RAPID CITY - Most wins in a season ever, best record in school history, most wins in a row with 15 and its first Final Four appearance in school history- it would not be much of a stretch to say the Black Hills State men's basketball team had its best season ever in 2008-09.

"Going into the season we really believed we could win the conference this year and get to the national tournament," said Black Hills State head coach Paul Sather. "I thought if we could get this young group to the national tournament and get the feel for what it was about, what a season that would have been. So for us to end up the way we did I'm just ecstatic."

The Yellow Jackets, playing with five sophomore starters, won the Dakota Athletic Conference regular season title with a conference record of 13-1. They went on to win the conference tournament going 3-0 with a championship game victory over Minot State 93-77.

"We felt like we were playing some of our best basketball at the end of the year," said Sather. "We really played well all three games. I thought we played hard, played with a great sense of purpose and real sense of urgency throughout the DAC tournament."

Along the way sophomores Luke Enos, Cain Atkinson and Will John Johnson were each named to the DAC all-conference first team and Enos was named DAC Player of the Year. Sather also got in on the postseason awards when he was named conference Coach of the Year.

"Those three are so deserving of the awards they received," said Sather. "But it is a great team accomplishment as well. Those three guys were important for us because they were the guys we needed to make the plays. We put a lot on them and they responded all season."

But the Yellow Jackets didn't stop there. They went to the national tournament with something to prove winning their first game 62-58 over Cal State-East Bay. Black Hills then topped Morningside College in the second round, 84-73. In the quarterfinals the Yellow Jackets won their 15th consecutive game besting Grace University, 77-73, and in the process advanced to the school's first-ever Final Four.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Enos was named to the all-tournament team and was named second team all-American.

In the semifinals, Black Hills State magical run finally came to an end losing to the No. 1-ranked team in the country and eventual national champion Oklahoma Wesleyan, 85-72. The Yellow Jackets led at halftime, 46-45, but a strong second half by the Oklahoma team put the game away.

"Our expectations started to go up as the season progressed," said Sather. "You start feeling like maybe this is something we can do, and I don't think any of our guys at the end of the Oklahoma Wesleyan game weren't satisfied with just making it there. All of them felt like we let one get away in the second half. It was a loss that was as disappointing, if not more, than any other year."

The Yellow Jackets will lose seniors A.J. Fodness, Randy Herman, Aaron Sutton and Keighton Hatten to graduation.

"I think our four seniors coming off the bench gave us a real advantage. I felt like that was a real key to our run that we made to the national tournament. We believed all year that we had the best bench in the country, and I can't think of a better bench we played against." said Sather.

The Yellow Jackets will return all five starters next season and have added transfer Jonathon Ferrie and freshmen Tanner Adler and Jordan Dolph.

"We want to win the league, make it to the national tournament, and make a run at the national championship. When we recruit our guys we tell them we want to win a national championship," Sather said. "But our whole goal is to get better every day. We don't get caught up in how many wins we have, we just want to get better day in and day out."