Black Hills State University Men's Basketball team makes the short trip down I-90 to battle it out in the fifth edition of the East/West Challenge, hosted this year by South Dakota Mines at the King Center in Rapid City.
The Jackets open the weekend with a battle against Augustana University (SD) in a neutral site contest on Friday evening with tip-off set for 5:30 PM, before battling Minnesota State University Moorhead for another neutral court clash on Saturday beginning at 5:00 PM.
The new-look BHSU squad earned a split in their opening weekend of play in the Yellow Jacket Conference Challenge. The hosts fell 72-53 on opening night to Oklahoma Christian on Friday. However, they bounced-back swiftly with a furious comeback late to come out victorious against the University of Arkansas Fort Smith on Saturday, 77-72 in overtime.
FRIDAY vs. AUGUSTANA
Coming off a 15-14 (11-11 NSIC) campaign in 2022-23, the Vikings came away with a weekend split at the Tip-Off Classic to start the season at 1-1. BHSU outlasted Augustana last season in the East/West Challenge, 82-73 in Sioux Falls.
VIKINGS' LAST TIME OUT
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Isaac Fink scored 25 points, while Jadan Graves added 24 to elevate the Augustana men's basketball team to its first win of the season, defeating Southeastern Oklahoma 95-81 on Saturday afternoon.
Fink shot 8 of 16 on the day and added eight rebounds and four assists. Graves was 7-12 from three and tallied six assists and five rebounds. Brady Helgren scored 13 points and grabbed eight boards while going 6 of 6 from the field. Akoi Akoi and Bennett Otto each scored 10 points to round out the five Vikings in double figures.
The Savage Storm took a 17-10 lead in the early stages of the first half before a 9-0 Viking run, led by four points from Caden Kirkman, handed AU a 19-17 lead. The Vikings inched ahead to lead by three before a pair of Graves' threes sandwiched an SEO jumper to put AU ahead 33-26 with 6:09 to play in the first half.
After a Savage Storm three brought them back within four, A pair of Fink layups and an Akoi three pushed the Vikings ahead 40-29 at the 3:28 mark. After two SEO free throws, Helgren and Fink helped build the AU lead back to double digits at 44-31 before a 6-2 Savage Storm run brought them within nine at 46-37 at half.
In a blink, SEO marched back to within 46-43 at the 17:07 mark of the second half. In even less time, the Vikings sprayed from deep, as a pair of Otto threes and one from Akoi gave AU its first double-digit lead of the half at 55-43 with 15:19 to play. The teams seesawed after a pair of SEO free throws, as the Vikings held a 71-62 lead with 7:24 left.
SEO brought the game back to two possessions, first at 71-67 and again at 74-69 with 5:18 to play. A Helgren layup and Graves three brought the Vikings back ahead by double digits. Graves hit another three after a pair of SEO free throws to lead 82-71 with 3:35 left to go, and would hit another at 2:37 to shut down a Savage Storm rally and take an 87-75 lead.
SEO would only get within single-digits one more time, making a layup with 1:01 to play to trail 89-81. Four Fink free throws and two from Graves closed the game out and secured the victory.
Augustana shot 50.7 percent from the field while holding SEO to 39.3 shooting. The Vikings also knocked down 14 threes on a 45.2 percentage from deep, while the Savage Storm shot just 25.0 percent and made seven.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. AUGUSTANA (Nov. 19, 2022)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Black Hills State men's basketball took down a ranked opponent for the second-straight day, defeating No. 18 Augustana Saturday morning, 82-73.
The Yellow Jackets (4-0) wrapped up their 2-0 performance at the East-West Challenge at the Sanford Pentagon thanks to 50 percent shooting (29-58) and 31.3 percent from the arc (10-32) against Augie.
Joel Scott recorded his first double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds, along with a block.
Adam Moussa's 12 assists led the team and ranks fourth all-time at BHSU for assists in a game. Moussa also totaled six rebounds and six points.
PJ Hayes and Jaeton Hackley were both double-digit scorers, totaling 15 and 12 points, respectively.
After a slow start, a Sava Dukic 3-pointer and Scott 3-point play evened the score at 6-6 early in the game before back-to-back layups from Scott pushed the Yellow Jackets out front 10-6 at 13:50 in the first.
