SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team is coming off their first RMAC win of the season this past weekend and they now look to build upon the momentum when they visit UCCS on Thursday, December 12. The Yellow Jackets and Mountain Lions will look to separate one another from a 7-team tie in the middle of the RMAC standings following the opening week of action as they are set for a 7 p.m. tip-off in the Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
 
GAME DETAILS
Date & Time: Thursday, December 12 at 7 p.m.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. – Gallogly Events Center
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State enters the RMAC road contest with a record of 5-5 (1-1 RMAC) on the season after picking up an 89-69 victory over Chadron State on Saturday afternoon in A2 Arena. The win over the Eagles was the Yellow Jackets fourth straight home opening conference win and their eighth in the last nine seasons.
• In the win over CSC, BHSU tallied a season-high of 23 assists, the most since a February 23, 2023, match-up at Chadron State.
• Black Hills State has been picked to finish fourth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 157 points. They are currently among seven teams tied for fifth place in the conference standings with a 1-1 record.
• Through ten games in the 2024-25 season BHSU is averaging 74.4 points, 37.6 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 4.8 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 45.0 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from 3-point range, and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points, 35.1 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 6.9 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 37.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and 76.2 percent from the free throw line.
• The Yellow Jackets currently rank sixth in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense (37.7%), 22^nd in defensive rebounds per game (29.10), and 34^th in scoring defense (66.9). The BHSU defense has held opponents to fewer than 70 points on six occasions and less than 40.0 percent shooting from the field six times.
• Caelin Hearne continues to lead the team with an average of 17.1 points per game on the year, which ranks third in the RMAC, while he also adds 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. In the midst of ten consecutive double digit scoring games to begin the season, he poured in a career-best 30 points in a win over Sioux Falls, marking one of eight games he has scored 14 or more points. While he holds the conference lead with 63 made field goals, he has been shooting the ball at a 47.4 percent clip from the field as he ranks seventh in the league in field goal percentage. Additionally, he is 45.3 percent from 3-point range and has knocked down three or shots from beyond the arc in six games, highlighted by a season-best performance of 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc against USF. He currently ranks second in RMAC with 24 total 3-pointers and is sixth with 2.40 3-pointers per game.
• Newcomer Cam Lowe has also added a spark for the Yellow Jackets this year as he is averaging 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting the ball 45.8 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from 3-point range, and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. He has one double-double on the season which saw him score a career-high 21 points and secure a career-best 14 rebounds against Augustana. Overall, he has notched double figure points on six occasions and has posted eight or more rebounds in six contests, including a 13-point and 9-rebound outing against Chadron State on Saturday. With a pair of double digit rebounding performances, he has tallied the second most total rebounds in the RMAC this year (76) and is fourth in rebounds per game average.
• Another player to watch is Jaeton Hackley, who is averaging 11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Overall, he has notched six games in double figures scoring, including a career-high of 19 points in the win over UMary which saw him shoot 8-of-15 from the field. Among his five games this season with four or more rebounds, he secured a career-high of seven rebounds in the match-up against South Dakota Mines last week. His active defense has resulted in four multi-steal games, including a career-high of four steals in the victory over CSC on Saturday. Also, against the Eagles, he shattered a career-high with ten assists, marking the third time this year he tallied four or more in a game. It marked the first time since February 10, 2023, that a player tallied double digit assists for the Yellow Jackets, when Adam Moussa notched a triple-double against UCCS.
• Freshman BJ Woodruff had his best game of his young collegiate career in Black Hills State's last game against Chadron State as he reached double digits for the first time this year as he poured in 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers. Additionally, he secured a career-high of five rebounds in the win, marking the third game this year he's collected four or more.
• Another freshman that has been making a bigger impact over the last couple of weeks is Jack Haggett, who has scored in double figures in three of the last four games. In those last four contests he's shot the ball 14-of-23 (60.9%) from the field and 11-of-13 (84.6%) from the free throw line. In the match-up with UMary he scored a career-high of 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe. Additionally, he's secured a career-high of four rebounds on four occasions this year.
• Ryan Thompson is in his seventh season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a record of 126-59 during his career.

UCCS STORYLINES

• UCCS enters their RMAC home opener with a 5-3 (1-1 RMAC) record this season following a split last weekend as they defeated Colorado Mesa (63-58) on Thursday night and lost at Westminster (81-64) on Saturday afternoon. Additionally, the Mountain Lions competed in an exhibition match-up on Tuesday night at NCAA Division I Denver, challenging the Pioneers in a 94-87 loss in a contest they trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half and trimmed it down to four in the closing minutes.
• The Mountain Lions have been ranked within D2CSC South Central Region Media Poll for four consecutive weeks, appearing at No. 10 on Monday morning.
• The Mountain Lions have been picked to finish seventh in the RMAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 32 points in the vote by the league's head coaches. They are currently among seven teams tied for fifth place in the conference standings with a 1-1 record.
• Through the first eight games of the season UCCS is averaging 73.3 points, 38.1 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 5.8 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting the ball 44.7 percent from the field, 24.7 percent from 3-point range, and 71.6 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents are averaging 72.6 points, 34.6 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 7.0 steals, and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting the ball 43.7 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from 3-point range, and 71.0 percent from the free throw line.
• Leading the way for the Mountain Lions is graduate student William Becker who is averaging 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game. He's knocked down 45-of-62 shot attempts this year, leading the RMAC and ranking third in the nation with a 72.6 percent field goal percentage, while he also ranks 12^th in the conference with 81.5 percent shooting at the free throw line. Additionally, the 6-9 forward leads the league in blocks per game and is second in rebounds per game. He's scored in double figures in seven of the eight games this year, highlighted by a 20-point performance against CMU, and has secured double digit rebounds twice that included a 15-rebound outing against Northwest Missouri State. Both double digit rebound performances led to double-doubles. He's posted four multi-block games this year, including a season-high of three on a pair of occasions.
• The only other player to average double figures for UCCS this year is Xavier Martinez, who is averaging 10.9 points, 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting the ball 42.7 percent from the field and 88.9 percent from the free throw line. He's scored in double figures on four occasions, including a season-high of 17 points against Cameron. He's dished out three or more assists in four contests, including a pair of 6-assist outings against Pittsburg State and Colorado Mesa. The sophomore point guard has also secured multiple rebounds in four contests, including a season-high of four on two occasions.
• Jeff Culver is in his 13^th season as the head coach at UCCS, guiding the Mountain Lions to a 191-153 record during his career.

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday will be the 28^th meeting on the hardwood between Black Hills State and UCCS as the Yellow Jackets hold a 16-11 edge in the series.
• BHSU secured their fifth consecutive win against the Mountain Lions in the most recent match-up on February 16, 2024, in A2 Arena as they earned an 82-73 victory.