Matthews leaves his mark on MSUB men’s basketball program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, February 17, 2017 Matthews leaves his mark on MSUB men’s basketball program

Approaching the top-10 in MSUB career scoring history, senior Marc Matthews is putting the final touches on a storied career with the Yellowjackets.

MSUB SPORTS – As the ball left the fingertips of Montana State University Billings senior Marc Matthews, he knew.

The raucous student section providing the backdrop for the shot momentarily curtailed its cheers through which a dramatic moment of silence emerged. But deep down they knew.

As MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens tracked the descent of Matthews’ high-arcing, contested 3-pointer from well beyond the line on the left wing, he knew.

Sitting in the top row of the lower seating section at Alterowitz Gym, Dave Matthews rose to his feet. Marc’s father knew too.

The scoreboard read UAA 68, MSUB 66, until the moment Matthews’ trey pierced the net with less than 3.0 seconds remaining on the game clock. The crowd was instantaneously brought back to life, glancing casually at an unsuccessful half-court heave at the buzzer by Alaska Anchorage’s Suki Wiggs before erupting into celebration.

The Yellowjackets poured off the home bench in pursuit of their hero for the evening, wearing No. 13 and having just hit the biggest shot of his collegiate career.

It was one of 212 made threes by Matthews, seventh-most in MSUB history, but for the fifth-year senior the shot was one-in-a-million. “If I had missed that shot, we would have lost,” Matthews reflected on the dramatics in the 69-68 win over the Seawolves on Jan. 12. “That was the most memorable shot I’ve hit in my career.”

Matthews and the Yellowjackets celebrate after his game-winning 3-pointer against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 12 at Alterowitz Gym.

Now with the team fighting for a berth in the 2016-17 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the win over a team tied for first place in the league standings couldn’t be bigger for MSUB. With three games guaranteed left in Matthews’ career, including Saturday’s Senior Night bout against Saint Martin’s University at 7:30 p.m., he needs 41 more points to move to No. 10 in MSUB career scoring history. The Sierra Vista, Ariz., native is also No. 45 in GNAC history with 1,238 points entering Saturday’s game.

Most importantly, he’s determined to get the team back to the conference tournament for the first time since the 201314 season, when he contributed to the run with a standout freshman season but didn’t play in MSUB’s playoff game due to an injury. “I still haven’t played in a GNAC tournament game, and one of the goals I set was to play there and make a run there,” Matthews said. “The chemistry is finally here, and with this team it feels like a strong group wherever we are at.”

MSUB will count on Matthews, who is averaging a career-best 15.3 points per game this season, down the stretch, as they are currently in sixth place in the GNAC at 8-9 in league play and are 13-12 overall. With the top-six teams earning a

spot in the championship tournament, Matthews will undoubtedly have another chance at a big-time shot when his team needs it the most.

1,000-POINT CLUB Matthews still recalls waking up his mother Gloria Henderson as a 5year-old as early as 5 a.m. so that he could work on his shot with his favorite rebounder. Basketball has always come naturally to Matthews, who was a multi-sport athlete competing in soccer throughout his middle school years.

Entering a competitive program at Buena High School meant that Matthews had to focus solely on his best sport, and as a freshman he watched the varsity squad make a run into the Arizona Division I state tournament. It wasn’t long before Matthews was handed a major role and played heavy minutes for the Colts as a sophomore.

After 92 career games, Matthews had accumulated 1,374 points and now stands as the only player from BHS, according to head coach Dave Glasgow, to top 1,000 points in both high school and college. A careerbest 37-point game during his senior season helped put him on the recruiting map.

“Once we saw some of Marc’s highlights, we were very interested in him as a player,” Stevens commented on identifying Matthews during the 2011-2012 year. “We had a good dialogue with him and his parents, and he committed during his visit in the spring. There’s a lot that can be said about that, and those type of guys who commit right away tend to have good careers for us.”

