No. 23 Yellow Jackets Travel Down I-90 For Rivalry Match-Up With South Dakota Mines

The 2025-26 conference schedule begins on Tuesday, December 2, for the No. 23 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team as they make the short drive down I-90 to visit rival South Dakota Mines for the first of two meetings this season. The Yellow Jackets look to snap a 2-game losing streak in RMAC openers, seeking their first 1-0 in start in league play since 2022-23 as they are in the midst of their best start to a season since that final four team three years ago. The battle between the Green & Gold and the Hardrockers will be one of the RMAC’s top 3-point shooting squads as SDM enters averaging 10.1 3-pointers a contest while BHSU averages 9.3 a game. Black Hills State, however, also features one of the top 3-point defenses in the conference as they limit opponents to just 30.7 percent from deep.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Date/Time/Location: Thursday, December 2 / 7:30 p.m.  / Rapid City, S.D.  / King Center

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.

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.

#23 BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State enters Tuesday’s match-up with South Dakota Mines with a record of 5-1 (0-0 RMAC) following a pair of wins in the Dakota Challenge over Minot State (72-65) and UMary (85-74). The 5-1 start to the year is the best 6-game start for the Yellow Jackets since 2022-23 (6-0).
• Through the first three weeks of the season, BHSU improved to 13-1 in their last 14 games against the Lone Star Conference (LSC). Meanwhile, they improved to 5-6 against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) the last two years, and they are 9-11 since 2018-19.
• 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.
• Shooting the ball 34-of-65 (52.3%), the Green & Gold shot the ball 50.0 percent or better from the field for the fourth time this season, improving to 3-1 in those games this year and 13-2 since the start of 2024-25.
• BHSU has seen five players score in double figures in three of their six games. A year ago, it occurred five times where five players scoring in doubles figures, as the Yellow Jackets are 7-1 in such games since the beginning of 2024-25.
• The Yellow Jackets enter 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 13-4 in their last 17 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. 23 in the first regular season poll of the NABC Top-25 that was released last 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 bring 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.
• For the first time since the opening weekend of the season, Black Hills State connected on double digiti 3-pointers, hitting 11-of-24 (45.8%) against the Marauders of UMary in the final game of the Dakota Challenge. The Yellow Jackets improved to 3-0 in 2025-26 when they make ten or more from distance, and 15-5 since the start of the 2024-25 season.
• 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.
• 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 13th in NCAA Division II in assists per game (20.2), 23rd in defensive rebounds per game (29.50), 26th in effective field goal percentage (57.4%), and 28th in field goal percentage (49.9%).
• Myles Johnson, the December 1 RMAC Defensive Player of the Week following the Minot State and UMary contests, has reached double figures in five of his first six games back to the court, averaging 14.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 blocks per game. Against the Beavers and Marauders, he matched a career-high three blocked shots against Minot State and recorded his third multi-steal game of the year against UMary. 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 AU 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 37-of-57 (64.9%) from the field, 3-of-9 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 8-of-10 (80.0%) from the free throw line. He currently leads the RMAC and ranks 30th in the nation in field goal percentage and ranks second in 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.
• Through six games the reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year, Lowe, averages 14.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 per game. While finding his shooting touch this past weekend, he shot the ball 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the field, 6-of-11 (54.5%) from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 (100.0%) at the free throw line as he led the Yellow Jackets in scoring in both victories over Minot State and UMary. Now with four double digit scoring performances this season, he matched his season-high performance of 21 points against the Marauders for his 12th 20-point game of his career. Also, against UMary, he grabbed a season-best nine rebounds, one of five games this year he has secured eight or more boards. The First Team All-RMAC and Second Team All-South Central Region selection averaged 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season, posting eight double-doubles on the year. He entered the season as the active leading career scorer in the RMAC, tied for active lead in career rebounds, and is the leagues’ top free throw shooter as he is 83.7 percent from the charity stripe in his career.
• Hackley is averaging 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game this year entering the RMAC opener. He has dished out four or more assists in four of the six 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 twice this season, scoring a season-high of 12 against MSUM and then adding 11 against Augustana the next day. 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 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game this season. He has scored in double figures twice this year, first in the season opener against Sul Ross State, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, adding five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks, and then against Augustana he scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 shooting from 3-point range, 4-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe, and he added four rebounds and three blocks. In the most recent game, he dished out a career-best seven assists against UMary, notching the fourth game this year he has recorded three or more assists.
• Making their Yellow Jacket debut last month, transfers Willie Patterson III and Jackson Seale have provided added production to an already talented group of returners. Seale scored a career-high 15 points in the win over the UMary and added six rebounds as he is now averaging 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 block per game on the young season. Patterson on the other hand is now averaging 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists after he recorded a double-double in his first game with the program against Sul Ross State with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Patterson notched his third double figure scoring game of the season against UMary, scoring a season-high 13 points and dishing out a season-best four assists.
• 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-26 (53.8%) from beyond the arc since then in the last five games. The Preseason All-RMAC selection and the 2024-25 NCAA Division II leader in 3-point percentage is averaging 9.3 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 45.2 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 five consecutive games.
• Ryan Thompson is in his eighth season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a record of 144-67 during his career.

