No. 3 Black Hills State men's basketball returns from winter break to travel to Adams State and No. 15/18 Fort Lewis.
The Yellow Jackets tip-off with the Grizzlies on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m., and then go head-to-head with a ranked opponent for the fourth time this season in the Skyhawks on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 5:30 p.m.
BHSU moved up to third in the nation in both the NABC National Coaches Poll and the D2SIDA Media Poll, collecting two first-place votes on the NABC rankings. The team remains first in the South Central Regional Poll with an 11-0 start to the year, which is the best start to a season in program history, besting the 1927-28 team who went 8-0 to open the season.
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FRIDAY at ADAMS STATE
The Grizzlies were losers of three straight heading into the holiday break, most recently falling to Colorado Mesa, 74-65 on Dec. 17. The team sits 14th in the RMAC standings, and 13th in scoring margin (-5.1). ASU ranks near the bottom in most statistical categories, but can shoot the long ball, ranking fourth with a .385 3-point percentage. They also have the ability to give themselves second chances, averaging 10.5 offensive boards per game, which ranks third in the RMAC.
Historically, BHSU is 4-5 all-time against ASU since 2013, but have won each of the last four matchups dating back to 2018. The Yellow Jackets last faced the Grizzlies on Feb. 4, 2022, in a game in which BHSU won 80-61.
GRIZZLIES' LAST TIME OUT
Colorado Mesa men's basketball rolled into the holiday break with its third straight RMAC win, defeating Adams State 74-65.
With the loss, Adams State falls to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC.
The Mavericks were firing on all cylinders from the start, racing out to what would be an 18-point halftime lead. After a bloody lip temporarily forced Reece Johnson to the bench only a minute into the game, true freshman Elijah Knudsen got a chance with the rest of the Mavs' starting five and made the most of it, splashing two three-pointers to give CMU an 8-3 lead heading into the first media timeout.
An 8-0 Mavericks run consisting of a Knudsen three, a McCurry three and a Threatt jumper pushed the Mavs' lead to a game-high 21-point margin at 39-18 with 2:48 left in the first half. But Adams State was resilient, and the Grizzlies clawed their way back into the game in the second half.
Adams State hit three-pointers on each of their first three possessions of the second half. The Grizzlies shot 63 percent (7-11) from beyond the arc after halftime and 50 percent (9-18) for the game. Adams State's Lamont Sanders led all scorers with 20 points, making 3-of-7 triples and 7-of-11 free-throw attempts.
The Grizzlies trimmed CMU's lead to just four at 59-55 with 5:18 left in the game. Once again, Mac Riniker's defense ignited the Mavericks, as the redshirt sophomore came away with steals on back-to-back possessions with three minutes left, running up the court for a breakaway dunk after the first one.
After a timeout, Trevor Baskin followed with a pair of thunderous dunks, including one that posterized a Grizzlies defender, to push the lead to 70-59 and enable the Mavericks to close things out with free throws.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. ASU (Feb. 4, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball defeated Adams State, 80-61 behind several big plays Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets (15-4, 13-1 RMAC) shot over 56 percent from the field and out-rebounded ASU 39-27.
Joel Scott tallied his 15th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds along with three assists and two blocks. Scott also grabbed his 500th career rebound in the game.
Sava Dukic finished with 18 points, going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, to go with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Adam Moussa had a tea-high three assists to go with his two steals and 11 points.
Sindou Cisse was also in double-digit scoring with 12 points and three rebounds, two assists and a block.
Both teams got off to slow starts as the game sat tied 4-4 nearly five minutes into the game. But over the next few minutes of play, a Cisse dunk followed by a Dukic trey and Scott layup gave the Yellow Jackets a 15-9 advantage midway through the first.
Down the stretch, an 8-0 BHSU run highlighted by threes from Scott and Hayes put them ahead by as many as 14 (34-20) with 2:34 left in the opening half. A turnaround jumper from Moussa ahead of the break gave the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of the half, 38-23 heading into the locker room.
Out of the break, a quick five points brought the Yellow Jacket lead to 20 after a Dukic triple made it 43-23. Adams State would pull to within nine midway through the second, but that was as close as they would come.
BHSU continued to build on their lead from there, using big threes from Dukic and Moussa, and a resounding Dukic to Cisarik alley-opp dunk as the team sailed to their 80-61 victory.
