KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Date/Time/Location: Thursday, February 12 / 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: The Black Hills State University Athletics Department and Forum Communications reached an agreement in October of 2025 to make KNBN-2 and KSFL the television home for Yellow Jacket football, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, and softball. Forum Communications is based out of Fargo, North Dakota, and houses affiliate stations across North Dakota, South Dakota, and Western Minnesota, as well as Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their programming includes over 200 live, local, and exclusive sporting events, including other entities such as North Dakota State University Athletics and the North Dakota High School State Tournaments. KNBN (NewsCenter1), the most recent addition to the Forum Communications footprint, reaches households in 14 counties of Western South Dakota, while KSFL (Sioux Falls Live) will reach the remaining major markets such as Sioux Falls, Pierre, and Aberdeen, in the state’s remaining 52 counties.

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.

Promotion: Break out the tropical apparel and cheer on the Yellow Jackets on Thursday night! First 100 students wearing tropical/Hawaiian apparel will receive a Tropical Smoothie Café gift card.

• Black Hills State enters this weekend’s match-ups with a record of 18-4 (11-3 RMAC), following a split last weekend as they fell at CSU Pueblo (71-53) and won at UCCS (112-81). The Green & Gold have matched last season’s overall win total of 18 and are now just two wins shy of matching last season’s RMAC win total of 13. The Yellow Jackets are seeking their first 20-win season since 2022-23, which would be the fourth in seven years for the program.
• The 112 points against the Mountain Lions rank as the third-most points scored in a single game in program history, behind a 132-point performance against Southern State in 1964-65 and a 123-point performance against Dakota State in 1995-96.
• Thursday will mark the 500th Yellow Jacket men’s basketball game inside of A2 Arena, a venue they have posted a record of 351-148 (70.3%) in since it opened in 1990-91. BHSU is 89-26 (77.4%) in the building since 2017-18.
• Last weekend Black Hills State shot a season-low 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field against CSUP, however, they were able to bounce back and shot a school-record 66.7 percent (42-63) from the field against UCCS. The shooting clip against the Mountain Lions marked the second time this year they have shot 60.0 percent or better from the field, which occurred on December 2 as they defeated South Dakota Mines 104-76 for their only other 100-point outing.
• The Yellow Jackets have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in 14 of their 22 games in 2025-26, improving to 13-1 this season and 23-2 since the start of 2024-25.
• The Black Hills State offense erupted for 66 second half points in their win at UCCS, out-scoring the Mountain Lions by 34 in the final 20 minutes of action. The game marked the fifth time this season that BHSU has out-scored an opponent by 20 or more points in the second half, averaging a +5.9 (44.9-39.0) scoring differential in the final frame of contests.
• Against UCCS, BHSU scored a season-best 50 points in the paint, a place they average 36.2 points per game from this season.
• Black Hills State matched a school record of 19 made 3-pointers in their win at Colorado Mesa earlier this month, sinking 50.0 percent of their 38 attempts. The 19 3-pointers matched the record of 19 made by the Yellow Jackets on March 1, 2022, against New Mexico Highlands in the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Yellow Jackets have shot better than 50.0 percent from deep on three occasions, which includes a season-best 58.3 percent from deep this past weekend against UCCS when they connected on 14-of-24 from deep. The Green & Gold have reached double figures from beyond the arc 11 times this year, improving to 11-0 in those match-ups and 23-5 in those games since the start of the 2024-25 season.
• The win over CCU in December marked the second time in a two week span that the Yellow Jackets had three 20-point scorers in a single contest. Against the Cougars 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 South Dakota Mines in the RMAC opener the week prior, 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 in the same game and the first time since March 13, 2022, against West Texas A&M that three players scored 20 or more points in the same game.
• Black Hills State added their tenth 20-assist game of the season against UCCS last Saturday, dishing out assists on 23 of 42 made field goals. The Yellow Jackets are 10-0 when they dish out 20 or more assists in a game this year and 23-2 since the start of 2012-13. The 27 assists against UMary earlier this year tied a NCAA Division II era program record that was set during a March 1, 2022, victory over New Mexico Highlands.
• BHSU has seen five players score in double figures in eight of their 22 games in 2025-26. A year ago, it occurred just five times in 30 games, and they have improved to 12-1 in such games since the beginning of 2024-25.
• In the non-conference slate, BHSU 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 6-6 against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) over the course of the last two years, and 10-11 since 2018-19, as they earned wins over Augustana (75-71), Minot State (72-65), UMary (85-74), and Northern State (77-70). The lone loss of the season came from the hands of NSIC foe (RV) MSU Moorhead (100-85) on the road.