Entering the Yellowjacket squad along with fellow fifth-year senior Jace Anderson, the duo spent their first year in the program as redshirts and had a chance to absorb MSUB’s playbook while getting acclimated to the college game. “I started hearing about MSUB after that 37-point game my senior year, and when Coach Stevens offered me a scholarship I accepted it on the spot,” Matthews said. “I knew then and there that this is where I wanted to come. I had a good time on my visit and it made it easy for me to choose to come here.”

When February rolled around in the midst of Matthews’ redshirt freshman season, the ‘Jackets were in the mix for a spot in the conference tournament. After a 10-point effort at the University of Alaska on Feb. 6, 2014, Matthews was tabbed to make his first-ever GNAC start two nights later against the Seawolves in Anchorage.

It was the start of a pivotal four-game winning streak, which culminated in Seattle with similar dramatics at the hands of Matthews. Taking on the No. 13 team in the NCAA, the Yellowjackets battled the Falcons to a 70-70 tie with 15 seconds left in overtime. Coming out of a timeout, senior Jonathan Mesghna missed a jumper with two seconds left, and Matthews was there to grab the board and flush the jumper as time expired.

“That was memorable because playing at SPU is always tough,” Matthews recalled regarding the first game-winning shot of his career. “It was a close game throughout, and I just went in to crash the boards on that shot by Jon. The ball just landed in my hands, and I put it back in right when the buzzer sounded. Everybody was pretty excited about that win.”

It was MSUB’s first win in Seattle since Jan. 16, 1987, and it pulled MSUB even at 8-8 in GNAC play. Matthews scored 11 more points in his next game at Northwest Nazarene, but suffered a broken foot that ultimately ended his freshman season. Averaging 10.9 points over his final seven games, it was clear that Matthews had arrived on the college scene.

Though Matthews has always been a prolific scorer, averaging 14.9 points throughout his prep years, his trademark 3-pointer is a relatively new addition to his game. “In all of high school I think I only made around 65 threes, and that was like the second or third option for me,” Matthews said. “I took a lot of midrange shots and liked to drive to the basket.”

The 6-foot-2 guard realized that at the college level, he’d have to up his game from the perimeter in order to be an effective offensive player. By the end of his sophomore college season, Matthews had already made 69 threes and nearly matched that figure alone in the 2015-16 season when he shot 67-for-166 from the arc (40.4 percent).

He credits much of the development of his shot to his mother, who he still leans on for advice when he senses a flaw in his technique. “My mom can always tell once I elevate if I’m going to make or miss a shot,” Matthews said. “Sometimes I lean back when I elevate, and she always tells me to stay straight up and down. Once I start thinking about those things, I feel like my shots go in most of the time.”

MSUB Men’s Basketball All-Time Scoring Leaders (as of Feb. 17, 2017) Rk. Name Points 1.

Roy McPipe 1883 2.

Cameron Munoz 1879 3.

Les Heins 1726 4.

Jim Soft 1558 5.

Bart Bauer 1547 6.

Markus Hallgrimson 1470 7.

Titus Warmsley 1467 8.

Mark Hamilton 1463 9.

Reece Gliko 1388 10.

Buddy Windy Boy 1278 11.

Chris Herriford 1252 12.

Jerett Skrifvars 1240 13.

Marc Matthews 1238 14.

Fred Johnston 1215 Averaging 14.0 points and playing as a regular starter for the first time in his career, Matthews earned honorable mention all-GNAC a season ago.

Now that he’s in the top-10 in career threes and is approaching the top-

10 in overall scoring, Matthews is peaking as a senior with his best year yet. “Anytime you can be in the top-10 in a program that has been around as long as ours has, it is a great honor,” Stevens said regarding MSUB’s 90-year men’s basketball tradition. “I know some of the shooters this program has put out, and it just shows the time and work Marc has put in.”

