Black Hills State men's basketball advances to the second round of the NCAA DII tournament to take on No. 2 seed Fort Lewis in the South Central Region on Sunday, March 12 at 5 p.m. CT (4 p.m. MT)
The Yellow Jackets are currently 26-5 overall after their 68-48 win over No. 3 Colorado School of Mines. BHSU is also coming off an RMAC Semifinal run after matching a program-best 24 regular season wins.
On the latest national polls, BHSU came in at T20th in the nation on the D2SIDA Media Poll and 21st on the NABC Coaches Poll.
SUNDAY vs. NO. 2 FORT LEWIS
The Skyhawks finished the regular season in second place in the RMAC, and second in the South Central Region. Nationally, they are ranked fifth in on the D2SIDA media poll and seventh on the NABC Coaches Poll.
FLC won its quarterfinal matchup on Saturday over No. 7 Lubbock Christian, 97-65, after winning the RMAC Tournament over CSM, 82-76 on March 4.
FLC finished as the leading scoring team in the RMAC and is 17th in the nation, averaging 84.1 points per game. They are also sixth in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.3) and 14th in turnover margin (3.8).
The Yellow Jackets are 5-8 all-time against Fort Lewis, including three losses this season, although BHSU has won five of their last eight matchups.
SKYHAWKS' LAST TIME OUT
Akuel Kot went for 31 points, Junior Garbrah supplied 15 more, and JaQuaylon Mays another 14 as the seventh-ranked Fort Lewis College dominated Lubbock Christian University in all facets en route to a 97-65 win and secured a trip to the NCAA South-Central Regional Semifinals tomorrow night.
The Skyhawks, now 29-3, have set the program record for wins in a single season. Head coach Bob Pietrack has now matched Fort Lewis College Hall of Fame Coach Bob Hofman with three NCAA tournament wins. Lubbock Christian finishes its season 19-12.
"We've been preparing all week, but Lubbock was a difficult team to scout," Pietrack shared. "I thought our guys were focused, prepared, and executed exactly what we wanted tonight. And we got a special performance on top of that from Kot."
Fort Lewis advances to take on No. 21/T20 Black Hills State University (26-5) tomorrow night at 4:00 p.m. MST inside the First United Bank Center. The game will be streamed for free on the Lone Star Conference Network with live statistics available as well courtesy of West Texas A&M University Athletics.
Hot off winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament to cement this team's place in Fort Lewis history, the Skyhawks showed no signs of slowing down. Lubbock Christian made the opening baskets on a pair of free throws awarded to Rowan Mackenzie, but a pull-up-three-point jump shot from Mays just two possessions later awarded FLC the final lead change of the night, 5-2.
The Skyhawks, who finished 62.1% from the field on the night, held the Chaparrals to just 34.3% across the opening half. Just 9:50 into the first half, Fort Lewis ran off to a double-digit lead thanks to a jump shot from Kot outside of the lane. Later in the half, Kot would fade off the baseline and sink a floater up and over the backboard for a 21-point lead: the Skyhawks' largest of the half.
Heading out of the locker room into the second half, Fort Lewis found another gear the Chaparrals weren't prepared for. Once again free throws sent LCU to the line first, but back-to-back baskets in the paint by Kot and Brenden Boatwright put Fort Lewis ahead 53-33.
Just seven minutes into the second half Boatwright earned a trip to the charity stripe after being fouled in the post, and after knocking down both free throws for ten-straight unanswered points, the Skyhawks notched a 33-point lead, 66-33: the largest of the night.
Lubbock Christian began to show life as three different Chaps hit back-to-back-to-back treys. Harrison Russell followed his teammates up with a pair of trips to the free-throw line, and another three-pointer from Kurt Wegscheider cut the deficit to 21 points: the smallest of the second half.
With 3:38 remaining in the game, Trevor Trost came off of the bench and buried a trey of his own to extend the lead to 92-59, and Fort Lewis cruised through the final minutes to a 97-65 victory.
Kot led all scorers on the night with 31 points while also leading FLC with seven rebounds. Garbrah and Mays rounded out the double-figure performances for Fort Lewis with 15 and 14 points respectively. Harrison led the Chaparrals with 25 points while Mackenzie scored 16 points and Wegscheider 10 to round out double-digit scores for LCU.
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State men's basketball used a huge second half to defeat No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, 68-48, in Saturday's South Central Region quarterfinal matchup.
The Yellow Jackets (26-5, 18-4 RMAC) outscored CSM, 39-17 in the second half and held them to 0-10 from beyond the arc.
Joel Scott was one of four in double-digit scoring with 13 points along with nine rebounds.
PJ Hayes and
Matthew Ragsdale each finished with 12 points while Hayes totaled eight rebounds and Ragsdale grabbed four.
Sindou Cisse went 5-of-13 from the floor, scoring 10, and also dished a team-high four assists.
Jaeton Hackley totaled eight points and five rebounds,
Caelin Hearne scored seven and
Ryker Cisarik scored six.
After a 5-5 start, CSM moved out front 11-5 before the Yellow Jackets began inching back. A hook from Hackley and a pair of second-chance buckets from Cisarik pulled BHSU to within 20-16 midway through the first.
Both teams went cold until an Oredigger three extended their lead to 23-16 with 6:32 before halftime. A Hayes triple snapped the Yellow Jackets' scoring drought at 5:37 to make it 25-19 before a Cisse step-back and a Hearne 3-pointer made it a one-possession game, 27-24 in the final minutes of the first.
After the final media break of the opening half, back-to-back layups from Scott and Cisarik gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead, 28-27, since the opening shot of the game. CSM would use a 4-1 spurt from there to hold a 31-29 lead into halftime.
