RAPID CITY - One team is playing for the sweep, the other for its season.

That is the scenario when the No. 5 Black Hills State men take on South Dakota School of Mines in the Dakota Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals tonight in Spearfish.

The Yellow Jackets swept the regular season meetings between the two schools topping the Hardrockers, 64-57, on Jan. 15 in Rapid City and 71-53 in Spearfish on Feb. 11.

"That first game we got an extra run right before halftime to go up 11 and they made a run. But it takes a lot out of you and we were able to get the win," BHSU head coach Paul Sather said. "Here we just shot the ball well and played pretty good defense. They tried to take some things away and we were able to hit from the perimeter."

The Yellow Jackets will not lack for confidence heading into the game as they reached the century mark in their quarterfinal victory over Dakota State on Sunday. Four players - led by Cain Atkinson - reached double figures for the Yellow Jackets as they reached 25 wins on the season, the most in school history.

BHSU hit 12 3-pointers in their victory over Dakota State.

The Hardrockers are coming off an 81-74 victory over Valley City State on Sunday, and know how big a win for them tonight could be.

"We know that if we lose that is our season," Mines head coach Jason Henry said. "BH is in the (national) tournament even if they lose with that No. 5 ranking. But we are looking at it like we need to win these next two games."

In the last meeting, the Hardrockers focused on Atkinson and Luke Enos and did a reasonable job of slowing both players down. But BHSU was able to get other players to step up on the offensive end.

"You would like to say if we can focus on a couple of guys and shut them down you are going to win," Henry said. "But Atkinson and Enos are arguably the two best players in our conference, so it will be a challenge."

Mines can counter with a big man on his own hot streak as Brandon Smith is coming off a 15-point, 12-rebound performance against the Vikings. The fifth-year senior gives the Hardrockers good balance inside to go along with Robbie Fedor and A.J. Trennepohl on the perimeter.

Mines enters the game knowing it can win on the road after downing Jamestown College in Jamestown, N.D., during the final week of the regular season.

"That was a big win for us, because we hadn't won on the road in conference before that," Henry said. "Now we know we can do it."

The 10th-ranked BHSU women are also home in the semifinals and are looking forward to their matchup with Jamestown College. The Jimmies downed the Yellow Jackets, 68-62, during the last week of the regular season.

"We didn't play particularly well up there and I will tell you we are looking forward to the challenge," BHSU head women's coach Mark Nore said. "It is a good matchup even though we are really opposites of each other. They are big and their strength is the inside, and ours is on the outside."

The young Yellow Jackets struggled in the first half of their quarterfinal game against Dakota State on Sunday, but rebounded for a convincing win to advance. Katelynn Lamb, Brittany Fuhrman and Piggy Pili are all playing at a high level for the Yellow Jackets.

One of the biggest keys for BHSU is to slow down the Jimmies' Amanda Rantapaa, a Lead native.

"She really hit some big shots and changed the flow of the game the last time we played," Nore said.

The winners of both games will advance to the DAC championship game Sunday where an automatic berth to the national tournament is on the line.