A quick 9-2 spurt from Augustana put them out front 15-12, though, before a Hayes triple evened the game once again at 15-all.
Augie would re-take the lead but Scott layups and a Hayes three kept the game within two possessions, until a Scott three in the final minute sent BHSU into halftime trailing 32-30.
Out of the break, Augustana added on and got out to a 38-31 lead which would end up being their largest of the game. But a Matthew Ragsdale three and a Hayes steal and dunk drew the Yellow Jackets closer before a Hayes layup brought the game to its fourth tie, 38-38 with 16:55 to play.
Shortly after, a Ragsdale layup and Scott dunk gave BHSU their first lead of the half, 42-40, and a pair of Dukic free throws followed by a Moussa step back gave the Yellow Jackets a 49-42 lead with 13:42 to go.
Threes from Hearne and Hackley kept BHSU out front 61-55 midway through the half, and as the clock ticked under five minutes, makes from Hackley and Moussa extended the lead to 72-64.
Down the stretch, free throws from Scott would give the Yellow Jackets their first double-digit lead of the game, 74-64, before the team went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to seal the 82-73 victory.
SATURDAY vs. MSU MOORHEAD
MSUM opened their season with a pair of wins in the Regional Challenge after finishing the 2022-23 season with a 25-7 (17-5 NSIC) mark and a National Tournament berth. BHSU outlasted MSUM in a thrilling showdown last year in the East/West Challenge, coming away with a 78-77 buzzer-beating victory.
DRAGONS' LAST TIME OUT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – MSU Moorhead used a balanced attack and staved off a late Washburn run to win their second contest of the 2023-24 season. The Dragons beat the Ichabods 79-77.
MSUM would begin the game cold from the floor, making just two of their first eight field goal attempts. Adversely, Washburn would make three of four in the first five minutes to keep a slim 7-4 lead. The Dragons would force five Ichabod turnovers in that same stretch to remain contentious in the early stages. MSUM would surge out of a timeout to make four of their next four shots as part of a 7-0 burst. Ja'Kair Sanchez, Jacob Beeninga and Dane Zimmer all scored in the stretch with Zimmer netting his second triple of the young season. The senior only made five three-point field goals in 2022-23.
Washburn would race out to a lead as large as six points with the Dragon offense still struggling from the floor. Zimmer, Beeninga and Jamir Price would provide some needed scoring for the Dragons to bring them within two points with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The squads would trade free throws down the stretch before an and-one from Jacob Jennissen would give the Dragons their first lead in nearly 10 minutes. Jacob Beeninga was the catalyst on the play, dishing out the pass to the big man Jennissen.
However, the Ichabods would connect on a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes to remain in stride with MSUM. The teams went into the halftime locker room tied at 36 points. Beeninga led the Dragons with 10 points while Price and Zimmer added seven points each. MSUM shot just 37.1 percent from the field in the half, including a 20 percent mark from long distance. Washburn remained tied with the Dragons despite the Ichabods shooting 50 percent from the floor and making six of eight three-pointers in the frame. The key for MSUM was their defensive effort throughout the half. The Dragons forced 13 Washburn turnovers through 20 minutes including two steals from Beeninga and another from Gabe Myren.
The second half would begin with the Dragons on a 5-0 run thanks to a basket from Logan Kinsey and another three from Zimmer. MSUM would extend their lead to six points nearing the midway point of the half as Jamir Price knocked in a three. The 54-48 lead came thanks to some Dragon aggressiveness, which forced five fouls in the span. The Dragons connected on 75 percent of their free throw attempts in the stretch, helping them create some distance from Washburn.
MSUM's lead would get as large as nine points before Washburn was able to trim the deficit to two points with just over seven minutes to play. The teams would trade baskets from there as Logan Kinsey and Beeninga would add buckets for MSU Moorhead. Beeninga would notch a needed three with just over six minutes to play to push the lead back to five. That shot would be a part of seven consecutive points scored by the guard. Kinsey would strike again on a putback off a missed three to give MSUM a 69-61 advantage with under five minutes to play.
From there, the lead would stretch to 10 points (73-63) following baskets from Kinsey and Jacob Jennissen. The Ichabods would continue to hang around throughout, though, cutting that lead to three with just over a minute remaining. Washburn had the Dragon lead down to just two points with 29 seconds remaining with the Ichabods opting to foul with 13 seconds left.
