back using six unanswered to make it a one-possession game. After more back-and-forth play, a Cisse layup drew BHSU within one before Scott tied the game at 53-all with a layup midway through the second half.

The Skyhawks would take one final lead at 60-58 before a 3-pointer from Scott at 5:34 put the Yellow Jackets ahead for good. That shot opened a 10-0 scoring run, bringing the game to 68-60 within its final two minutes of play where BHSU drained seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
OREDIGGERS' LAST TIME OUT
A red-hot second half and a balanced offense overall helped No. 7 Colorado School of Mines close the regular season with a 74-60 win at CSU Pueblo.

The Orediggers (15-1, 14-1 RMAC) will be the RMAC Tournament's No. 2 seed and will host a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded South Dakota Mines.

Four Mines players scored in double figures led by Brendan Sullivan's 19, while Michael Glen poured in 16 and Austin Means and Kobi Betts had 13 each.

David Simental's 21 points led all scorers for CSU Pueblo, with Lian Ramiro scoring 17. The Pack end their season at 3-15.

Mines shot .667 in the second half after toughing out a first period where their looks simply wouldn't fall. CSU Pueblo led by as much as six in the first half, but Mines clamped down at the end to hold the Thunderwolves without a field goal over the final 5:04, ending the first on a 9-1 run to take a 28-26 lead.

The Thunderwolves kept it close early in the second half until Sullivan's four-point play at the 16:13 mark broke the game open. That sparked an 8-2 run to give Mines a seven-point lead, and another 9-0 stretch moments later cemented the advantage for good. Mines never led by less than 11 after that, hitting their largest lead of the game at 16 after Betts drilled a three-pointer with 4:28 to go.
 
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSM (Jan. 4, 2020)
Black Hills State men's basketball took No. 4 Colorado Mines into overtime but fell 85-83 Monday night at the Donald E. Young Center.

The Yellow Jackets (2-2, 2-2 RMAC) used another strong showing in the second half, outscoring CSM 43-28 in the period, to force overtime but their 53.6 percent (15-28) shooting at the charity stripe loomed large down the stretch.

Joel Scott led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds along with his three assists and a steal.

Adam Moussa dished a team leading four assists to go along with his 13 points, including a team-high three 3-pointers.

Kevin Senghore-Peterson and Sindou Cisse each scored 14 points and Tommy Donovan scored 10.

Defensively, Cisse tallied five steals while Trey Whitley grabbed three.

Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes before Colorado Mines went on a 12-4 scoring run to go ahead 23-14 midway through the first half. The Yellow Jackets would keep the game in reach the rest of the half, going into halftime trailing 46-31.

A 7-0 run out of the locker room included a pair of steals and a fast break three by Whitley to bring the score to 46-30 with 16:46 to play.

The Yellow Jackets continued to chip away, scoring another seven unanswered midway through the second to pull within two (61-59) on a takeaway fast break layup by Whitley.

With under two to play, Moussa drained a three to pull within one, and then drained another to pull even at 74-all to end regulation.

Colorado Mines jumped ahead to begin overtime, but BHSU continued to fight, locking even at 80-80 on a Senghore-Peterson free throw, and then 83-83 on another clutch Moussa trey with 10 seconds left.

However, the Orediggers sank a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal the game at 85-83.

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
The Yellow Jackets had four named RMAC All-Conference on March 4, 2021, which included Joel Scott named First Team, Sindou Cisse named Second Team, and both Adam Moussa and Trey Whitley named Honorable Mention.

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-