No. 5/8 Black Hills State men's basketball returns home to face rival South Dakota Mines on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. before taking on Colorado Christian on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
Tuesday's game will be Break the Attendance Record Night, as we welcome everyone to attend the game and break our current men's and women's basketball attendance records:
Current BHSU Attendance Records:
WBB - 1,767 - 2/11/17 vs. South Dakota Mines
MBB - 3,045 - 3/5/22 vs. Regis (RMAC Championship Game)
The latest polls have BHSU ranked 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 16-1 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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TUESDAY vs. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines is coming off a single-game weekend in which the team fell to CSU Pueblo, 67-54 on Friday. The Hardrockers now have a 5-7 RMAC record with a 6-12 overall record to sit ninth in the conference.
SDSMT has struggled this year, but currently leads the RMAC with a .722 free throw percentage, while also ranking fifth in the RMAC in made 3-pointer per game (8.4)
The Yellow Jackets are 113-92 all-time against SDM, having won the last three matchups between the two programs, and is 9-2 over their last 11.
HARDROCKERS' LAST TIME OUT
The men's basketball team from South Dakota Mines took on CSU Pueblo in Pueblo on Friday night. In a low-scoring matchup, the Hardrockers were not able to come away victorious.Â
Early in the first half, CSU Pueblo got out to a lead of 11-4 as the Hardrocker offense started slow. Keagen Smith hit a three cutting, the Thunderwolves' lead to four, 11-7. With just over four minutes to play in the first half, a pair of free throws by Alejandro Rama would cut the Hardrocker deficit to two, 23-21. CSU Pueblo would follow that with a 13-1 run, including a buzzer-beater, taking a 36-22 lead into halftime.
Early in the second half, the South Dakota Mines offense would start to get going, but they couldn't make up much ground, trailing 46-34 with 12 minutes to play. The Hardrockers would continue to fight, getting a pair of free throws from Brevin Walter followed by a Trase Olsen three, but the Hardrockers couldn't shrink the deficit, with Isaiah Thompson hammering home a dunk and getting a free throw to convert an and-1. The Thunderwolves led 54-41 with just over eight minutes to play. Another Isaiah Thompson dunk gave CSU Pueblo a 15-point advantage, 64-49 with 4:52 to play. South Dakota Mines was not able to narrow the deficit, falling 67-54.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU at SDSMT (Nov. 28, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball took down rival South Dakota Mines, 78-58, Monday night at the King Center.
The Yellow Jackets improve to 6-0 overall, the program's best start to a season since the 1927-28 team opened the season 8-0. BHSU used a monstrous first half, shooting 75 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from deep to take an early advantage in the win.
Joel Scott led the offense with 30 points, going 9-of-15 from the field while grabbing six boards.
Matthew Ragsdale scored 15 while
Adam Moussa led the team with 13 rebounds and seven assists. Moussa also tallied a steal and a blocked shot.
In his first game of the season,
Sindou Cisse scored nine points to go along with five rebounds and an assist.
An early three from Ragsdale helped BHSU out to an early lead before shots from Moussa and Ragsdale led to a quick 7-0 spurt that extended the Yellow Jacket lead to 13-4 with under 14 minutes left in the first.
A Scott slam along with threes from Cisse, Scott and Hearne helped BHSU rattle off a 16-0 scoring run which extended the lead to 31-8 as the clock ticked under eight minutes remaining in the first.
Leading 44-13 with 4:41 left in the half, their largest lead of the game, the Yellow Jackets traded points with SDM the rest of the way before taking a 51-23 lead into the locker room.
Out of the break, the Hardrockers would chip away at the Yellow Jacket lead, inching back to within 12 (55-43) with under 12 to play. A Hackley triple would stop the SDM run as BHSU slowly regained some breathing room with layups from Shanklin and Scott with a 62-45 lead with 9:12 to go.
The Yellow Jackets continued to separate with the help of a layup and 3-pointer from Scott to extend the lead to 73-51 with five to go in the game, before a Ragsdale layup and Dukic three sealed the 78-58 victory.
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THURSDAY vs. COLORADO CHRISTIAN
CCU split the weekend with a loss at Regis before taking down UC Colorado Springs, 74-64 at home on Saturday. Their 4-9 RMAC record and 8-11 overall mark puts them 13th in the conference standings.
The Cougars have a strong defense, ranking sixth in the RMAC as they only allow 72.1 points per game this season and limit their opponents to just 31.8 rebounds per game, good for third in the league.
BHSU is 7-10 all-time against CCU dating back to 2012. The Yellow Jackets have won each of the last two meetings and four of their last five.
COUGARS' LAST TIME OUT
Both teams entered the gym tonight hungry for a win on CCU's home court. Ultimately, the Cougars found success, claiming the win with a final score of 74-64.
Entering the first half the Cougars came out and capitalized on several offensive opportunities against UCCS, which earned them positive results within the first half. The Cougars captured the lead with just under 11 minutes left in the first half. Quickly after taking the lead, Noah Kon finished a powerful three-point shot that shifted the momentum of the game in the favor of the Cougars, with a score of 15-10.
Three players created a powerful impact and tallied double digits in points within the first half. CCU was led by Noah Kon (12), DJ McDonald (11), and Jason Gallant (11) in the first period.
Tenacious defense shown by the home team helped them to succeed in the first half and CCU led in rebounds 19-14. The Cougars exited the half up 40-29 looking to grow that lead in the second half.
