DENVER – After making a run to the NCAA Division II national semifinals last season, all Black Hills State did was return its top seven scorers and add an All-RMAC first team selection from the transfer portal.
Still somehow ranked only No. 5 (coaches) and No. 4 (sports information directors) in the country, the 8-0 Yellow Jackets (2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) come to the Auraria Event Center on Friday for a 7 p.m. game against MSU Denver.
"They're really good, and they don't beat themselves," said first-year MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke, who saw Black Hills State first-hand during the season's opening weekend, when the Roadrunners and Yellow Jackets played the same opponents in Oklahoma City. "They have two guys in (forward Joel) Scott and (guard Adam) Moussa who force you to give help, and then they have guys around them who can make shots at a high rate. You kind of have to pick your poison, decide what you are willing to give up, and then hope they miss a couple of shots."
MSU Denver (4-4, 1-1), after an excellent win last Saturday on the road against a Colorado Mesa team receiving votes in both national polls, goes from the proverbial frying pan into an almost literal fire this weekend.
After Friday's matchup is a 6 p.m. home game Saturday against South Dakota Mines, a less-heralded but still dangerous team that is 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
But, as always, the first focus is the Friday game.
Scott, a 6-foot-8 forward, is the returning RMAC Player of the Year and a legitimate national player of the year candidate who is averaging 21.8 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 63.4 percent from the field (59 of 93) and 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8 of 19).
Moussa averages 9.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists. PJ Hayes averages 14.7 points per game and is shooting 57.1 percent from 3 (24 of 42). Sindou Cisse missed a few early games but is one of the league's most potent players.
And then joining the Yellow Jackets' program this season is 6-4 guard Matthew Ragsdale, and Scott's former high school teammate is third on the team is scoring at 12.8 per game after earning All-RMAC first team honors last season at Western Colorado.
"Like all the best teams you have to beat them, because they won't beat themselves," Ficke said. "They know what they want to do, where they want to be, what the counters are when you are defending them. They play with a high IQ offensively. And defensively, they take away what you want to do and make you make tough shots."
Last season, Black Hills State won in Denver on a basket at the buzzer by Scott. The Yellow Jackets then lost three of their next five games before a 10-game winning streak – including an 80-75 win over MSU Denver in Spearfish, S.D. – put them in Division II's final four.
MSU Denver hopes to return to those lofty post-season heights as soon as possible, and the future look good as the Roadrunners continue to be competitive with a nearly new and extremely youthful roster.
Among the multiple bright spots is true freshman point guard
Brayden Maldonado, averaging 8.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 45.0 percent from 3-point range (9 of 20) and 88.0 percent at the free throw line (22 of 25).
In the win at Mesa, Maldonado scored 14 points, made all four of his 3-point tries – including the go-ahead hoop with 1:56 left as the shot clock expired – and had seven assists with just one turnover. For the season, his +2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the RMAC.
Despite excellent high school production, Maldonado was somewhat overlooked in recruiting. Ficke was attempting to recruit him to Belmont Abbey (N.C.) – on a tip from his father, a Denver resident who had seen Maldonado play – before taking the MSU Denver job in the spring.
"It's kind of a scary thought to go into the season with a true freshman point guard," Ficke said. "But his work ethic is second to none. He's constantly in the gym getting up extra shots outside of practice, so it's not a surprise that shots are falling for him. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, with something to prove, and I just love his heart. I'm excited about how good he ultimately can be."