While free throw shooting was an issue for MSUM all day (shooting 66.7 percent on 33 attempts), they would give themselves a four-point lead with 13 seconds left on a make from Zimmer. Washburn would hit a three right after to put the score at 78-77. Kinsey would split a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining, but would foul an Ichabod player, putting them at the line for a pair. Trailing by two with .03 remaining, Washburn missed both free throws as the Dragons would grab the winning rebound.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. MSUM (Nov. 18, 2022)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Black Hills State men's basketball outlasted No. 19/21 MSU Moorhead on a last-second shot from Adam Moussa to win, 78-77.
In a game in which neither team led by more than six, and saw nine ties and 19 lead changes, the Yellow Jackets (3-0) shot 47.6 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep to win the game, despite being out-rebounded 47 to 28.
Joel Scott scored a season-high 31 to go with six rebounds while Moussa tallied 22 points, three assists and two blocks.
Jaeton Hackley came down with six boards, which tied for the team lead while only seeing 18 minutes of action.
Matthew Ragsdale tallied 12 points including a pair of threes.
Teams traded points to open the game, before MSUM held a 14-11 advantage at the under-15 media break.
MSUM grabbed its largest lead of the half, 20-15 after a 3-pointer at 12:48. From there, though, an 8-0 Yellow Jacket spurt using layups from Scott and Cisarik along with a pair of Moussa buckets gave BHSU its first lead of game, 23-20 midway through the first.
Locked up at 31-31 with 5:06 to go, five straight points from Moussa down the stretch helped the Yellow Jackets hold a 37-35 lead heading into the locker room.
Back-and-forth play continued out of the break as both teams continued their hot shooting. A Ragsdale trey and eight points from Scott helped keep pace with the Dragons as BHSU held a slight 50-49 edge with 13:22 to play.
After a Moussa jumper and a three-point play, MSUM would lock the score back up again at 55-55 midway through the half, before the Yellow Jackets re-took the lead 58-57 on a Hayes 3-pointer at 10:18.
As both offenses continued to trade buckets, MSUM held a 67-64 lead with 5:47 remaining, before a trio of Scott layups helped the Yellow Jackets move back on top once again 71-68 as the clock ran under four minutes.
BHSU continued to hold the lead with a 74-73 edge entering the final minute of play before MSUM took a 77-76 lead with 12 seconds left. But on the final shot of the game, a Moussa turnaround jumper fell through the net at the buzzer to give BHSU the 78-77 win.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball used a seven-point comeback to force overtime and move past Arkansas Fort Smith 77-72 Saturday night.
The Yellow Jackets (1-1, 0-0 RMAC) shot 50 percent from the field, and used big plays late in the game to earn their first win of the season.
Matthew Ragsdale led the offense with 27 points, going 9-of-18 from the field, to go with five rebounds and a steal.
Hoku Fisher was the other Yellow Jacket in double-digit scoring with 12, grabbing four rebounds and two steals along the way.
John Shanklin hauled in four boards and made three blocks, while Olafur Gunnlaugsson and Deegan Williams also checked in with four rebounds.
Ronnail Tape and Caelin Hearne each scored eight and had three boards apiece, and Myles Johnson tallied nine points, a block and a steal.
After trading buckets to open the game, a three from Tape and a Ragsdale layup made it a 9-9 game before another layup and a triple from Ragsdale put BHSU ahead 16-12 six minutes into the game.
Another three from Ragsdale kicked off a 9-0 scoring run to extend the Yellow Jacket lead to 25-15 midway through the first.
Back-and-forth continued from there as UAFS answered a Gunnlaugsson three and layups from Johnson and Speckman, putting the score at 32-22 with 6:15 remaining in the first.
The Lions drew back to within six, 34-28 at the under-4 media break, but a Fisher three just out of the timeout followed by a Shanklin two-handed slam made it 39-28.
Out of the break, UAFS began to climb back, drawing within three, 43-40. But a big layup through traffic from Williams and a Johnson bank shot helped create more separation as the score was 47-42 at 15:04.
UAFS didn't back down, eventually drawing back even 49-49 with 12 minutes to go. The Lions would pull back ahead for the first time in the second half, 52-51, as time ticked under nine.