Matthews has already set career single-season bests in field goals made (135), threes made (76), rebounds per game (3.9) and scoring average (15.3), so far this year. He leads the conference in made threes and is No. 12 in overall scoring, and commented on the long process of emerging into a senior leader. “It was tough to sit on the bench as a freshman, when I didn’t play because of a lack of experience,” Matthews recalled. “When I came in I just wanted to do my part, and I knew that success would come. It’s an honor that (these milestones) are happening, and I wouldn’t be there without my teammates and coaches.”

LEAVING HIS MARC “Marc and Jace were the first high-school recruits we brought in during my first full year of recruiting. The main thing about them is they have both been loyal to the program and the coaching staff. They never once wavered, and they have both been rewarded for sticking with the process.” – MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens on seniors Marc Matthews and Jace Anderson.

It was the second game of the 2016-17 year, and Matthews was coming off a five-point performance at Cal Baptist. He was determined to make a statement the very next evening, wanting to get his final college season off to a strong start.

Against Holy Names University on Nov. 12, Matthews went off for a career-high 30 points, making 9 of 16 shots including 5 of 9 threes, and all seven of his free throws. It was the first of nine games this season in which Matthews has topped the 20-point mark, as he didn’t stop there.

He earned GNAC Player of the Week for Dec. 5-11, when he scored 49 points in a pair of victories for the Yellowjackets including 29 with a career-best seven 3-pointers in a 95-85 win over rival Rocky Mountain College on Dec. 10. He followed with a 48-point weekend directly after the holiday break, earning not only his second GNAC Player of the Week award of the year but an unprecedented United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week award as well.

The weekly honors came amidst a stretch where Matthews scored 10 or more points in 13 games, and he has only been held to single digits twice in his last 18 games. “Throughout the ups and downs here, I have had a good time and I still love to play basketball,” said Matthews. “I have always tried to stay positive, and know that the good will eventually happen. Things have been going well lately, and we have a chance to finish the year strong.”

Matthews still leans on his family for advice, calling his father Dave regularly for advice or seeking it out directly during his many trips to Billings to watch his son play. “It is always nice when he comes up to watch,” Marc said regarding his

father who is a longtime assistant coach at a junior college in Arizona. “When things aren’t going right or there’s something I need to work on, he can tell if my mechanics are off and he helps me.”

SENIOR NIGHT “Being on the end of the bench our first year got us close, and we became good friends. Since then we have played together, been hotel roommates together, and I see us continuing to be good friends past basketball once we are done here.” – Senior Marc Matthews on fellow fifth-year senior Jace Anderson.

The damp atmosphere of Seattle’s Public Market surrounded the Yellowjackets as they took in the scenery during their annual road trip to the Emerald City. It was Matthews’ fifth such trip during his career, the memory of the game-winning shot at SPU three seasons earlier still familiar in his memory.

As the team gathered at the famous Pike Place Fish Co., Matthews and Anderson were called upon by their teammates to step up and try their hand at the storied fish toss. Anderson snagged his first, and Matthews made a two-handed grab to a chorus of cheers. “They made me do it, but it was actually pretty cool,” Matthews said with a smile. “I knew my hands would be all smelly, but if Jace was going to do it then I couldn’t leave him up there by himself. That was fun.”

Matthews and Anderson as freshmen during the 2012-13 season (left), and as seniors after the former’s game-winning shot against Anchorage earlier this year.

Matthews hopes to pursue a professional career overseas after his eligibility at MSUB is exhausted, his sights set on a location like Germany or Spain to continue his basketball career.

Saturday night’s game will be his final appearance at Alterowitz Gym, where he and Anderson will be honored in front of their home crowd prior to tipoff. With a chance to make a postseason run for the first time since his freshman year, count on Matthews to lead the Yellowjackets’ charge towards the GNAC tournament.

When the game is on the line in the dying seconds, the rock will be in Matthews’ hands with a chance for yet another dramatic shot. Once the ball leaves his hands it will be out of everyone’s control, but it won’t matter. They’ll all know.

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