No. 5/8 Black Hills State men's basketball is back on the road, taking on New Mexico Highlands on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m., and CSU Pueblo on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
After the team's first loss of the season on Friday to Colorado Mesa, BHSU sits fifth in the nation in the D2SIDA Media Poll and eighth in the NABC Coaches Poll. The team remains first in the South Central Regional Poll with the team's 14-1 start to the year, which is the best start to a season in program history, besting the 2008-09 team who started 12-1.
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FRIDAY at NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys are coming off a split last week, falling to CSU Pueblo, 68-66 on Tuesday before defeating Western Colorado, 76-64 on Friday. In the RMAC, NMHU has been middle-of-the-pack statistically, and in the standings, currently sitting ninth with a 5-7 conference record.
NMHU has the lowest 3-point percentage in the RMAC with a .297 while BHSU leads the conference with a .395 percentage from deep. Highlands does sit fourth in the RMAC in free throw shooting and turnover margin, but lack in rebounding as they place last in the RMAC with 30.9 boards per game.
Historically, BHSU is 8-7 all-time against NMHU since 2013, but are winners of five of their last six meetings, and seven of their last nine, including a win earlier this season, 83-70 on Dec. 16.
COWBOYS' LAST TIME OUT
Defense to offense continued to be the mentality for the NMHU Cowboys.
TJ Sanchez was everywhere on the defensive end Friday night. Whether helping with full court trap or living in the passing lanes, he gave the Mountaineers a fit all night.
The Cowboys got off to a slow start, partly due to Dante Moses starting the game on the bench to manage minutes. Once Moses entered the game the score was 25-9 with 8:25 left in the first half.
Upon Moses's arrival, the Cowboys gained the lead 32-31 with 2:07 left in the first half. Moses continued enforcing his will on the Mountaineers all night long. He finished with 33 points on 12-17 shooting.
Recently due to Moses dominance in the paint, teams have been backing off of Moses in order to lure him into shooting deep shots. He sunk two of his four threes which was the confirmation that there was nothing to be done to stop him.
Even with Moses going on a scoring frenzy, the game remained close. The difference maker was Ezichi Kalu and TJ Sanchez making a large number of effort plays on defense.
Kalu, with four blocks, showed a defensive presence in the paint Highland fans had yet to see and are excited to see moving forward.
Sanchez reeled in 3 steals which contributed to big time buckets for Highlands. This was the best Highlands has looked in weeks and serves for promising outcomes moving forward.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. NMHU (Dec. 16, 2022)
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.
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SATURDAY at CSU PUEBLO
CSUP is coming off back-to-back wins last week, beating NMHU 68-66 on Tuesday and WCU on Saturday, 59-50. Sitting seventh in the RMAC, they rank middle of the pack in scoring, but are fourth in the league in defense, allowing only 67.4 points per game. The ThunderWolves can rebound the ball well, sitting fourth in the RMAC in rebounding margin (+4.5) and sixth in combined rebounds per game (35.9).
BHSU is 9-8 all-time against CSUP dating back to 2013. The two teams have split their last four games, but BHSU has won six of their last eight.
THUNDERWOLVES' LAST TIME OUT
Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball held off a late game rally by Western Colorado here Saturday evening to grind out a 59-50 victory over the Mountaineers in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Massari Arena.
The ThunderWolves were held without a made field goal over the final 11 minutes and 49 seconds of the game and held off a Western Colorado rally by making 13 of 19 free throws over the final 11-plus minutes of the game. Western outscored the Pack, 22-13 during the final stretch of the game.
The Pack, who led 36-21 at the half, opened the second half on 10-7 run to push out to a 46-28 lead following a lay-up by Lamberth with 11:49 left in the game. That lay-up Lamberth was the final field goal of the game for the ThunderWolves.
Lamberth's lay-up helped ignite a spark into the Mountaineers as Western used a 20-6 run to pull within 52-48 following a trey from Avery Rembao with 1:56 left in the game.
Following Rembao's trey, the Pack would make seven of its next eight free throws to push out to a 59-48 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Western would cap the scoring on a lay-up by Andrew Reichart with 22 seconds remaining.
For the game, CSU Pueblo shot 32 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line, while Western shot 32 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CSUP (Feb. 5, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball dropped its Saturday night game to CSU Pueblo, 82-59.
