KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Date/Time/Location: Friday, December 19 / 6 p.m.  / Spearfish, S.D.  / A2 Arena

RMAC Network: Beginning in the 2025-26 season the RMAC Network will now move to Pay-Per-View. Fans can purchase a single game pass ($10), monthly ($25) or annual subscription ($130). Individuals with bhsu.edu or yellowjackets.bhsu.edu email address can still take advantage of the Peak Pricing Promotion by using the code Y26-RMACEDU.

Linear TV: Along with streaming on the RMAC Network, the game will be available state-wide on linear tv as KNBN-2 (Rapid City) will air the contest as well as KSFL (Sioux Falls).

KDSJ Radio: Black Hills State men's basketball continues to air live on KDSJ Radio with the voice of the Yellow Jackets, Steve Ammerman, giving the play-by-play for all the action. The game against South Dakota Mines will also air on KOTA News Radio in Rapid City.

• Black Hills State enters Friday’s home match-up with Dickinson State on a 7-game win streak, having beaten Colorado Christian 96-76 in A2 Arena on Saturday to improve to 9-1 (4-0 RMAC). The 9-1 start continues the best start to a season for the Yellow Jackets since 2022-23, which was also the last season they recorded victories in each of their first four conference games.
• BHSU jumped out to a 21 point advantage at halftime and recorded their fifth win of 20 or more points in the last outing against CCU.
• For the first time in the NCAA Division II era and the first time since 2002-03, the Yellow Jackets have score 90 or more points in four consecutive games. The 2002-03 team scored 90 or more points in five straight contests, including a November 30, 2002, loss to Sioux Falls (105-108, OT), a December 6, 2002, win over Minot State (97-71), a December 7, 2002, win over Dickinson State (99-77), a December 13, 2002, win over Valley City State (111-107, 2OT), and a December 14, 2002, win over Mayville State (95-74).
• The Yellow Jackets held a +20 or better scoring margin in the second half in each of their first two RMAC games of the season, outscoring South Dakota Mines 59-36 in the second frame and then outscoring Chadron State 49-29 in the second half.
• Black Hills State matched their season-high of 15 3-pointers made against Colorado Christian, hitting the mark in back-to-back outings as they did so two days earlier against UCCS as well. As the Yellow Jackets held off the Mountain Lions, their 50.0 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc was also a season-best. The Green & Gold have reached double digits from beyond the arc six times this season, improving to 6-0 in those match-ups in 2025-26 and 18-5 since the start of the 2024-25 season.
• The Green & Gold’s shooting against CCU marked the eighth time this year that they have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field, improving to 7-1 in those games this year and 17-2 since the start of 2024-25.
• Last Saturday’s match-up with the Cougars marked the second time in the last four games that the Yellow Jackets have had three 20-point scorers in a single contest. Against CCU Cam Lowe scored a game-high 25 points, while Myles Johnson added a career-best 22, and Tristan Hurdle scored a season-best 20. Against the Hardrockers in the RMAC opener, Jaeton Hackley scored a career-high 29 points, while Lowe added 23 points, and Wilie Patterson III added a season-high 20 points. The contest against SDM was the first time since a November 16, 2024, game against Augustana that multiple players scored 20 or more points and the first time since March 13, 2022, against West Texas A&M that three players scored 20 or more points.
• BHSU has seen five players score in double figures in five of their ten games in 2025-26. A year ago, it occurred just five times, and they have improved to 9-1 in such games since the beginning of 2024-25.
• In the non-conference slate, improved to 13-1 in their last 14 games against the Lone Star Conference (LSC) with victories over Sul Ross State (86-54) and Texas A&M International (89-57). Meanwhile, they improved to 5-6 against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) the last two years, and 9-11 since 2018-19, as they earned wins over Augustana (75-71), Minot State (72-65), and UMary (85-74). The lone loss of the season came from the hands of (RV) MSU Moorhead (100-85) on the road.
• Black Hills State snapped a 5-game losing streak in the East/West Challenge when they defeated Augustana on November 22.
• With their 86-54 win over Sul Ross State and 89-57 victory over Texas A&M International, the Yellow Jackets recorded back-to-back wins of 30 or more points for the first time since their 2022-23 Final Four run when they defeated MSU Denver by 32 points (89-57) on February 4, 2023, and UCCS by 31 points (100-69) on February 10, 2023.
• Black Hills State went 13-of-13 from the charity stripe in the season opener against Sul Ross State, the most made free throws in a game without a miss in the DII era for the Yellow Jackets. 
• The Yellow Jackets entered the 2025-26 season off an 18-12 (13-7 RMAC) record in 2024-25 where they finished in a tie for third in the league standings, their seventh consecutive top-4 finish in the conference.
• BHSU joins only Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa as the only three schools to win 13 or more conference games in each of the last four seasons.
• Dating back to last season the Green & Gold are 17-4 in their last 21 games overall, with a pair of those losses coming to a top-10 nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines squad.
• Dating back to last season, BHSU has won nine consecutive games in A2 Arena and are 86-25 (77.5%) in the building since 2017-18.
• The Yellow Jackets enter the 2025-26 season as the preseason favorites in the RMAC and are now ranked No. 17 in the fourth regular season poll of the NABC Top-25 that was released on Tuesday.
• Through four games the Yellow Jackets are tied for first place in the conference standings as they are joined by Fort Lewis as the only two remaining unbeaten teams, both at 4-0.
• Black Hills State returns three all-conference players from a year ago, as Cam Lowe was named First Team All-RMAC and RMAC Freshman of the Year, while Jaeton Hackley and Tristan Hurdle were named Honorable Mention All-RMAC. All three of those student-athletes were named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-RMAC team.
• The Yellow Jackets return seven players who started a game last season, and they return ten players in total from last season.
• The Green & Gold brings back a wealth of talent as they return their leading scorer (Lowe) and four of their top-5 scorers, they return their leading rebounder (Lowe) and four of their top-5 rebounders, they return their leading assister (Hackley) and four of their top-5 assist leaders, they return their leader in steals (Hackley) and four of their top-5 steals leaders, and lastly they return four of their top-6 block leaders from last season.
• Black Hills State added yet another 20 assist game against Colorado Christian, dishing out assists on 20 of 36 made field goals. The Yellow Jackets are 6-0 when they dish out 20 or more assists in a game this year and 19-2 since the start of 2012-13. The 27 assists against UMary tied a NCAA Division II era program record that was set during a March 1, 2022, victory over New Mexico Highlands.
