Rapid City, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team will open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this Saturday against long-time rival --- Black Hills State University. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m. (MST) at the King Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, and will be streamed lived on Stretch Internet at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .

In the all-time vs. category, the Yellow Jackets lead the series, 102-88, but more recently the Hardrockers have been on a heater with a 10-4 advantage over the past eight seasons.

Black Hills State enters conference play with a 1-3 overall record having lost to Northern State University 82-50; Alaska Fairbanks, 68-64; and Montana State University Billings 90-70. The Jackets' lone win came in an upset over Augustana University, 65-62, back on November 17 during the East vs. West Challenge in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Senior forward Fraser Malcolm leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 77 points this season. Malcolm is 28-57 from the field and 8-20 from the three point line. Malcolm currently sits fifth in all-time free throws made (182), sixth all-time in field goals made (339), fifth all-time in rebounds (453), and fifth all-time in blocks (48). BHSU senior guard Dez Stoudamire, who has 44 points this season. Stoudamire is 12-39 from the field and 11-32 from the three point line.

The Yellow Jackets are averaging 4.5 blocks per game so far this season. That is good for third in the RMAC and 41st in the country. Stefan Desnica and Antonio Capley both average 1.3 blocked shots per game, while is good for being tied for 10th the league.

Black Hills State was tabbed eighth in the RMAC Coaches' Poll with 116 points. Regis was voted to finish first with eight first-place votes (216 points), while Colorado School of Mines (four first-place votes), Fort Lewis (two  first-place votes), and Dixie State (two first-place votes) were selected to finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, after all receiving at least two first place votes.

Ryan Thompson enters his first year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets after spending the previous four years as the assistant coach. He recorded his first win as the head coach over Augustana.

The Hardrockers enter the RMAC schedule after going 2-5 in nonconference play. SD Mines is averaging 63.0 points per game, while allowing opponents to score 67.7 ppg (ranked second in the RMAC). Allec Williams leads the Hardrockers with 11.4 points per game, while Mitchell Sueker leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 4.9 boards per game, while also averaging in double-figure scoring (10.7 ppg).