MSUB men's basketball recap 1/7/16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, January 7, 2016 Crusaders fight off ‘Jackets, MSUB men fall on road 98-96

MSUB narrowly misses out on a road win, falling at Northwest Nazarene 98-96 on Thursday in Nampa, Idaho.

NAMPA, Idaho – The Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team couldn’t capitalize on a last-second chance to tie the game, as host Northwest Nazarene University held on for a narrow 98-96 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory Thursday evening inside the Johnson Sports Center.

MSUB’s Kendall Denham blew away his previous career high with 25 points, and also had six assists and three rebounds.

The performance was overshadowed however by a 27-point, 8-rebound game for NNU’s Detwon Rogers, who made 10 of 13 shots from the field for the host team.

“This was a disappointing loss,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We had some chances, but we just couldn’t do enough to win this one. I thought Kendall and Jordan were great tonight, and Kendall played the best game of his career.”

Denham made 5 of 8 threes, leading a night where the ‘Jackets netted 15 shots from long distance. The Crusaders were able to keep pace, making a dozen threes and 31 of 62 shots overall from the field.

The ‘Jackets (6-7, 3-2 GNAC) refused to give in down the stretch, as Denham made his fifth three and the Crusaders coughed up the ball on an inbounds pass to give MSUB one last chance down two with 3.0 seconds on the clock. MSUB got the inbounds pass in play, but could not get a final shot off as time expired and the Crusaders walked away with the win.

Mike Wright made 9 of 11 shots from the foul line for nine points, and led all players with a dozen assists. Bouna N’Diaye was just shy of a double-double with 19 points and nine boards, and Joel Devastey was also in double figures in scoring with 10 points. The Crusaders improved to 5-6 overall on the season, and earned their first conference win as their record in GNAC play is now 1-4.

Five Yellowjackets scored in double figures, and freshman Preston Beverly had 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists thanks in part to four 3-pointers. Jordan Perry had 16 points, Emmanuel Johnson turned in 15, and Emmanuel Olufemi had 12 points, eight boards and a pair of blocks.

Neither team pulled away significantly during the course of the game, as the ‘Jackets stayed within striking distance from start to finish. Perry grabbed the rebound on his own missed shot and put back a layup with less than 10 minutes before the halftime break to make the score 19-17.

Freshman Sven Jeuschede had four assists in 22 minutes on Thursday against the Crusaders.

Cade Alcorn wrestled down an offensive rebound, and gathered in a strong entry pass from Denham for a layup to keep it at a single-possession game at 30-27 with five minutes to go in the first. The Crusaders embarked on a shooting barrage however, draining three consecutive treys to regain a firm 42-34 edge.

NNU carried the momentum into halftime, leading 49-42 at the break.

Denham had a pair of threes in the opening three minutes of the second half to help MSUB keep pace with the Crusaders. Beverly’s fourth trey of the game and another by Perry pulled the ‘Jackets even at 60-60 two minutes later.

The battle continued down the stretch, and Wright drilled key free throws into the closing minutes as the ‘Jackets resorted to fouling to stop the clock.

MSUB made 19 of 24 foul shots in the game, but the Crusaders capitalized by making 24 of 34 to assist in the win. The teams were dead even in rebounding with 40 apiece, as well as in points off of turnovers with 13 apiece.

THE BUZZ: Denham was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the game…the sophomore’s previous career high was 16 points, which came at home against Alaska Fairbanks last season…Beverly is now averaging 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds in five conference games…the loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the ‘Jackets…NNU has won the last five meetings between the teams and the alltime series is now even at 16-16.

NEXT UP: The ‘Jackets continue west to Ellensburg, Wash., to challenge Central Washington University in another GNAC game on Saturday. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 8 p.m. Mountain time with live video and statistics available via MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--