No. 3/3 Black Hills State men's basketball is on the road this weekend, taking on UC Colorado Springs on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. before tipping off at Regis on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.
Then on Monday, Feb. 13, the Yellow Jackets will play one more at No. 10/12 Fort Lewis n a makeup game from Dec. 31, rounding out a four-day stretch of playing three games on the road.
The latest polls have BHSU remaining at third in the nation in both the NABC Coaches Poll and the D2SIDA Media Poll. The team remains first in the South Central Regional Poll with the team's 20-1 start to the year, which is the best start to a season in program history, besting the 2008-09 team who started 12-1.
Â
FRIDAY at UC COLORADO SPRINGS
The Mountain Lions are coming off a two-loss weekend, falling at Westminster, 92-80, on Friday and No. 22 Colorado Mesa, 83-63 on Saturday. At 7-9 in RMAC play and 13-10 overall this season, UCCS currently sits seventh in the conference standings.
UCCS currently holds the fourth-best offense in the RMAC, averaging 78.4 points per game. They also rebound very well, averaging 37.0 per game, with 28.6 defensive boards per game which is good for 14th in the nation and second in the RMAC behind only BHSU.
The Yellow Jackets are 13-11 all-time against the Mountain Lions. BHSU has won their last two matchups, and 7-2 over their last nine.
MOUNTAIN LIONS' LAST TIME OUT
The No. 22 ranked Mavericks came out of the gates hot as they opened the game on a 9-2 run before UCCS started to inch closer as the period progressed with a three-pointer by Jezza McKenzie and a pair of buckets inside the paint from Mac Stodart helping the Mountain Lions draw even at 12 with 10:52 left in the opening half.
The tide would quickly turn back in the favor of CMU, however, as the Mavericks took advantage of a turnover and a pair of missed shots by UCCS to grab a five-point advantage, 19-14, with 8:34 remaining. A three-pointer from CMU's Isaac Jessup with 1:05 left in the half would push the Maverick's lead to its largest of the opening half at 17 points, but Bracamonte would match Jessup's trey with one of his own to end the period as Colorado Mesa took a 38-24 lead to the intermission.
The second half started with a turnover off the hands of Beni Fungula leading to another two-point basket from Jessup that pushed the CMU lead to 16 points, 40-24. The Mountain Lions would get their offense rolling in the coming minutes as three-pointers from Bracamonte and Jon'il Fugett along with a driving layup from McKenzie brought the UCCS deficit to just ten points, 44-34, with 15:57 remaining in the game. After grabbing an offensive board, Noah Baca brought UCCS within eight points with a second chance layup at 13:05.
With their lead now down to single-digits, the Mavericks flashed their offensive firepower by scoring 15 consecutive points, including seven from Owen Koonce, to build a game-high 23-point lead, 66-43, at the 9:37 mark. The Mountain Lions would find a response and go on an eight-point run of their own as Fugett and Sufyan Elkannan hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc and Baca drove into the paint for a layup that brought the deficit back to 15 points with 8:00 left in the game. The Mavericks would quickly bounce back and continue their success down the stretch as they finished the game with a 20-point victory, 83-63, over the Mountain Lions.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. UCCS (Dec. 3, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball moved past UC Colorado Springs, 87-79 Saturday night, improving to 8-0 and tying a program-best start to the season, matching only the 1927-28 Black Hills Teachers College team.
Joel Scott led the way with 28 points, going 9-of-14 from the field and 10-of-14 from the charity stripe. He recorded a double-double on the night with his 14 rebounds.
PJ Hayes was also a hot shooter, making 6-of-7 from deep to finish with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Adam Moussa and
Matthew Ragsdale each had 12 points and three rebounds apiece.
Sindou Cisse tallied six rebounds and a team-high three assists to go along with his 10 points.
Both squads went back-and-forth to start the game until a trio of Hayes three-pointers and a Scott layup helped BHSU rattle off an 8-0 run to jump out to a 15-8 lead with under 14 minutes to go in the first.
Hayes and Cisse continued to put shots in the basket, with Hayes knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers early in the half. UCCS charged back from the fast Yellow Jacket start, however, chipping away to a 20-16 deficit on a three-pointer and a layup.Â
Shooting cooled off for a handful of possessions on both sides until UCCS evened the game at 22-all with seven to play before halftime. Over those final minutes, the Mountain Lions would move on top and hold a 42-37 lead at the break.
Out of the locker room, BHSU worked its way back and cut into the deficit using a 3-point play from Scott and a Ragsdale trey to pull within one, 44-43, before a Hayes three gave BHSU the lead at 48-47 with 16:34 to go.