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SATURDAY at NO. 15/18 FORT LEWIS
FLC is an offensive juggernaut, holding the ninth-best scoring offense in the nation with, averaging 89.4 points per game, while also leading the RMAC in made free throws and turnover margin. They also have the nation's leading scorer in Akuel Kot, averaging 27 points per game.
The Yellow Jackets have a similar history against FLC, sitting at 5-5 against them all-time dating back to 2013, but have won all five of their last matchups going back to 2018. Their last meeting was on Dec. 4, 2021, in which BHSU held on in a close game to win 83-81.
SKYHAWKS' LAST TIME OUT
A slow start for the Skyhawks handed Westminster College the early lead and unable to mount a comeback, the Griffins handed the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team its first loss of the season by a score of 93-79 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game Saturday night.Â
Fort Lewis takes its first loss of the season and falls to 10-1 overall and 4-1 in RMAC contests. Westminster nabs its third win of the year and advances to 3-9 overall and 2-3 in RMAC play.
The Skyhawks got off to a slow start offensively shooting just 36 percent from the floor and 23 percent from the three-point line. The Griffins got hot quickly, jumping out to an early 12-point lead midway through the first half on a three-point jump shot from Jeremy Dowdell 23-11.
Westminster continued to attack the basket, leading by as many as 16 points shooting 53 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc to secure a ten-point halftime lead of 41-31.
Fort Lewis found life early in the second half as shots began to fall for the Skyhawks. Continuing to be out-shot by the Griffins, JaQuaylon Mays finally had Fort Lewis within one, 61-60, after a three-point jump shot from the top of the arc.
It was downhill from there as Westminster buried a pair of three-point shots alongside a layup from Taylor Miller to extend the lead back out to twelve and pin the Skyhawks down 83-71 with just over two minutes remaining. Fort Lewis finally fell, unable to cut the lead down any closer than nine points.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. FLC (Dec. 4, 2021)
Black Hills State men's basketball took down Fort Lewis Saturday night with a big 83-81 victory to cap an exciting start to RMAC play
The Yellow Jackets (4-3, 2-0 RMAC) improve to 2-0 in conference play and currently sit atop the standings along with Regis.
As a team, the men were 27-of-60 (45 percent) from the field and 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) from three, while also holding Riley Farris, who entered the weekend as the RMAC's top scorer, to only eight points.
Joel Scott led the scoring with 26 points along six rebounds and an assist.
Tommy Donovan scored a career-best 19 points on the night with three rebounds and an assist.
Adam Moussa led the team with nine rebounds and also scored nine on a trio of 3-pointers.
Sindou Cisse and
Sava Dukic each finished will 11 points.
Saturday's game was close the whole way, with eight ties and 11 lead changes throughout. Early on, threes from Scott, Donovan and Moussa put BHSU ahead 11-8, seven minutes into the game.
Midway through the first, another Donovan trey put the Yellow Jackets up 19-15 as back-and-forth play continued. Later, a Scott three in the closing minutes of the half would put the team up 35-26, and they eventually took a 40-35 lead into the locker room.
Minutes out of the half, the Yellow Jackets would take their largest lead of the game when a Dukic layup extended the lead to 50-38. FLC didn't back down, however, inching back and eventually using a 7-0 run to take a 57-55 lead with under 10 to play.
Both teams traded buckets and leads down the stretch, but in the final minutes, threes from Dukic and Donovan, along with a Scott jumper led to a slight advantage for BHSU entering the final minute of play, up 81-78.
The Skyhawks would even the score at 81-81 as the final minute ticked down, but
PJ Hayes scored on the very next possession, sinking the game-winning layup with 26 seconds remaining before a Moussa steal sealed the 83-81 win.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
No. 4/5 Black Hills State men's basketball defeated New Mexico Highlands 83-70 Friday night at the Donald E. Young Center.
The Yellow Jackets (11-0, 5-0 RMAC) continue their impressive streak to open the season after outrebounding the Cowboys 43-29 and knocking down 11 threes.
Joel Scott put up a double-double performance with 22 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a blocked shot.
Sindou Cisse tallied 19 points, making 7-of-12 from the field while grabbing seven boards.
Adam Moussa was all over the court, totaling seven rebounds, six assists and nine points.
PJ Hayes drained four threes to finish with 16 points, and
Matthew Ragsdale totaled 12 points.
Back-to-back threes from Hayes and Cisse to open the scoring helped BHSU out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Cowboys were able to pull back and eventually take a 9-8 lead five minutes into the game.