Out of the locker room, BHSU put up eight unanswered behind a Ragsdale trey put BHSU up 37-31 with under 16 minutes remaining. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 44-36 using big steals from Hackley, Cisarik and Hayes while the offense saw a Hearne layup and Hackley 3-pointer fall through.
BHSU added on from there with another Hayes three and free throws from Hayes and Scott, stretching the lead to 55-43 with under seven to play.
That turned into a 15-1 run using a pair of Ragsdale jumpers and a Scott dunk, giving the Yellow Jackets their first 20-point lead, 64-44 with 3:51 remaining.
That margin held the rest of the way with a pair of Scott layups as BHSU went on to win 68-48.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. FLC (March 3, 2023)
Black Hills State men's basketball traded blows with No. 2 seed Fort Lewis for all 40 minutes, but ultimately fell 83-78 Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets (25-5, 18-4 RMAC) shot 47.6 percent from the field but were held to 21.7 percent from deep while the Skyhawks converted 22 of 26 from the free throw line.
Joel Scott led the Yellow Jackets, recording his 13th double-double of the year with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
Sindou Cisse was efficient on the floor, making 6-of-9 to finish with 14 points along with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Caelin Hearne also scored in double-figures with 10 points.
Jaeton Hackley had four defensive boards and grabbed a block and a steal while defending FLC leading scorer, Akuel Kot, for most of the game.
PJ Hayes collected five rebounds while
Matthew Ragsdale and
Ryker Cisarik each finished with four.
BHSU struck first with a Cisse floater, before FLC scored nine unanswered to take an early 9-4 lead. Teams traded points from there as a Cisse dunk and 3-pointers from both Cisse and Scott helped the Yellow Jackets start to close the gap, trailing 16-12 with 12:33 to go in the opening half.
A Cisse 3-point play and a Hackley layup drew BHSU to within one, 18-17, before a Ragsdale jumper and layups from Cisarik and Hearne put the Yellow Jacket ahead 23-20 with under nine minutes left in the first.
That turned into a 15-3 run carried by a 3-point play from Scott, a Hearne layup and a Cisarik steal and dunk to take a 32-23 lead and force FLC to take a timeout with 6:43 to go.
The Yellow Jacket offense continued to stay hot with another 3-point play from Scott and a Hearne layup to take their largest lead of the half, 37-25 with under five to go until halftime.
The Skyhawks weren't out, though, inching back to within five, 41-36 with just over two left in the first. FLC's Akuel Kot scored nine points in final minutes, but a Ragsdale trey and layups from Scott and Cisse helped the Yellow Jackets hold a 49-42 advantage at the break.
Back-and-forth action continued out of the locker room as a pair of Scott layups helped BHSU take a 54-46 lead with 17:48 to play. Free throws kept FLC close, despite BHSU holding them without a field goal in first 4:28 of play, allowing them to draw back to 54-50 on their first points from the floor.
Back-to-back threes from the Skyhawks brought them back to within a possession, 58-56, and a free throw made it a one-point game, 58-57, with 12:22 remaining.
Hayes drained a three at 11:09 before a Hearne layup extended BHSU's lead to 67-61 at the midway point of the second half. But FLC wouldn't go away, keeping the game within a possession before eventually tying the game at 67-all on free throws at 7:25.
A Cisse layup put the Yellow Jackets back on top, 69-67, before the Skyhawks evened the game once more and eventually took a 73-71 lead with 4:49 to go, their first lead since midway through the first half.
What became a 7-0 FLC spurt put the Skyhawks ahead 76-71 entering the final 3:25. A pair of Scott buckets drew the Yellow Jackets back to a single possession, 78-76, but FLC would go on to close it out at the charity stripe and win 83-78.
YELLOW JACKETS RANKED
The Yellow Jackets are ranked T20th in the D2SIDA National Media Poll and 21st in the NABC Coaches Poll.
Statistically, BHSU is top-10 in the nation in four different categories, including third in defensive rebounds per game (30.9), eighth in three-point percentage defense (30.0) and field goal percentage (50.4), and ninth in three-point percentage (39.8).
As a team, BHSU leads the RMAC in seven key statistical categories, and is also top-five in 16 categories.
A BHSU WIN WOULD...
Advance them to the championship of the 2023 South Central Regional Tournament on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. to face the winner between No. 1 West Texas A&M and No. 4 Angelo State.
A BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Eliminate them from the NCAA Tournament, bringing an end to the 2022-23 season for the Yellow Jackets.
RECORDS/MILESTONES
Joel Scott became the BHSU all-time leading scorer in program history this season, surpassing previous record holder Kim Templeton (2,180, 1972-76) and now sits at 2,356 career points heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Scott is also currently at 945 career rebounds heading into the NCAA Tournament, 55 shy of 1,000 for his career.
Scott was named 2022-23 RMAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, also earning the honor in the 2021-22 season.
Head Coach
Ryan Thompson won his 100th game as head coach this season, becoming just the 4th head coach in program history to reach 100 victories, and is the quickest to do so.
Now with a career coaching record of 101-40 (heading into NCAA Tournament), his .716 winning percentage is the highest in school history among coaches who have managed at least 50 games.
PJ Hayes has been incredible behind the arc this season, and has ranked as high as fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage, currently averaging .439 from deep.
BHSU men's basketball matched their program record with 24 regular season wins, and reached as high as No. 2 on the NABC Coaches Poll on Feb. 14, the highest the program has ever been ranked nationally.
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 five years.
Fort Lewis Head Coach, Bob Pietrack, is in his eighth season leading the Skyhawks and currently owns the highest winning percentage, .692, in Fort Lewis program history.
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 current teammate
Joel Scott.
Ragsdale rejoined 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 combined for the most total points in a season by a pair of NCAA teammates who also played on the same high school team. Previously, the highest combined total was 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:
1,123
-BHSUAthletics.com-
