SPEARFISH, S.D. – A pair of Black Hills State University's most distinguished men's basketball alumni, Joel Scott and Matthew Ragsdale will go head-to-head on Sunday, October 19, in the early stages of their second season professionally. Both individuals signed with new teams over the off season, with Scott now playing for the London Lions and Ragsdale teaming up with another fellow Yellow Jacket, Fraser Malcolm, with the Caledonia Gladiators. The game is slated for a 9 a.m. MT tip-off in London's Cooper Box Arena.
In his second season professionally, Scott leads Super League Basketball with an average of 20.8 points and 3.5 offensive rebounds per game, while also ranking sixth with 7.3 total rebounds per game through four games. He began the year with back-to-back 20-point outings, which included dropping 25 in his debut with the London Lions, who look to remain undefeated, taking a 4-0 record into Sunday's contest. Last year he averaged 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIBA Europe Cup.
On the other side of the court, also in his second season professionally, is his former high school and college teammate, Matthew Ragsdale. The long range sharpshooter leads the league with 21 made shots from beyond the arc and a 53.8 percent 3-point percentage. He also ranks seventh in the league in scoring with a 16.8 points per game average. In the first five games of the season, he has a pair of 20-point outings, including a season-high of 23 against the Cheshire Phoenix as the Gladiators have fallen to 1-4 early in the season. Last year with the Dresden Titans he averaged 11.7 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting the ball 42.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Also, a part of the match-up for the Caledonia Gladiators is 2019 BHSU alum, Malcolm, who is in his seventh season professionally and fourth with the Gladiators. Through the first five games of the year, he is averaging 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. In the team's lone win of the season, he scored a season-high of seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, which included 1-of-1 from beyond the arc. In his seven year career he has played in 167 games, averaged 6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