In the second half the Cougars came out with confidence, which was only built by the rumble of the fans throughout the gym. It was a physical battle between both teams, and the Cougars' strength in free throws was shown off against the Mountain Lions at 60%. Gallant found high success behind the free throw line tonight making 7 out of the 8 opportunities he was given in key moments.
With 2:38 left on the clock UCCS called a timeout and came out of it with a full court press against the Cougars. McDonald was quickly able to adapt and break the press off a pass from Isaiah Alonzo from the sideline. The team found success throughout the rest of the game in quickly shutting down their opponents press.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CCU (Feb. 25, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball defeated Colorado Christian, 90-81 in overtime Friday night in the Donald E. Young Center.
The Yellow Jackets (18-7, 16-4 RMAC) shot 54.8 percent in the second half to overcome a slow first half and rally to the late victory.
Joel Scott tallied his 17th double-double of the season with 41 points and 15 rebounds while also tallying a career-high 11 made free throws.
Sindou Cisse finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block.
Adam Moussa also grabbed two steals while totaling eight rebounds and six rebounds in the game. Of his 10 points, nine of them came in overtime.
PJ Hayes had nine points on the nights with a big three late in regulation before going 3-of-3 at the free throw in overtime.
After a slow start to the game, a Hayes triple and a pair of Scott free throws pulled the Yellow Jackets to within one early, 10-9. A few minutes later, a 3-point play from Scott put BHSU out in front, 14-13 with 12:15 remaining in the first.
A Dukic to Cisse alley-oop midway through the first extended the Yellow Jacket lead to 21-15. CCU crept back, though, using the 3-pointer to eventually regain the lead as the period entered its final minutes, and BHSU went into the locker room trailing 37-32.
Out of the break, the Yellow Jackets worked to chip away and eventually moved out in front 49-48 on a pair of Scott free throws at 11:11. BHSU later used a 9-0 run capped by a big 3-pointer from Hayes and a Scott layup to extend to a 57-52 lead.
But CCU wouldn't back down as they would even the score at 59-all before more back-and-forth play commenced. After a Cisse layup with 3:38 remaining made it a 69-66 game, CCU went back ahead 70-69 and both teams traded leads on their next several possessions.
With CCU holding a 77-75 advantage with 13.8 seconds remaining, Scott hit a clutch mid-range jumper with 4 seconds left to even the score once again at 77-77 to send the game into overtime.
BHSU put up a quick four points to take an 81-77 lead before teams traded free throws and the Green and Gold took an 85-81 lead before a Moussa 3-pointer all but iced the game as the Yellow Jackets went on to win 90-81.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball won a back-and-forth matchup against CSU Pueblo, 75-57 Saturday night.
The Yellow Jackets (16-1, 10-1 RMAC) shot at a 57.1 percent clip from the field in the second half to take command of the game after a tight first half.
Joel Scott led the way with 29 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, while also recording three blocks.
Scott surpassed former Yellow Jacket Cain Atkinson (2007-11) in total career points during the game to hold sole second place on the all-time list with 2,034 career points. He is now 146 points behind the school record of 2,180 held by Kim Templeton (1972-76).
PJ Hayes had a team-high seven assists while finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Matthew Ragsdale totaled 11 points and five rebounds while
Sindou Cisse had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Caelin Hearne continued his strong January with an 8-point, 5-rebound performance on the night.
Teams traded blows to open the game as six early points from Scott helped push a 12-12 tie with 13:28 left in the first. Back-and forth play continued as CSUP moved ahead, and then a Donovan jumper and Scott layup put BHSU back ahead once again, 16-14, as the clock ticked under 10.
Minutes later, the ThunderWolves would re-take the lead, 19-16, but the Yellow Jackets answered with a layup and 3-pointer from Ragsdale on back-to-back possessions to take a 21-19 lead with 6:05 to go in the first.
Both squads traded buckets the rest of the first half as a trey and a jumper by Hayes, and a Scott layup sent BHSU to the locker room with a 28-25 lead following a first half that saw eight ties and nine lead changes.
Into the second half, a Scott three at 15:10 kicked off a 13-0 scoring run, propelled by layups from Hayes, Scott, Cisse and Ragsdale, to put the Yellow Jackets up 50-38 midway through the final period.
CSUP inched back to within six as time ticked under seven minutes remaining, but a Hayes triple and Hearne layup stalled any ThunderWolves momentum as BHSU extended its lead to 61-48 on a pair of Cisse free throws.
In the final minutes, BHSU went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to go along with a pair of Hearne 3-pointers to secure the 75-57 win.
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 (32.7), while ranking third in the nation in 3-point percentage defense (27.5), and fourth in field goal percentage defense (38.1).
The Yellow Jackets also sit 16th in 3-pointers per game (10.4), and in scoring margin (14.5) and 20th in three-point percentage (39.5).
As a team, BHSU leads the RMAC in eight key statistical categories, including field goal percentage defense, fewest fouls per game, defensive rebounds per game, rebounds per game, three-point attempts per game, three-point percentage, three-point percentage defense, and made threes per game, and is also top-five in 16 categories.
A TUESDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Keep BHSU tied atop the RMAC standings in the loss column at 11-1 in conference play and 17-1 overall, and could potentially jump Colorado Mines depending on their respective weekend results.
A TUESDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Put the Yellow Jackets at 10-2 in the RMAC, and 16-2 overall to potentially fall below 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.
Eric Glenn is in his fifth year leading the Hardrockers and has three decades of coaching experience under his belt and CCU's Liam Simmons is in his third season at the helm.
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:
607
-BHSUAthletics.com-
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