• The Yellow Jackets currently rank third in NCAA Division II in effective field goal percentage (60.4%), sixth in field goal percentage (51.8%), seventh in assists per game (19.7), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.63), 14th in 3-pointers per game (10.8), 17th in defensive rebounds per game (29.60), and 24th in scoring margin (14.7).
• Through ten games the reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year, Lowe, averages 17.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steal per game. While finding his shooting touch the last six games, he has shot the ball 45-of-88 (51.1%) from the field, 21-of-49 (42.9%) from 3-point range, and 17-of-18 (94.4%) at the free throw line. Now with eight double digit scoring performances this season and six straight entering Friday night, he notched his 15th 20-point game of his career, shooting the ball 8-of-13 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line against the Cougars on Saturday. Two nights earlier he posted a season-high performance of 26 points against the Mountain Lions as he shot the ball 8-of-15 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He has connected on three or more 3-pointers in five of the last six games this season. He grabbed a season-best nine rebounds against UMary, one of eight games that he has secured seven or more boards. This year he currently ranks 13th in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage, shooting 28-of-30 from the charity stripe for a 93.3 percent clip, and is 20th in defensive rebounds per game (6.6). He is the active career leader (minimum 20 games played) in points per game in the RMAC with a 16.2 career scoring average, is the leagues’ top free throw shooter and in field goal percentage (minimum 20 games) as he is 86.1 percent from the charity stripe and 48.4 percent from the field in his career, is second in career rebounds (minimum 20 games) with an average of 7.68 boards per game, and is second in career 3-pointers made per game (minimum 20 games) 2.28 per contest.
• Myles Johnson, the December 1 RMAC Defensive Player of the Week following the Minot State and UMary contests, has reached double figures in eight of his first ten games back to the court, averaging 13.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. In the team’s last outing against Colorado Christian, he scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 shooting at the charity stripe. Thus far this season he is shooting 56-of-89 (62.9%) from the field, 5-of-13 (38.5%) from 3-point range, and 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the free throw line. He currently leads the RMAC and ranks 21st in the nation in field goal percentage. He missed all of 2024-25 due to injury but averaged 4.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 2023-24.
• Hackley, who posted one of the best shooting performances in program history against South Dakota Mines in the RMAC opener, is averaging 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals per game this year. Against the Hardrockers he scored a career-best 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing three rebounds. He recorded his second career double-double and first of the season with a 16-point and 10-assist outing against UCCS last week, while also adding five rebounds. He has dished out four or more assists in seven of the ten games this year thus far, including tying his career-high of ten in the win over UCCS. He has also collected a pair of steals against both Texas A&M International and MSU Moorhead. He has scored in double figures six times this season, including four straight entering Friday night, and the 29-point performance against the Hardrockers was just the third 20-point game of his career. This year he currently ranks second in the RMAC in assist/turnover ratio (3.06) and fourth in assists per game. He entered the 2025-26 season in the top-10 of both the BHSU career assists and steals per game lists.
• Regrouping after a 0-of-5 performance from deep in the season opener against Sul Ross State, Hurdle, quickly bounced back and has gone 25-of-45 (55.6%) from beyond the arc since then in the last nine games. The Preseason All-RMAC selection and the 2024-25 NCAA Division II leader in 3-point percentage is averaging 9.7 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from deep this season, currently ranking first in the RMAC and sixth in DII. He knocked down a season-best six 3-pointers on eight attempts for a season-high 20 points in the win over Colorado Christian last Saturday. He has now connected on three or more 3-pointers in five games this year, and he has 12 total games with four or more 3-pointers in his Yellow Jacket career. He has scored in double figures seven games this year. He also currently ranks fifth in the RMAC in total 3-pointers made (25) and in 3-pointers made per game (2.50).
• Jack Haggett has made his presence known in the post with a strong start to his sophomore campaign, averaging 8.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game this season. With his fourth double digit scoring performance of the year, he poured in a season-best 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line against Chadron State last week. Against the Eagles he also matched a season-high seven rebounds and recorded a career-best four steals. In back-to-back outings he dished out a career-best seven assists against UMary and then recorded another six against the Hardrockers. He has recorded three or more assists in seven games and has posted a career-high three blocked shots twice in 2025-26. In the RMAC he currently ranks fourth in assist turnover ratio (2.00), fifth in blocks per game (1.20), and ninth in assists per game.
• Newcomer Willie Patterson III is averaging 9.5 points while adding 6.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He recorded his second double-double of the season against South Dakota Mines, as he scored a season-best 20 points and matched a season-high of 11 rebounds while shooting the ball 8-of-12 from the floor, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. Against UMary he dished out a season-best four assists, one of three games this year that he has recorded multiple assists in a game.
• Another transfer making a large impact in the rotation this year is Jackson Seale, arriving from Eastern Washington and averaging 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 0.7 blocked shots per game. He is shooting the ball 48.4 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from 3-point range. He has scored a career-best of 15 points on two occasions this season, first against UMary, and then last week against UCCS as he went 7-of-13 from the field. Against South Dakota Mines he knocked down a career-best three 3-pointers, marking the fifth time this year he made multiple shots from beyond the arc. Against Minot State he dished out a career-best seven assists while sending back a career-best four blocked shots. He has dished out four or more assists in three games this season and has recorded multiple blocked shots twice.
• Ryan Thompson is in his eighth season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a record of 148-67 during his career.