A few possessions later, Scott went down the court to secure a three-point play once again to make it a six-point Yellow Jacket lead. Shortly after, another Ragsdale three brought BHSU to a 66-55 lead with 8:33 left in the game.Â
The Mountain Lions wouldn't quit, though, chipping away and cutting the Yellow Jacket lead to five in the final minutes, but a Ragsdale layup with just over two minutes to play extended the BHSU lead to 80-69 before the team went 5-of-6 on free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.
Â
SATURDAY at REGIS UNIVERSITY
The Rangers also lost both of their games last weekend, falling to No. 22 Colorado Mesa 88-64 of Friday before dropping its Saturday matchup to Westminster, 89-77.
As a team, Regis ranks in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories. However, they do have the ninth-leading scorer in the RMAC in David Simental, averaging 15.3 points per game. They also have Aaron Bokol who is top-25 in the nation in defensive rebounding and averages 8.4 boards per game, good for third in the RMAC.
BHSU is 12-7 all-time against Regis dating back to 2012. The Yellow Jackets have won each of the last five meetings, including a win at home earlier this season, 75-65 on Dec. 2.
RANGERS' LAST TIME OUT
The two conference foes played a back-and-forth first half with six ties and seven lead changes all coming through the game's first 20 minutes.
Regis was able to keep the Griffins within striking distance, trailing just 34-32 at the break.
A 3-pointer by redshirt junior guard Eddy Egun at the 18:45 mark of the second half brought the Rangers to within one at 38-37, but the Griffins responded with a 16-7 run over the next five minutes and change to extend their lead back out to 10 at 54-44.
Westminster, which shot a blistering 66.7 percent (20-for-30) in the second half, would maintain its double-digit lead the rest of the way to seal the 89-77 final.
Offensively, playing short-handed without their leading scorer in graduate student guard David Simental, the Rangers finished the game at 42 percent (24-for-57) from the floor and got to the line 28 times (20-for-28).
Senior forward Aaron Bokol led all Regis players with 17 points — 11 coming at the free-throw line — while junior guard CJ Reed (15 points), sophomore forward Brayden Carter (13 points) and Egun (10 points) joined him in double-figures.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. RU (Dec. 2, 2022)
Black Hills State men's basketball used a strong second half to overcome a 10-point deficit and take down Regis, 75-65 Friday night.
PJ Hayes led the scoring, going 4-of-7 from deep to finish with 18.
Joel Scott and
Jaeton Hackley each tallied 13 points apiece. Scott added seven rebounds, an assist and a steal while Hackley recorded three assists and a rebound.
Sindou Cisse grabbed five boards to go along with six points, while
Adam Moussa totaled seven rebounds, four assists and nine points.
Ryker Cisarik scored seven points and grabbed four boards.
A Moussa jumper proved to be the first punch thrown in the contest to put BHSU up early, 2-0. Regis, however, responded with an eight-point spurt to go up 8-2 over the first few minutes of the game.
Following a Scott trip to the charity stripe, BHSU's shooting cooled off before
Caelin Hearne and Hackley broke the silence with back-to-back three-pointers to bring BHSU back into the game. Dukic made if three-straight treys for the Yellow Jackets shortly after to bring the score to 17-14 midway through the first.
Both offenses went quiet from there until Regis was able to extend their lead to ten points before halftime, 33-23.
BHSU charged out of the locker room with a 14-4 run to storm back and even the game at 37-all less than five minutes into the second half using a clutch Hackley floater to make it 35-33 before a Scott layup tied things up a few plays later.
Back-and-forth play started from there as the game evened again at 42-42 until a three-point shot from Moussa gave BHSU the 45-42 lead into the second half under-12 media timeout.
Both teams traded shots over the next several possessions, but as the clock ticked under 10 minutes, Hayes drained eight straight points using a pair of threes to push the Yellow Jackets out in front, 53-50.
Hayes and Dukic each connected from deep once more, extending BHSU to its largest lead to this point in the game, 59-54 with 6:13 remaining.
Regis would tie the game twice more, 61-61 with 3:06 to go, and then 63-all at 2:45. The Yellow Jackets would start to pull away from there, though, using a three from Hackley and a layup from Cisse to regain the lead, 68-63 with under two minutes left.
BHSU went on to capitalize on free throws, including a 4-of-4 effort from Cisarik in the final minute of play to finally down the Rangers 75-65 in their RMAC season debut.
Â
MONDAY at No. 10/12 FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
The Skyhawks are winners of their last five games, including a 68-65 win last Friday over CSU Pueblo and a 100-73 victory over Adams State on Tuesday.
As a team, FLC leads the RMAC in scoring offense, averaging 85.3 points per game, which is also good for 15
th in the nation. They also lead the league and site 12
th in the nation in turnover margin (4.4) and are sixth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.5).
FLC also has the RMAC's leading scorer in Akuel Kot, with 528 points this year, ranking him third in Division II, and 24.0 points per game, good for second in the nation.
BHSU is 5-5 all-time against Regis dating back to 2013. The Yellow Jackets have won each of the last five meetings, including a win in their last meeting which was an 83-81 victory on Dec. 4, 2021.
