FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, January 19, 2017 Saints march to major win over ‘Jackets Thursday
Saint Martin’s shoots 57.6 percent from the floor, including 67.9 percent from 3-point range, routing MSUB’s men’s basketball team 106-58 on Thursday. LACEY, Wash. – A red-hot Saint Martin’s University shot 57.6 percent from the field and made 19 of 28 3-pointers in a 106-58 rout of Montana State University Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball matchup on ROOT SPORTS Thursday night at Marcus Pavilion. Brandon Kenilvort and Tyler Copp made four treys apiece, leading the way with 23 and 20 points, respectively. Nine total Saints hit at least one three, as SMU reached triple figures for the third time this season. SMU improved to 10-7 with the win, and pulled even at 5-5 in GNAC play.
The ‘Jackets snapped a three-game winning streak with the loss, and moved to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in league play. After its lowest-shooting first half of the season at 7-for-27 (25.9 percent), the ‘Jackets trailed by 30 points by halftime down 51-21. MSUB also entered the night as the No. 2 team in the GNAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 32.9 percent from the arc. “All credit goes to Saint Martin’s, they were unbelievable tonight,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a team play as well as Saint Martin’s played tonight. They were more prepared than us, and as a coaching staff we didn’t have our guys ready to go. Our focus now is on getting better tomorrow and getting ready for a big game Saturday.” Sven Jeuschede hit two of MSUB’s three treys in the opening half on 11 total attempts, and MSUB’s 21 points scored tied a season low in a half. Jeuschede finished with 10 points, one of four players in double figures for MSUB. Preston Beverly and Kendall Denham tied for the team high with 11 points apiece, the former led the team with six rebounds. Despite entering the game as the No. 2 team in the GNAC at 77.1 percent from the foul line, MSUB made just 12 of 24 free throws on the cold-shooting night. Though the Saints shot just 14 free throws, they knocked down 11 of them. Trey Ingram scored 15 points, and Cole Preston had a dozen to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Rhett Baerlocher led all players with 10 rebounds, helping the Saints to an impressive 47-27 edge in rebounding. SMU led from start-to-finish, as Jordan Kitchen drilled the first trey of the night and the team never looked back. The home team energized a loud crowd by gaining its first double-digit lead of the night at 15-4 seven minutes into the game. THE BUZZ: Jeuschede was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was MSUB’s largest margin of defeat since a 90-34 loss at Seattle Pacific on Feb. 7, 2008…SMU is now 15-13 all-time in the series against the ‘Jackets…Cinco Durr matched a season-high with four assists. COMING UP: The ‘Jackets head to Seattle on Saturday for a matchup against Seattle Pacific University at Brougham Pavilion. Tipoff between the Yellowjackets and Falcons is set for 5:30 p.m. Mountain time, with live video available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here and live statistics available here. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--