THIS WEEK: Minot State is back on the road in the Dakota Athletic Conference postseason tournament game, traveling to Black Hills State Sunday (4 p.m. MT).
RECORDS: The Beavers are 13-16 overall while BHSU comes into the game at 24-5 overall.
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Peter Stewart, who is in his first season with MSU. Stewart's record is 13 wins and 16 losses overall and with the Beavers. BHSU is led by Bradd Schafer, who is 24-5 in his first season.
ON THE AIR: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM.
RANKINGS: Black Hills State remained in the top 5, coming in at No. 5 in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll. MSU was not ranked.
RECENT HISTORY: Minot State upset No. 4 seeded Dickinson State on the road Wednesday, ending the Blue Hawks season with a 75-59 win. Top seed BHSU got a 91-70 win over Mayville State in the first round.
OVERALL SERIES: The Yellow Jackets snapped an 18-18 tie in the overall series with a win at Minot State a week ago in Minot. The two teams split a pair of games this season, winning on each other's home court.
NOTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Black Hills State is no stranger to the DAC semifinals as the Yellow Jackets have reached the semis in five of the past six seasons and the championship game in two of those years … Senior center Will John Johnson has been a force on the glass this season as he is ranked third in the NAIA Division II in both rebounds per game (11.17) and defensive rebounds per game (7.48)… The Yellow Jackets top four returning players, Luke Enos, Cain Atkinson, Clay Pottorff and Johnson were an NAIA First Team All-American, an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, a third team All-DAC and the DAC Defensive Player of the Year last season respectively.
STREAK SNAPPED: Minot State senior Jason West (G, Lompoc, Calif.) had his seven-game double figures scoring streak snapped at the hands of Dickinson State on Wednesday, but still leads the team with a 12.03 scoring average. West has steadily increased his scoring average throughout much of the second half of the season. Since a dreadful two-game span in Montana where he combined to score two points, West has scored 10 or more points in 14 of 17 games. His MSU career high came with a 31-point outburst against McMaster at the Wesmen Classic in December.
SEEING DOUBLE: The Beavers have had eight double-doubles this year with two being triple doubles. Five different MSU players have had at least one of those eight with junior Kelvin Fraser (F, Brooklyn, N.Y.) leading the way with four. He has one of the Beavers triple-doubles as he finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks against South Dakota Mines a week ago. Jason West is second on the team with two double-double, one being a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals against Dickinson State.
AND THE FIRST RUNNER UP IS: MSU's Anthony Enriquez (Jr., G, Tacoma, Wash.) is second on the team in four statistical categories as he trails Jason West in scoring (11.61), assists (47) and steals (45) an is second to Kelvin Fraser in rebounding (4.43 per game).
STEAL ARTISTS: Minot State's Jason West is closing in on the MSU single-season steals record as he is just eight behind former teammate Mister Carney's record of 88, set last season. The duo have four of the top five single seasons in steals all time as Carney had 86 in 2008-09 and 88 in 2009-10, while West had 49 in 2009-10.
– GO BEAVERS –
