FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, January 11, 2016 ‘Jacket men continue road trip this week with GNAC games in Alaska
MSUB’s men’s basketball team faces Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday and Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday as GNAC play rolls on. BILLINGS, Mont. – After a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference road games last week, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team continues on to Alaska where it will face two more conference opponents this week. The Yellowjackets (6-7, 3-3 GNAC) will challenge the University of Alaska Anchorage (13-4, 6-0 GNAC) on Tuesday evening with a 9 p.m. Mountain time tipoff at the Alaska Airlines Center. On Thursday, MSUB will head north to challenge the Nanooks of the University of Alaska (11-3, 5-1 GNAC), in another 9 p.m. Mountain time tipoff at the Patty Center. Both games will feature live video and statistics available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. Coming off a pair of losses last week, the ‘Jackets will challenge two of the top three teams in the conference. Being undefeated in league play, the Seawolves sit in first place and hold an 8-2 record at home. The Nanooks are currently tied with Western Oregon for second place, with their only conference loss coming last Thursday on a last-second 3pointer in overtime against Western Washington.
MSUB fell to Northwest Nazarene University 98-96 last Thursday in Nampa, Idaho, before losing at Central Washington University 87-75 on Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash. “This is kind of a quick turn-around for us but we should be ready to go,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We have had ideal travel conditions and had a great rest and travel day Sunday. We feel like we will be prepared for both teams, and they are both very good. We will need to play well in all areas of the game, and this will be a nice opportunity for our guys to see where we are in this league.” ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Jackets will be completing a four-game road trip this week as they make the turn into the second half of their 2015-16 schedule. Of MSUB’s first 16 games, 12 have been away from home including the two games this week which wrap up the longest road stretch of the year. The rest of the way, MSUB has eight of its final 12 games of the year at Alterowitz Gym, with just two more two-game road trips on tap in conference play. ROOT FOR MSUB: As part of the GNAC’s annual Game of the Week series featured on ROOT SPORTS, the Yellowjackets will appear on the regional sports network on Feb. 20 in a road game against Seattle Pacific University. That game will tip off at 10 p.m. Mountain time, with live broadcast information available online at www.msubsports.com. PERRY INTO DOUBE DIGITS: Contributing two of his better performances of the season last week, sophomore guard Jordan Perry scored 26 points in MSUB’s two games to bring his season scoring average to 10.0 points. Perry had 16 points and six rebounds against the Crusaders, and followed up with 10 points against the Wildcats on Saturday. He made 5 of 11 shots from 3-point range in the two games, had six assists against just three turnovers, and also had a pair of steals in each contest. Averaging 27 minutes per game, Perry now leads the team with 34 assists and is turning in a solid 4.2 rebounds per contest as well. DENHAM PUTS UP CAREER NUMBERS: Sophomore point guard Kendall Denham scored a career-high 25 points on Thursday against Northwest Nazarene University and also led all players with six assists. Denham followed up with 11 points and five assists at Central Washington on Saturday, completing the weekend with 11 assists against just four turnovers. Denham also picked up five rebounds in the two games, and made 12 of 20 shots from the field including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. Denham is now averaging 8.2 points per game and has scored in double figures in five games this season. His previous career high was a 16-point effort at home against Alaska Fairbanks a season ago. OLUFEMI’S COMPLETE EFFORT: Junior center Emmanuel Olufemi had his best two games of the season last week, contributing in every aspect of the game for the Yellowjackets. On Thursday, Olufemi scored 12 points and had eight rebounds, with four each on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Olufemi followed with eight points and six rebounds the next night, and had six blocks in the two games. Committing just one turnover in 45 total minutes on the court, Olufemi also made all four of his free throws and made 8 of 11 shots overall from the field. In his first season with the ‘Jackets, Olufemi is averaging 3.2 blocks and a teambest 6.7 rebounds per game, with more than a third of his boards coming on the offensive end (14 of 40).
Sophomore point guard Kendall Denham.
JEUSCHEDE SETTLING INTO STARTING ROLE: With the loss of junior Jace Anderson for the season, the ‘Jackets have turned to Denham and freshman guard Sven Jeuschede to contribute significant minutes. In his second start and fourth appearance of the season on Saturday, Jeuschede led his team with eight rebounds and also turned in five points. In his two games last week, Jeuschede had five assists and just two turnovers, while playing 51 total minutes. JOHNSON, BEVERLY DRIVING OFFENSE: Senior Emmanuel Johnson and freshman Preston Beverly have been fueling MSUB’s offense consistently during the conference season, and both players scored in double figures in both games last week. Connecting with each other effectively, Johnson had 26 points in the two games while Beverly turned in 30. Starting both games, Beverly upped his season scoring average to 11.3 points per game and also hauled in 10 rebounds to make his average 6.2 on the season. Johnson is scoring at a clip of 8.6 points per game and averages 4.4 rebounds for the ‘Jackets. MATTHEWS SCORES BIG AGAINST ‘CATS, AMONG GNAC LEADERS: Leading the team in scoring on the season with 14.4 points per game, junior Marc Matthews had a big night against the Wildcats with 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting including three 3-pointers. Matthews had four assists, three steals, and seven rebounds in the two games last week, while committing just one turnover. Among GNAC leaders, Matthews ranks third in made 3-pointers (2.5 per game, 35 total), fourth in free-throw percentage (88.9), sixth in 3-point field-goal percentage (44.9), and 13th in scoring (14.4 ppg). TEAM FACTS AND FIGURES: As a team MSUB holds a scoring margin of minus-5.4, averaging 76.9 points per game while allowing 82.4. The ‘Jackets lead the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage at 38.9, rank fourth in the GNAC in free-throw percentage at 74.6, and seventh in overall field-goal percentage at 43.7. MSUB is out-rebounded by 2.3 per game, averaging 35.1 while allowing 37.4. Defensively, the ‘Jackets have the fourth-most blocks in the league (51) and are averaging 3.6 per game. Though he is not a statistical qualifier, Olufemi’s average of 3.2 blocks per game would lead the GNAC.
