Date/Time/Location: Thursday, December 4 / 7 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 Thursday’s home opener against Chadron State on a 4-game win streak, having beaten South Dakota Mines 104-76 on the road in Rapid City to improve to 6-1 (1-0 RMAC). The 6-1 start continues the best start to a season for the Yellow Jackets since 2022-23, which was also the last season they recorded a victory in their RMAC opener.
• Against the Hardrockers, the Yellow Jackets outscored their west river rivals 59-36 during the second half to cruise to 28-point victory as they shot a season-best 60.0 percent from the field (39-65) and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc (14-30). The 14 3-pointers were also a season-best and marked the fourth time this season they connected on ten or more in a contest, improving to 4-0 in those match-ups in 2025-26 and 16-5 since the start of the 2024-25 season.
• The Green & Gold’s shooting against South Dakota Mines marked the fifth time this year that they have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field, improving to 4-1 in those games this year and 14-2 since the start of 2024-25.
• The three 20-point scorers against the Hardrockers marked 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 four of their seven games in 2025-26. A year ago, it occurred just five times, and they have improved to 8-1 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.
• In the 2025 RMAC Tournament the Yellow Jackets advanced to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season where they ultimately fell to No. 9/9 Colorado School of Mines 77-64.
• Dating back to last season the Green & Gold are 14-4 in their last 18 games overall, with a pair of those losses coming to a top-10 nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines squad.
• The Yellow Jackets enter the 2025-26 season as the preseason favorites in the RMAC and are now ranked No. 21 in the second regular season poll of the NABC Top-25 that was released on Tuesday.
• 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 recorded 20 or more assists in both games against Minot State and UMary last weekend, assisting on 22 of the 30 made field goals against the Beavers and 27 of the 34 made field goals against the Marauders. The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 when they dish out 20 or more assists in a game this year and 17-2 since the start of 2012-13. The 27 assists 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 14th in NCAA Division II in assists per game (20.0) and effective field goal percentage (59.4%), 16th in field goal percentage (51.4%), 21st in defensive rebounds per game (29.86), and 22nd in assist/turnover ratio (1.59).
• Through seven games the reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year, Lowe, averages 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. While finding his shooting touch this past weekend, he has shot the ball 22-of-46 (47.8%) from the field, 10-of-23 (43.5%) from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 (83.3%) at the free throw line in the last three games. Now with five double digit scoring performances this season, he notched a season-high performance of 23 points against the Hardrockers for his 13th 20-point game of his career, shooting the ball 8-of-17 from the field, 4-of-12 from 3-point range, ad 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He grabbed a season-best nine rebounds against UMary, one of six games that he has secured seven or more boards. He is the active career leaders (minimum 20 games played) he is the top scorer in the RMAC with a 15.65 career scoring average, is the leagues’ top free throw shooter as he is 84.5 percent from the charity stripe in his career, is second in career rebounds with an average of 7.73 boards per game, and is second in career 3-pointers made per game 2.16 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 six of his first seven games back to the court, averaging 13.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. Against the Beavers he matched a career-high three blocked shots, and against the Hardrockers on Tuesday night he recorded his fourth multi-steal game of the year. He has poured in a career-best 18 points on two different occasions this season, first against SRSU when he poured in 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line, and then against Augustana when he notched 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor with a 4-of-4 mark at the charity stripe. Thus far this season he is shooting 41-of-65 (63.1%) from the field, 3-of-11 (27.3%) from 3-point range, and 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the free throw line. He currently leads the RMAC and ranks 38th in the nation in field goal percentage and also leads the league in steals per game. 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 on Tuesday night, is averaging 11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game this year. Against South Dakota Mines 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 has dished out four or more assists in five of the seven games this year thus far, including a season-best of seven in the win over UMary. He has also collected a pair of steals against both Texas A&M International and MSU Moorhead. He has scored in double figures three times this season, and the 29-point performance against the Hardrockers was just the third 20-point game of his career. He entered the 2025-26 season in the top-10 of both the BHSU career assists and steals per game lists.
• Jack Haggett has made his presence known in the post with a strong start to his sophomore campaign, averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game this season. He scored in double figures for the third time this year as he scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field against South Dakota Mines. He opened the season against Sul Ross State, pouring in a season-best 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. In the last two outings he dished out a career-best seven assists against UMary and six against the Hardrockers in back-to-back games. He has recorded three or more assists in five games and has posted a career-high three blocked shots twice in 2025-26.