The Yellow Jackets (15-5, 13-2 RMAC) shot at a 40 percent clip and surrendered 13 turnovers.
Sindou Cisse,
Joel Scott and
Adam Moussa all scored in the double digits, scoring 17, 16 and 13, respectively.
Scott led the team with seven rebounds while Cisse led with two blocks and a steal.
Sava Dukic led the way with four assists to go along with his two points.
Despite early buckets from Cisse and Moussa, CSU Pueblo got out to a 15-6 lead as the first half entered its midway point. The Thunderwolves would hold their lead, but a
Tommy Donovan layup and free throws from Scott and
PJ Hayes kept the Yellow Jackets within striking distance.
BHSU continued to keep up with CSU Pueblo's hot first half, and back-to-back dunks by Cisse and Scott, followed by a Cisse layup sent the Yellow Jackets into the locker room trailing 38-25.
Scott and
Ryder Kirsch each hit big threes in the opening minutes of the second half, but Pueblo seemed to always have an answer to hold their lead.
The Thunderwolves wouldn't let up down the stretch, and BHSU would fall 82-59.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball got back into the win column Saturday night with a 66-57 victory over Westminster.
The Yellow Jackets (14-1, 8-1 RMAC) used a 35-21 second half to overcome a slow start, while shooting at a 45.5 percent clip from deep in the final period.
Joel Scott led all scorers with 21 points to go along with 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. He also tallied three assists, two steals and a block.
Matthew Ragsdale finished with 14 points and a block, going 5-of-10 from the field.
Caelin Hearne had a career game, going 3-of-3 from deep and 4-of-4 from the field in an 11-point, three-rebound performance. He also put up a block and a steal.
Adam Moussa tied for the team lead with three assists on the night.
Seven quick points from Ragsdale helped BHSU out to an early 11-6 lead four minutes into the game. WC scored six straight from there to take a 12-11 lead before back-and-forth play commenced.
The next four minutes saw four lead changes and three ties as the Griffins held a 17-16 advantage midway through the first half. BHSU would trail 29-19 as the clock ticked under six minutes to play before layups from Ragsdale and Moussa and a Hearne triple helped draw them back to within five, 36-31, at the break.
Out of the locker room, a Hayes layup and back-to-back threes from Scott and Hearne brought BHSU back to within one, 40-39, with 17:48 to go.
Both offenses fell quiet over the next several minutes before a Moussa three at 10:29 made it 45-44, and then a Scott layup on their next possession gave the Yellow Jackets a 46-45 lead with under 10 to play.
Those possessions led to an 11-0 scoring run, capped by another Hearne 3-pointer to extend the BHSU lead to 51-45 with 7:50 remaining. A few possessions later, Hearne came up big again with a steal and score to make it 55-49.
Jaeton Hackley extended the Yellow Jacket lead into double figures with a three as the clock ticked under four to make it 60-49.
In the closing minutes, a 4-of-6 free throw performance and the help of a Dukic layup would ultimately seal the 66-57 victory.
YELLOW JACKETS RANKED
The Yellow Jackets are ranked fifth in the D2SIDA National Poll and eighth in the NABC National Poll. BHSU also remains first in the South Central Regional Poll, where they've sat all season.
Statistically, BHSU is second all of NCAA DII in defensive rebounds per game (32.4), while ranking third in the nation in 3-point percentage defense (28.3), and seventh in field goal percentage defense (38.6).
The Yellow Jackets also sit 15th in 3-pointers per game (10.5), 16th in fewest turnovers per game (11.0), 17th in scoring margin (13.6) and 20th in three-point percentage (39.5).
As a team, BHSU leads the RMAC in six key statistical categories, including field goal percentage defense, fewest fouls per game, defensive rebounds per game, three-point percentage, three-point percentage defense, and made threes per game, and is also top-five in 14 categories.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Keep BHSU tied atop the RMAC standings in the loss column at 9-1 in conference play and 15-1 overall and could potentially jump Colorado Mines and/or Fort Lewis depending on their respective weekend results.
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Put the Yellow Jackets at 8-2 in the RMAC, and 14-2 overall to potentially fall below Colorado Mines and/or Fort Lewis in the conference standings depending on their respective weekend results.
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.
Matt Dominguez is in his second year as head coach of the Cowboys, while Matt Hammer is currently in his third season leading the ThunderWolves.
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:
525
-BHSUAthletics.com-
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