Teams traded blows from there as a Speckman layup put BHSU back on top 53-52 until UAFS extended their lead to six, 60-54, with five to play.
A 3-pointer from Tape cut the team's deficit in half, 60-57, but the Lions would go on to take their largest lead of the night, 66-59 as the clock ticked under two.
Ragsdale jumper and a layup drew the Yellow Jackets back to 66-63 before Fisher battled out a layup and completed the 3-point play to even the score at 66-66 in the final seconds, forcing overtime.
Ragsdale hit a mid-range jumper for his 20th point of the night, and then sank a free throw to put BHSU ahead 69-68.
On the next UAFS possession, Shanklin came up with a block before Ragsdale ran up the court for a fast-break layup while getting fouled. After being called a flagrant foul, he sank both free throws to extend the Yellow Jacket lead to 73-68 with 3:10 to go.
A pair of Lions layups made it 73-70 entering the final minute of the extra period, but BHSU went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the 77-72 win.
MATCHUP HISTORY
This will be the seventh meeting in the DII era between in-state foes Augustana and Black Hills State, with the six previous meetings split evenly at three wins apiece.
The Yellow Jackets' win over MSU Moorhead last season evened the head-to-head series, 1-1. The only prior matchup between the foes came back in November of 2014.
A BHSU WIN WOULD...
Give them consecutive wins over Augustana for the second time in the head-to-head series after the program took consecutive matchups from the Vikings in 2013 and 2018.
Beating MSU Moorhead would make the Yellow Jackets 7-3 in regular season games against teams who are either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls over the past three seasons, including a 4-1 mark against non-conference foes that meet those criteria.
A BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Drop them below the .500-mark multiple games into the season for the first time since they opened the 2021-22 season 2-3.
RECORDS/MILESTONES
Matthew Ragsdale will be one of BHSU's top point scorers this year after totaling 472 points last season, falling just shy of the all-time top-10 list for points in a season.
Caelin Hearne's 3-pt percentage of .452 last year put him fifth all-time for BHSU in a season with the record being .517 set by Adam Moussa in 2020-21.
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
With only seven returning members from last year's second-consecutive Final Four team, the 2023-24 Yellow Jackets have brought in 10 new faces. Of the seven returning, two were redshirt freshmen in Cameron Jackson and Ty Nettles.
Of the 10 newcomers, six are transfers, including four juniors and two sophomores, and four are incoming freshmen.
BATTLE OF THE BENCHES
This year's East/West Challenge features some of the best coaches Division-II Men's Basketball has to offer.
BHSU Head coach Ryan Thompson is entering his sixth season leading the Yellow Jackets, eclipsing 100 wins last season, the 4th head coach in program history to reach 100 victories, and is the quickest to do so. He has also guided the program to back-to-back NCAA DII Final Fours, and the RMAC tournament each of the last five years. His .717 winning percentage is the highest in school history among coaches who have managed at least 50 games.
A DII coaching icon, Tom Billeter enters his 21st season at the helm for Augustana. a two-time National Coach of the Year (2012-13, 2015-16), Billeter is the Vikings all-time winningest men's basketball coach with over 300 wins to his name, leading the program to a National Championship in 2016.
Promoted in May 2022 after being the team's top assistant for four seasons, Tim Bergstraser enters his second season leading the MSU Moorhead after leading the MSUM to a 25-win season and their third-consecutive NCAA Tournament Berth. Following his playing career at St. Cloud State, Bergstraser has found himself gravitated to MSU Moorhead as a coach, finding himself on the Dragons bench first as a Graduate Assistant from 2015-17, before returning for a successful stint as an assistant coach prior to his promotion to head coach.
COACHES
Head coach Ryan Thompson is entering his sixth season leading the Yellow Jackets, having taken the program to back-to-back NCAA DII Final Fours, and the RMAC tournament each of the last five years.
Tom Billeter enters his 21st season at the helm for Augustana compiling over 300 wins as the Vikings all-time winningest men's basketball coach. Previously, he spent five seasons as the head coach for North Dakota State.
Promoted from being the team's top assistant in May 2022, Tim Bergstraser enters his second season leading the MSU Moorhead after leading the Dragons to a 25-win season and their third-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth last season.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