• The win over Northern State on New Year’s Day marked the end of an 11-game losing streak in the series, defeating the Wolves for the first time since 1978 and for the first time in Aberdeen since 1968.
• Black Hills State snapped a 5-game losing streak in the East/West Challenge when they defeated Augustana on November 22.
• The Yellow Jackets began their season with a pair of 32-point wins as they notched an 86-54 win over Sul Ross State and an 89-57 victory over Texas A&M International. With the victories 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.
• The Yellow Jackets boast the 18th-best scoring margin in the nation, averaging a +13.3 scoring differential. They have recorded ten wins of 20 or more points and three wins of 30 or more points. Seven of their 22 games have been decided by single digits, holding a record of 5-2 in those games.
• 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. Against Fort Lewis a few weeks ago, the Yellow Jackets matched a season-high of 22 made shots from the free throw line, marking two occasions they have hit 20 or more this year.
• 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 26-7 in their last 33 games overall, with a pair of those losses coming to a top-10 nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines squad.
• The Yellow Jackets entered the 2025-26 season as the preseason favorites in the RMAC and are now ranked No. 20 in the 11th regular season poll of the NABC Top-25 that was released on Tuesday. With all games occurring during the Ryan Thompson era, the Yellow Jackets are 52-14 all-time as a ranked team in the NABC Division II Coaches’ Poll.
• Through 14 games the Yellow Jackets are tied for second place in the conference standings with Colorado Mesa as they both sit 11-3 and one game back of Fort Lewis who is 12-2 in the league. BHSU has scored 85 or more points in nine of their 14 conference games this season, which includes a pair of 100-point outings as they average the fifth-best scoring average in the conference, 86.1 points per game in RMAC play.
• It marked the first time in the NCAA Division II era and the first time since 2002-03, the Yellow Jackets scored 90 or more points in four consecutive games against South Dakota Mines (104-76), Chadron State (90-67), UCCS (97-92), and Colorado Christian (96-76) back in December. 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).
• 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.
• The Yellow Jackets currently rank second in NCAA Division II in effective field goal percentage (58.8%), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (29.09), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.54), assists per game (18.2), and field goal percentage (50.4%), 13th in 3-point percentage (39.1%), 16th in 3-pointers per game (10.3), and 18th in scoring margin (13.3).
• Through 22 games the reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year and the Bevo Francis Award Top-100 Watch List member, Lowe, averages 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.21steals per game. He enters Thursday’s game with 19 double digit scoring performances this season. He notched his 21st 20-point game of his career, shooting the ball 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc against UCCS last weekend. Last month he scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range against Colorado Mesa. He has connected on three or more 3-pointers ten times this year. Nationally in NCAA Division II this season he currently ranks 15th in 3-point percentage (43.5%) and is 31st in 3-pointers per game (2.91). He connected on his 100th career 3-pointer against Regis and has since brought his career 3-point shooting up to 128-of-309 (41.4%). In the Yellow Jackets match-up with New Mexico Highlands he grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds, marking his first double-double of the year as he added 12 points. The match-up with NMHU was one of 14 games thus far with six or more boards. This year he is among the top players in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage, ranking 12th nationally as he is shooting 56-of-62 from the charity stripe for an 90.3 percent clip.
• With his sixth consecutive game in double figures and eighth of the season at the time, Hackley posted his second 20-point outing with 22 points to lead the way for the Yellow Jackets at Northern State on New Year’s Day. The other 20-point outing this year for the redshirt-junior guard came in the RMAC opener at South Dakota Mines, as he poured in 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 boards. In total he has reached double figures scoring in 13 games. He is currently averaging 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game this year. He recorded his second career double-double and first of the season with a 16-point and 10-assist outing against UCCS in December, while also adding five rebounds. He has dished out four or more assists in 13 of the 22 games this year thus far, including tying his career-high of ten in the win over the Mountain Lions. He enters this weekend with three consecutive games of five or more assists. He has also collected a pair of steals in four games, most recently doing so against Regis earlier this month. This year he currently ranks third in the RMAC and 31st nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.53) and is fifth in the league in assists per game (4.1). He entered the 2025-26 season in the top-10 of both the BHSU career assists and steals per game lists and enters Thursday night just four assists shy of 250 in his career.
• 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 the last ten games and 16 times in total this season, averaging 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Against Colorado Christian in the last RMAC contest prior to the winter break, 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 in 2025-26 he is shooting 112-of-193 (58.0%) from the field, which currently leads the RMAC and ranks 27th in the nation in field goal percentage. Additionally, among the top defenders in the league, he has collected multiple steals in nine games. He matched a career-high of five steals against MSU Moorhead in November. Against Fort Lewis, he matched a career-high of eight rebounds, one of nine games he has snagged five or more boards this year. He missed all of 2024-25 due to injury but averaged 4.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 2023-24.