SKYHAWKS' LAST TIME OUT
Brendan La Rose scored a career-high 25 points and Brenden Boatwright supplied a double-double as the tenth-ranked Fort Lewis College men's basketball dominated the Adams State Grizzlies offensively in route to an electrifying win in Whalen Gymnasium Tuesday night.
Fort Lewis notches its 20th win of the season moving to 20-2 overall and 14-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Tonight's loss drops the Grizzlies to 4-19 overall and 2-15 in conference play.
The Skyhawks ran off with a 16-0 lead to open the contest capped off by a midrange jump shot from Dunnell Stafford. Shots began to fall for Adams State, and a jump shot from Maison Adeleye had the Grizzlies within eight, 27-19.
La Rose scored 16 of his 25 points in the opening half as the offensive downpour continued and the Skyhawks hit nine of the team's 16 total threes – seventh all-time single-game for the program – to reach a 56-34 lead heading into halftime.
While shooting 60.0 percent from both the floor and beyond the three-point line in the opening half alone, Fort Lewis continued to shoot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half to hold down the Grizzlies. The Skyhawks led by as many as 35 points on multiple occasions while holding Adams State to just 44.8 percent from the floor and 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
La Rose's 25 points led all scorers while Boatwright and JaQuaylon Mays each added 10 points, and Akuel Kot an additional 11. Boatwright notched his second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career. Mays ended with eight rebounds and nine assists to finish just shy of a triple-double.
The Grizzlies had four players finish in double-digit scoring: Kolby Walker with 16, Maison Adeleye with 13, and Isaiah Sampson and Kaleb Mitchell with 10 points each.
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 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
Black Hills State men's basketball sunk Metro State with a big second half to win 89-57 Saturday night.
Joel Scott recorded a double-double on the night with 25 points and 10 rebounds to go with two blocks and a steal.
Matthew Ragsdale went 6-of-7 from deep to finish with 18 points while
Hoku Fisher and
PJ Hayes each tallied nine points and four rebounds.
Adam Moussa was all over the floor, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, five assists, four blocks and a steal.
Ragsdale opened the game with a corner triple to put BHSU on the board first. Two more treys from Scott and Ragsdale gave the men a 9-4 lead until MSUD buried a couple of layups to bring themselves within one of the Yellow Jackets.
The Roadrunners caught up with BHSU using a 7-0 spurt, however, to tie the game at 15-all as the first half ticked under ten minutes to go. From there, both teams went back and forth with another tie at 3:53 before MSUD took their first lead of the game, 25-24 off a Caleb McGill layup.
MSUD raked in a 9-4 scoring run to expand their lead to 32-28 as time expired, sending BHSU to the locker room with a four-point deficit.
Out of the break, Scott roared into the second half with a three-point play and a layup to give BHSU the lead back, 33-32. BHSU continued to pour it on following Scott's points with an
Adam Moussa jumper and another bucket in the pain from Scott to bring the scoring run to 9-1 by the 17:35 mark.
MSUD began to stir up their offense following the Yellow Jacket run, eventually using a three-pointer to pull within two, 44-42. A Scott dunk, however, kicked off seven unanswered for the Yellow Jackets, eventually giving them their largest lead of the night with a nine-point lead over MSUD.
BHSU continued to expand their lead after the U-12 media timeout as a Ragsdale jumper and multiple buckets from Scott gave the Yellow Jackets another seven points in comparison to a single layup from the Roadrunners.
The rest of the game was all BHSU, who ran up MSUD 31-13 in the final ten minutes of the game to seal a final score of 89-57 against the Roadrunners.
YELLOW JACKETS RANKED
The Yellow Jackets are ranked third in both the NABC and D2SIDA National Poll. BHSU also remains first in the South Central Regional Poll, where they've sat all season.
Statistically, BHSU is second in all of NCAA DII in defensive rebounds per game (32.2) and three-point percentage defense (27.4), and third in field goal percentage defense (38.1).
The Yellow Jackets also sit 8th in scoring margin (16.3), 12th in three-point percentage (40.4), 14th in 3-pointers per game (10.7), 15th in field goal percentage (49.8) and 19th in scoring defense (64.0).
As a team, BHSU leads the RMAC in nine key statistical categories, and is also top-five in 16 categories.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Keep BHSU in sole possession in the loss column at 15-1 in conference play and 21-1 overall.
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Put the Yellow Jackets at 14-2 in the RMAC, and 20-2 overall to potentially move into a first-place tie with Regis if the Rangers win on Friday.
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.
Jeff Culver is in his 11th season leading UCCS, while Regis's Brady Bergeson is in his eighth year at the helm. At Fort Lewis, Head Coach Bob Pietrack is in his eight year with the Skyhawks.
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:
762
-BHSUAthletics.com-
Â