The Yellow Jackets wouldn't be down for long, though, as Cisse put up another three and a layup to help put the team ahead 15-11 before five points from Hayes extended the lead to 23-18 as the clock ticked under eight in the first.
Teams would go back-and-forth for a stretch before layups from Scott and Cisse gave BHSU its first double-digit lead, 31-20 with 4:55 to go. A jumper and triple from Scott extended that lead to 36-22 a minute later and the Yellow Jackets would eventually take a 42-26 lead into the locker room.
Out of the break, NMHU began to chip away at the 16-point deficit and made it a 48-35 game shortly into the second half. The two teams traded blows from there, but the Cowboys continued to inch closer.
Five minutes into the half, NMHU drew within single digits of the Yellow Jackets, and made it 58-51 after an 8-0 spurt midway through the second. However, each time the Cowboys seemed to get within striking distance, BHSU had an answer to stall their momentum.
A big 3-point play from Cisse and a trey from Hayes helped push BHSU back to a double-digit lead, 66-51 with 7:36 remaining. NMHU inched back again, 67-58 with under six to play, but back-to-back Moussa threes and a pair of free throws once again added separation after the under-4 media break.
NMHU's Dante Moses continued to keep the Cowboys in the game with his 33-point night, but a resounding slam from Scott and a Ragsdale three in the closing minutes proved to be the final dagger as BHSU went on to win 83-70.
YELLOW JACKETS RANKED
The Yellow Jackets moved up in the latest polls, now ranked third in both the D2SIDA National Poll and the NABC National Poll, while also collecting two first-place votes. BHSU also remains first in the South Central Regional Poll, where they've sat all season, with all six first-place votes.
Statistically, BHSU ranks second in NCAA DII in defensive rebounds per game (32.6), sixth in made 3-pointers per game (11.1) and eighth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (38.0).
The Yellow Jackets also sit ninth in fewest turnovers per game (10.3), 11th in 3-point percentage (41.2), and 17th in field goal percentage (50.1) and scoring margin (16.5).
As a team, BHSU leads the RMAC in seven key statistical categories, including field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, defensive rebounds per game, scoring defense, scoring margin, three-point percentage, and made threes per game, and is top-five in 16 categories.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Keep BHSU atop the RMAC standings and in the national rankings with a record of 12-0 overall and 6-0 RMAC, while continuing their historic start to the season.
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Put the Yellow Jackets at 11-1 overall to open the season, still the best start since 2008-09 when the team started 12-1. BHSU would remain first or second in the RMAC standings, dependent on the results of Fort Lewis' and Colorado Mines' weekend games.
COACHES
Head coach
Ryan Thompson is in his fifth season leading the Yellow Jackets, having taken the program to its first NCAA tournament in the 2021-22 season, and the RMAC tournament each of the last four years.
Russ Caton is in his seventh year as head coach of the Grizzlies, while Bob Pietrack is in his eight leading the Skyhawks and is the program's winningest coach with a .661 winning percentage over his first seven years.
KEY RETURNERS
BHSU returns all of its starters from the 2021-22 season, and nearly all of its key contributors, including
Ryker Cisarik,
Sindou Cisse,
Sava Dukic,
Adam Moussa,
Tommy Donovan,
John Shanklin,
PJ Hayes, and RMAC Player of the Year,
Joel Scott.
DYNAMIC DUO
The Yellow Jackets added transfer
Matthew Ragsdale ahead of the 2022-23 season, who had previously spent all three seasons of his career at Western Colorado where he totaled 1,309 points over 73 games and 2,185 minutes played. In the 2021-22 season, Ragsdale finished second in the RMAC in scoring with 601 total points and 21.5 per game, behind only
Joel Scott.
Ragsdale rejoins former high school teammate, Scott, after they played together at Lewis-Palmer High School in Colorado where in their senior season they went an undefeated 28-0 to win the Colorado 4A State Championship.
This year, they are both in their senior year of eligibility and have the chance to combine for the most total points in a season by a pair of NCAA teammates who also played on the same high school team. Currently, the highest combined total is 1,047 points, accumulated by Dick (535 points) and Tom Van Arsdale (512) in the 1963-64 season at Indiana. The twins played high school basketball together at Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, Ind.
Current 2022-23 Ragsdale/Scott Point Total:
384
-BHSUAthletics.com-
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