Junior Marc Matthews puts up a shot in last season's home game against the Seawolves.
“We know to finish in the top-six, we are going to have to finish higher than a very good team in our league,” Stevens commented. “To do that, we have to find a way to get some road wins, and this week gives us that chance.”
Tuesday, January 12 – at University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves – 9 PM MTN 2015-16 Record: 13-4, 6-0 GNAC Head Coach: Rusty Osborne, 11th season Remaining perfect in league play, the Seawolves took care of Simon Fraser University 96-83 before holding off Western Washington University 87-84 to collect a pair of wins last week. Under 11th-year head coach Rusty Osborne, the Seawolves have won seven straight games overall and are 8-2 at home this season. UAA’s roster features the top scorer in the GNAC in Sekou Wiggs (23.8 ppg) and the top rebounder in the league in Corey Hammell (10.0 rpg). Five more Seawolves are averaging double-digit point figures, with Hammell and veteran
Brian McGill each turning in 13.5. Spencer Svejcar (12.3 ppg), Diante Mitchell (11.8 ppg), and Christian Leckband (10.6 ppg) are UAA’s other offensive standouts, with Mitchell ranking third in the GNAC in 3-point field-goal percentage at 48.1. In his first season in the league, Wiggs has also had a strong defensive presence with an average of 7.1 rebounds and a team-best 27 steals. Wiggs ranks eighth in the conference in assists per game with 4.1, and his total of 69 is the thirdbest mark in the conference. The Seawolves’ scoring margin of plus-14.5 leads the GNAC, as the team is averaging 86.1 points per game while allowing 71.6. UAA also leads the league in free-throw percentage at 78.6, and is second in 3-point field-goal percentage defense allowing a mark of 33.0. In terms of rebounding, the Seawolves’ margin of plus-6.8 ranks second in the GNAC as the team out-rebounds opponents 39.8-32.9. The Series: In 70 games dating back to the 1977 season, the Seawolves hold a 41-29 alltime advantage over the ‘Jackets. In Anchorage, MSUB is 5-30 and last won there on Feb. 8, 2014, 75-62. The teams have split the last four meetings with UAA winning five of the last eight dating back to 2012. Last Time Out: Matthews recorded his previous career high of 25 points in Anchorage last season, and Johnson chipped in 17 in an 82-68 defeat on Feb. 12. Anderson was MSUB’s leading scorer with 19 points while Denham had five assists in the 70-62 setback. Thursday, January 14 – at University of Alaska Nanooks – 9 PM MTN 2015-16 Record: 11-3, 5-1 GNAC Head Coach: Mick Durham, 5th season Though the Nanooks visited Alterowitz Gym once already this season, they did not challenge the ‘Jackets as it was part of a preseason GNAC-PacWest Crossover along with Dixie State University and Dominican University. Despite suffering its first GNAC loss of the season in a dramatic, 100-99 overtime setback against Western Washington last week, the Nanooks are in second place in the conference standings with a 5-1 record. Alaska responded to the loss with a 73-56 stifling of Simon Fraser University on Saturday, and the Nanooks have won seven of their last eight games overall under fifth-year head coach Mick Durham. Leading five double-figure scorers is Travante Williams, who is fourth in the GNAC in points per game with 17.4. Bangaly Kaba (14.0 ppg), Almir Hadzisehovic (11.5 ppg), Joe Slocum (10.8 ppg), and Brandon Davis (10.3 ppg) round out a balanced cast of scorers for the Nanooks. Williams is also the most proficient rebounder on the squad with 7.2 per game, while Kaba is close behind at 6.4. From long range, Williams’ percentage of 47.3 ranks fourth in the GNAC, and the Nanooks rank fifth as a team with a mark of 36.2 from the arc. As a team Alaska ranks second in the league with an average of 87.5 points per game, and also has the second-best scoring margin at plus-12.4. The Nanooks shoot 46.5 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from 3-point range, and 67.6 percent from the foul line.
The Series: The Yellowjackets lead the alltime series 40-24 in 64 games dating back to March of 1973. MSUB is 11-18 in games played in Fairbanks, and has lost five of the last six meetings overall. Last Time Out: The teams split the games last season, with MSUB winning 83-78 in overtime at home and falling 87-65 on the road. Matthews and Anderson each had 20 points in the road game, while Denham contributed a dozen. At home, Anderson set a career-high with 27 points, Denham had 16, and Perry added 10. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--