• Newcomer Willie Patterson III rounds out the quartet of double digit scorers for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 10.3 points while adding 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He is fresh off his second double-double of the season, as he scored a season-best 20 points and matched a season-high of 11 rebounds against South Dakota Mines as he shot the ball 8-of-12 from the floor, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. This past weekend he also dished out a season-best four assists against UMary, one of three games this year that he has recorded multiple assists in a game.
• Regrouping after a 0-of-5 performance from deep in the season opener against Sul Ross State, Hurdle, quickly bounced back and has gone 14-of-27 (51.9%) from beyond the arc since then in the last six games. The Preseason All-RMAC selection and the 2024-25 NCAA Division II leader in 3-point percentage is averaging 8.0 points and 1.7 rebounds while shooting 43.8 percent from deep this season. He has connected on three or more 3-pointers in three games this year, including going 4-of-4 against Texas A&M International and 4-of-9 against UMary as he now has 11 games with four or more 3-pointers in his Yellow Jacket career. He has scored in double figures five games this year.
• Another transfer making a large impact in the rotation this year is Jackson Seale, arriving from Eastern Washington and averaging 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 blocked shots per game. He is shooting the ball 48.8 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from 3-point range, and 75.0 percent at the free throw line. In the last outing, while he didn’t score in double figures he recorded a new career-high of three 3-pointers as he was perfect from beyond the arc in the victory over the Hardrockers as he scored nine points. He has twice scored in double figures this season, pouring in a career-high 15 points against UMary on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, while also securing a career-high six rebounds. 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 145-67 during his career.

• Chadron State enters their RMAC opener with a record of 2-5 (0-0 RMAC) this season after falling at home to Colorado Christian (61-57) in a non-conference battle.
• The Eagles two wins this year have both came on their home court in the Chicoine Center against NSIC foes by a combined two points, defeating UMary (83-82) on a Zach Smith 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining and defeating Northern State (74-73) on a Luka Djurovic layup with two seconds to play.
• The only player to return that scored in the 2024-25 season for Chadron State, is Zach Smith, who played in all 29 games and averaged 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
• The Eagles were picked to finish seventh in the RMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, following a 15-14 (11-9 RMAC) season in which they finished tied for seventh in the league standings.
• Jadon Cool, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College, is the leading scorer for CSC through the first seven games of the season as he is averaging 12.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. While scoring in double figures four times, he has scored a season-high of 22 on two occasions, first as he went 8-of-15 from the floor, 2-of-6 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe against UMary, and then in their most recent game against Colorado Christian as he was 8-of-15 from the floor, 2-of6 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Each of those games in which he scored 22 points he also added a season-best four assists and grabbed three boards. He recorded a season-high of five rebounds against Northern State and had a season-best four steals against CCU.
• A transfer from Frank Phillips College, Mack Keighran, is averaging 10.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game thus far in 2025-26. He has four double digit scoring games this year, including a season-high of 21 points in the win over Northern State where he shot the ball 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He also matched a season-high five assists and three rebounds against the Wolves.
• Rounding out the double digit scorers for Chadron State, Isaiah Randolph, a transfer from Eastern New Mexico averages 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 steals as he shoots the ball 61.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Since back-to-back double digit scoring performance to begin the season against West Texas A&M, he has yet to score ten or more points in the last four outings. He scored a season-best 19 points in the season opener against the Buffs as he went 4-of-6 from the field and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe, while adding 11 rebounds for his lone double-double of the year. In the last outing against Colorado Christian, he collected a season-best four steals.
• A true freshman from Montenegro, Luka Djurovic, has averaged 8.9 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. He has one double-double this season as he scored a season-best 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win over UMary. Against the Marauders he shot the ball 6-of-9 from the field and 1-of-4 from the charity stripe.
• Chris Francis is in his second season as the head coach at Chadron State, guiding the Eagles to a 17-19 record during his tenure. Overall, he is in his 11th year of coaching college basketball, spending nine prior seasons at the Science & Arts Oklahoma, and posting a career record of 192-114.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 1999-2000 season, Black Hills State and Chadron State have met on the hardwood 34 times with the Yellow Jackets holding a 21-13 advantage in the series.
• The teams split a pair of meetings in the 2024-25 season, with the Yellow Jackets winning in A2 Arena in Spearfish on December 7, 2024, by a score of 89-69, and then the Eagles recorded a 90-77 win in the Chicoine Center in Chadron, Nebraska, on January 30, 2025.
• BHSU is 15-4 against CSC since the start of the 2014-15 season.