Jackets win regionals, on to Elite 8

Richard Anderson photo

Black Hills State's Joel Scott, shown in the RMAC Tournament against New Mexico Highlands, became the program's all-time single season leading scorer (743 points) with 20 points in the Jackets win over Colorado Mesa for the South Central Regional title Tuesday night in Lubbock, Texas.

The Black Hills State University men’s basketball team keeps on making history as the Jackets move on to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight after a 72-62 win over Colorado Mesa in the championship game of the South Central Regional Tournament Tuesday night in Lubbock, Texas.

The Yellow Jackets, winners of nine straight games, compete in the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind., from March 22-26. BHSU will go in as the 8th seed and race No. 1 Nova Southeastern Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. MT.

The Jackets have now won their first outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season title and postseason tournament qualifying for their first NCAA Tournament and have now won their first regional tournament on the Division 2 level.

Black Hills State head coach Ryan Thompson said in the post-game news conference that he can’t say enough about the team’s buy-in, its attitude and selfless approach this season.

“I’m just so proud of our guys,” he said. “They put in so much work, starting last spring and following through in the summer and fall with skill development and weight lifting, changing their bodies and changing their games.

“Throughout the season we have had such high-character kids who bought in to everything we tried to sell to them. They sacrificed through on being unselfish and not really caring who scores or who is the guy from night to night. It’s a great team to be part of and I am honored to be coach them.”

The RMAC had two representatives to six from the Lone Star Conference in the South Regional, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes were the last two teams standing.

Black Hills State never trailed, although it only led by one point with about five minutes remaining.

That was when the Jackets, 25-7, regained their momentum in a hurry behind the hot outside shooting of sophomore PJ Hayes, who hit a four-point play and two 3-pionters in the final minutes as the Jackets closed on a 21-12 run.

Junior Joel Scott made some history of his own, as he became BHSU's all-time single-season scoring leader. Scott, the RMAC Player of the Year, has 743 points this season, breaking the previous record of 733 by Kim Templeton. He also recorded his 20th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds after just five points in the first half.

“It was really my teammates knocking down shots and spreading out the floor, so it makes it easy for me to get inside a little bit. And they were finding me when I was open,” Scott said of his big second half. “It’s not just me. I finished it but they opened everything up for me.”

Sophomore Adam Moussa finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Hayes went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, scoring 13 while senior Sindou Cisse added eight rebounds, three assists and six points. Moussa and Scott were named to the All-Tournament team, while Scott took home tournament MVP.

“I think we are one of the toughest teams right now in the country,” Moussa said. “The last month or so we’re diving on the floor, we’re getting charges. But it is easy when you have a guy (Scott) scoring 20 points on 12 shots every game and a coach (Thompson) who is honestly the best coach in the country.”

A Tommy Donovan jumper followed by a Moussa 3-pointer extended BHSU's lead to 18-12 midway through the first. But a pair of Maverick 3s would cut the Yellow Jacket lead down to 22-21. Layups from Moussa and Scott moved the Yellow Jackets ahead 34-29 with 1:02 to go as Black Hills State would take a 34-31 lead into the break.

A quick 7-0 start to open the second half gave BHSU its first 10-point lead, 41-31. CMU would keep things close, though, and stay within striking distance as Black Hills State led 51-46 with 7:39 remaining. The Mavericks pulled back to within one, 51-50, with under six minutes to play before a pair of 3-pointers by Hayes gave the Yellow Jackets some breathing room as they led 60-51 with 3:13 to go. The Jackets eventually got back out to a double-digit lead on Hayes' fourth 3-pointer of the game before a Cisse layup on their next possession gave the Yellow Jackets a 67-55 advantage with less than two minutes to play. In the final seconds, the BH would hit 5-of-7 free throws to seal the win. The two teams split during the regular season, with each team earning road wins. The Mavericks fell to Regis 79-76 in the RMAC semifinals.

Colorado Mesa fell to 26-10 on the season. Jared Small led the Mavericks with 16 points, with Trevor Baskin adding 12 points. Both were named to the all-tournament team. Mesa shot 43 percent from the field (24-of-56) and hit just 7-of-27 3-pointers.

The Jackets shot consistently well in the game, hitting 52 percent in each half and finished 27-of-54 from the field while connecting on 7-of-20 3-pointers. BHSU held a 34-28 rebounding edge.

The Jackets, the No. 3 seed of the tournament, beat No. 6 Dallas Baptist 76-68 and No. 2 West Texas A&M 91-77 to get into the South Regional finals. Thompson said going into the Elite Eight, he is excited about the brand of basketball that his team is playing.

“We’re playing at a really high level,” he said. “We have guys who are playing so tough and physical and playing with an attitude. I feel like we’re going to have a chance next week – I like where we are at. I’m excited for the opportunity to go compete in Evansville.”