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES STORYLINES

• South Dakota Mines enters the mid-week match-up with a record of 2-5 (0-0 RMAC) this season following a split this past weekend at the Dakota Challenge. The Hardrockers dropped an 82-71 contest at UMary and then defeated Minot State 84-79 in their last outing.
• The Hardrockers currently rank 20th in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage, knocking down 126-of-157 attempts for an 80.3 percent clip.
• South Dakota Mines is 71-of-188 (37.8%) from 3-point range this season, averaging 10.1 3-pointers per game. They are currently second in the RMAC in 3-pointers per game and are fourth in 3-point percentage. On three occasions they have connected on 14 or more shots from distance, including a 16-of-39 (41.0%) performance against Augustana.
• Jason Lee a transfer from San Bernardino Valley, leads SDM in scoring (15.4), assists (6.9), and steals (2.3). He has recorded a season-high of 27 points on two occasions against Texas A&M-Kingsville and in the most recent match-up with Minot State. Also, against the Beavers, he added ten assists for his first double-double of the season and added seven rebounds. He currently ranks third in NCAA Division II in total assists (48), fourth in assists per game, fifth in free throws made (49), and tenth in free throw attempts (57). He leads the RMAC in total assists, assists per game, total steals, steals per game, and free throws made.
• The duo of Ryan Sweeney and Gavin Soukup are players to watch beyond the arc, as they each shoot better than 50.0 percent from deep. While averaging 12.4 points per game, Sweeney has made 30-of-54 attempts from deep for a 55.6 percent clip, while Soukup averages 11.0 points per game and is shooting 17-of-33 from beyond the arc for 51.5 percent. Sweeney’s best performance from distance was a 6-of-7 outing against Augustana as he scored 32 points in the contest, while Soukup was 7-of-8 from beyond the arc for 22 points against UMary and 2-of-3 for 17 points against Minot State this past weekend.
• Gray Thompson is averaging 11.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game this year as he has posted a pair of double digit performances scoring and three 10-rebound outings. His lone double-double of the season was a 23-point, 10-rebound performance against MSU Moorhead in which he shot the ball 6-of-10 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
• Michael Iseman is in his first season as head coach at South Dakota Mines, guiding the Hardrockers to a record of 2-5 thus far in his tenure after arriving in Rapid City following a stint as an assistant coach at Missouri S&T.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 1999-2000 season, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines have met on the hardwood 54 times, with the Yellow Jackets holding a narrow 29-25 edge in the series since then.
• After dropping last season’s RMAC opener 58-50 on December 3, 2024, at the King Center in Rapid City to the Hardrockers, the Yellow Jackets avenged the earlier loss and recorded a 65-44 win in A2 Arena on February 1, 2025, for the season split.