• Now sitting at 1,029, Hurdle eclipsed 1,000 career points in the Yellow Jackets game at Chadron State last month. He remains one of the top sharpshooters from distance in all of NCAA Division II, ranking top-5 among active players with 228 career 3-pointers. After leading DII by knocking down 47.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in 2024-25, through 21 games in his second season in Spearfish he is currently shooting at a 45.1 percent clip from 3-point range as he is 46-of-102 on the year. In his last outing of the 2025 calendar year against Colorado Christian, he scored a season-high 20 points, connecting on 6-of-8 shots from distance. He has scored in double figures on 12 occasions this year. On nine occasions this year he has hit three or more 3-pointers (16 career games as a Yellow Jacket with three or more 3-pointers). On the road at MSU Denver he knocked down his 100th career 3-pointer as a Yellow Jacket, having now connected on 116-of-249 (46.6%) from deep in a year and a half with the Yellow Jackets. Also, during the 2025-26 season, he reached 200 career 3-pointers across his stops at CSU Pueblo, Fort Lewis, and Black Hills State, as he sank his first triple of the day against UCCS on December 11. From beyond the arc in his five collegiate seasons, he is 228-of-549 (41.5%). During the 2025-26 season, the Preseason All-RMAC selection is currently averaging 9.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. He currently ranks seventh in the RMAC in both 3-pointers per game (2.19) and total 3-pointers made (46).
• Jack Haggett ended the 2025 calendar year with one of his best outings of his career, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe against Dickinson State, while also adding five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Against the Blue Hawks he took over in the second half, going 7-of-9 from the field for 15 of his 19 points in less than 13 minutes of action in the final frame, securing his fifth double digit scoring performance of the year at the time. He now has eight double figure scoring games this season. He has made his presence known in the post with a strong start to his sophomore campaign, averaging 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game this season. At Western Colorado, he grabbed a career-best nine rebounds and has secured five or more boards in 16 games this year. Against Chadron State in December, he recorded a career-best four steals as he poured in a then season-best 16 points. In back-to-back outings he dished out a career-best seven assists against UMary and then recorded another six against South Dakota Mines. He has recorded three or more assists in ten games and has posted a career-high three blocked shots twice in 2025-26. In the RMAC he currently ranks sixth in blocks per game (1.10).
• Newcomer Willie Patterson III averaged 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 7.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.9 blocked shot per game. He is shooting the ball 42.6 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from 3-point range, and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe in 2025-26. Against Chadron State, he poured in a career-best 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a career-best 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Also, against the Eagles, he grabbed a career-best seven rebounds and matched that the very next outing against South Dakota Mines as well. He has scored in double figures six times this season. On nine occasions this season he has stepped outside and made multiple shots from distance in a game. 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 five games this season and has recorded multiple blocked shots five times. He currently ranks 11th in the RMAC with 0.86 blocked shot per game. Additionally, in 13 games this year he has secured four or more rebounds.
• BJ Woodruff, who has entered a starting role for the Yellow Jackets recently, he has scored in double figures in three straight games and four of the last six contests. During the recent stretch he has scored a career-high 15 points twice, first against South Dakota Mines as he went 5-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, while against UCCS he scored 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. In both the previously mentioned SDM and UCCS contests, he grabbed a season-high five rebounds, and against the Mountain Lions he dished out a season-high five assists. In three of the last four games, he has dished out four or more assists, and on five total occasions this season. He has connected on multiple shots from beyond the arc eight times, including a season-high of four 3-pointers against Sul Ross State, Colorado Mesa, and UCCS. The sophomore guard enters the match-up averaging 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
• Blake Volmer received just his third career start and second of the season against Regis. The junior guard has posted his first two career double digit scoring games in the 2025-26 season, first pouring in ten points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting from distance, and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe against Texas A&M International during the first weekend of the season. Then in December against UCCS he scored a career-high 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and 1-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe. He has provided efficient shooting from the bench, knocking down 50.9 percent (27-53) of his shots from the field and 50.0 percent (16-32) of his shots from beyond the arc. On three occasions this season he has made multiple 3-pointers. In six games this year he has secured four or more rebounds, including a career-best nine rebounds against South Dakota Mines a few weeks ago. He averages 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
• Also, in the rotation in the post, Joel Speckman scored a season-high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe the Yellow Jackets last time out at UCCS. Last month against MSU Denver, he grabbed a season-best six rebounds and matched a season-high of four assists. He has tallied three double digit scoring games this year and on four occasions has grabbed four or more boards. He averages 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He is shooting the ball 28-of-44 (63.6%) from the field in 2025-26.