• Dickinson State enters their exhibition game against Black Hills State with a record of 5-8 (3-4 FC) as they play their first season as members of the Frontier Conference.
• The Blue Hawks split a pair of games on the road last weekend, defeating (RV) Rocky Mountain (66-56) and falling to Carroll (100-71) in their second consecutive weekend in Montana in the new league.
• Despite holding a scoring margin of -3.9, only three of DSU’s 13 games this season have been decided by single digits, owning a 1-2 record in those contests.
• The Blue Hawks are 4-2 when winning the rebounding battle in 2025-26, averaging 32.6 rebounds per game.
• A year ago, the Blue Hawks went 19-11 (12-3 NSAA), winning the final regular season and tournament championships of the now disbanded North Star Athletic Association. DSU then fell in the first round of the NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament to Dordt (90-58).
• Griffyn Doughty leads Dickinson State in scoring through 13 games in the season, averaging 17.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting the ball 45.1 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.2 percent from the charity stripe. He has scored in double figures every game this season and has reached the 20-point mark in five games, including four of the last five outings. The sophomore scored a career-high 25 points in the Blue Hawks most recent game at Carroll, shooting 9-of-20 from the field, 5-of-12 from 3-point range, and 2-of-3 from the free throw line, while also grabbing four rebounds. He has connected on three or more 3-pointers in nine games this year.
• Nate Visentin has played in six games this year, and after missing over a month, made his return to the court this past weekend against Rocky Mountain and Carroll. He averages 11.3 points, a team-best 7.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting the ball 59.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He has scored in double figures three times this year, including a season-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from the free throw line against Eastern Oregon. The match-up with EOU was also his lone double-double of the year as he brought down a season-high 12 rebounds.
• The final player in double figures for Dickinson State is Cordell Stinson, who averages 10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 46.1 percent shooting from the field. He has scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high of 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, and 4-of-5 shooting from the free throw line in a win over Rocky Mountain last week. He has secured five or more rebounds in nine contests this year, including a season-best 12 boards against Midland, one of three double-double performances this year for the senior.
• Derek Selvig is in his sixth season as the head coach at Dickinson State, guiding the Blue Hawks to a career record of 73-83.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 1997-98 season, Black Hills State and Dickinson State have met 35 times on the hardwood, with the Yellow Jackets holding a narrow 19-16 edge since then.
• The two western Dakota’s schools last played on December 20, 2019, as the Yellow Jackets secured a 90-62 win in Spearfish and the Donald E. Young Center.
• The Yellow Jackets and Blue Hawks were both members of the Dakota Athletic Conference from 2000-11.