• Ryan Thompson is in his eighth season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a record of 157-70 during his career. The win at Northern State on New Year’s Day secured his 150th career victory, making him just the second coach in program history to reach 150 in their Yellow Jacket career, joining all-time win’s leader Mike Olson (179).

• Colorado School of Mines enters the weekend with a record of 13-12 (9-5 RMAC) this weekend following a pair of wins over Western Colorado (84-67) and Westminster (77-71, OT) last week.
• The Orediggers who have protected home court all year long, going 9-1 in Lockridge Arena, have struggled on the road this season as they have tallied just three wins in ten tries in true road match-ups.
• The defending RMAC Champions currently sit in a tie with Adams State for fifth place in the league standings as they both have gone 9-5 through 14 contests. In the Preseason RMAC Coaches’ Poll the Orediggers were picked to finish second in the league, behind only preseason favorite Black Hills State.
• Colorado School of Mines enters the game amongst the top teams in the RMAC in several different categories, leading the league in 3-point percentage defense (30.8%), ranking second in assists per game (16.8), and is third in both assist/turnover ratio (1.28) and blocks per game (4.2).
• The Orediggers have allowed ten or more 3-pointers just four times this season, holding a 2-2 record in those contests. Additionally, in 11 games their opponents have been held to 30.0 percent or worse shooting from beyond the arc, going 7-4 in those match-ups.
• The Mines offense has dished out 20 or more assists in seven games this year, recording a 7-0 record when doing so.
• A 2025 Second Team All-RMAC selection and one of this year’s Preseason All-RMAC picks, Markus Pastorcic-Straun has not seen the court since early January for Mines. He was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 19.9 points per game while shooting the ball 52.9 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from 3-point range. He also was the team leader in assists with an average of 3.5 per game. He scored more than 20 points in seven games and twice scored 30 or more against Nebraska-Kearney and Lubbock Christian.
• Alex Romack, a Preseason All-RMAC selection for the Orediggers, is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points along with 9.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 block per game. He is shooting the ball 54.3 percent from the field. He claimed his second RMAC Defensive Player of the Week Award this Monday afternoon, as he added two double-doubles to bring his season total to 16. His 16 double-doubles currently ranks second in NCAA Division II this season. Along with leading the conference and ranking tenth nationally in rebounds per game, he also ranks third in the league with 25 total blocked shots. This season he has scored in double figures 21 times, has secured ten or more rebounds 17 times, and in six games has recorded multiple blocked shots.
• A 3-point shooting threat for Mines, Jonathan Moore enters the game averaging 12.7 points per game while shooting the ball 50.0 percent from the field, 48.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 89.1 percent from the free throw line. He scored a season-high in his last outing against Westminster, pouring in 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe. He has scored 20 or more points three times this year. From deep he has hit multiple 3-pointers in 11 games, ranking 11th in the RMAC with 1.95 3-pointers per contest. He is also active on the boards, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, and has secured five or more rebounds in 11 games. He has one double-double this year with a 17-point and 10-rebound outing against Fort Lewis a couple weeks ago.
• Rounding out the double digit scorers for the Orediggers is Shelton Henton who averages 10.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting the ball 43.7 percent from the field, 43.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.6 percent from the charity stripe. In 12 games he has scored in double figures, four times scoring 20 or more points, and one reaching 30 points as he poured in a season-high 37 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and 11-of-17 shooting from 3-point range against Regis. Also, amongst the top shooters from distance in the league, he has connected on four or more 3-pointers in six games, and in 14 games has hit multiple shots from beyond the arc. He currently ranks second in the RMAC and 16th in NCAA Division II in 3-point percentage.
• The 2025-26 RMAC Coach of the Year and now a 7-time recipient of the award, Pryor Orser is the league's all-time winningest head coach as in his 25th season at Colorado School of Mines he has guided the Orediggers to a record of 487-244 during his career. He has secured 13 20-win seasons for CSM while at the helm in Golden. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2011-12 season, Colorado School of Mines holds a 17-8 advantage in the series, however, Black Hills State has won five of the last eight match-ups. Among those five recent wins for the Yellow Jackets, four occurred against a nationally ranked Oredigger squad.
• The Orediggers secured a pair of victories over the Yellow Jackets last season, most recently a 77-64 win in the RMAC Tournament Semifinals on March 7, 2025, in Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado. The Green & Gold were led by 21 points and seven rebounds by Cam Lowe in the game, while Jaeton Hackley recorded ten points, ten rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the contest.