MSUB Men's Basketball Recap 1/23/16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, January 23, 2016 Saints run past ‘Jackets 77-60 on Saturday

MSUB’s men’s basketball team loses its sixth game in-a-row, as visiting Saint Martin’s starts strong and never looks back in a 77-60 GNAC win at Alterowitz Gym. BILLINGS, Mont. – Junior center Fred Jorg scored a season-best 27 points as host Montana State University Billings failed to stop the 7-footer from Saint Martin’s University, and the Saints rolled to a 77-60 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory Saturday night at Alterowitz Gym. Emmanuel Johnson just missed his first career double-double with a team-best 17 points and nine rebounds, and added two assists in 36 minutes. Marc Matthews had 13 points, and Kendall Denham and Preston Beverly chipped in 10 apiece.

The ‘Jackets fell to 6-12 on the season with the loss, and are now 3-7 in GNAC play having lost their last five contests.

The Saints picked up their second conference win of the season, improving to 8-10 overall and 2-8 in GNAC games.

“This was a frustrating night, and it is tough when you have 21 turnovers,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “They were well prepared and executed. We didn’t execute and right now we are struggling to score the basketball.”

SMU opened the game on a 13-5 run, and led by as many as 12 points in the opening 10 minutes of play. A pair of layups

by Denham and two blocks from junior Emmanuel Olufemi keyed a 6-0 run that got MSUB within five points, down 2217 with just under six minutes to go in the first half. The ‘Jackets kept momentum nearing the halftime buzzer, and trailed just 30-26 at the break.

A 7-0 run to open the second half helped SMU distance itself into a 13-point advantage, and the nearly-three minute offensive dry spell for MSUB proved to be the turning point in the game. The Saints’ lead peaked at 24 on a Jorg layup with 9:34 to go, and MSUB never got the deficit inside of double figures in the second half.

MSUB’s lack of offense hinged on a shooting percentage of just 30.2, as the ‘Jackets made 16 of 53 shots overall. From long range, MSUB connected on just 6 of 23 shots (26.1 percent), but the team shot a solid 84.6 percent from the foul line (22-for-26). Johnson made all nine of his foul shots, and Beverly was 5-for-5 from the line.

Jorg stood out among an overall balanced scoring effort for the Saints, as six players had seven points and the team shot 45.8 percent from the field overall (27-for-59). Five different players hit a 3-pointer, as SMU connected from beyond the arc at a clip of 41.7 percent. The visitors were also solid from the line, making 18 of 24 shots (75 percent).

The ‘Jackets out-rebounded the Saints 39-34, but MSUB had trouble protecting the ball with 21 turnovers. Olufemi finished the game with four points and five rebounds, and tied his season high in blocks with six. Jordan Perry chipped in six rebounds for the ‘Jackets, and matched Denham with a team-best 37 minutes.

THE BUZZ: Johnson was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the ‘Jackets were one block short of the program record of 11, and tied for the second most in a single game with 10…Olufemi leads the team with 30 blocks and is averaging 3.0 per game in 10 games played this season.

HALL OF FAME CELEBRATION: Former Yellowjacket men’s basketball All-American Troy Truvillion was honored during a halftime ceremony to commemorate his induction into MSUB’s Hall of Fame and Distinction on Friday night. Truvillion, who scored 1,016 points in just two seasons at MSUB, was one of three Yellowjackets inducted along with former men’s soccer NCAA National Player of the Year Sam Charles and volleyball Heartland Conference Player of the Year Ali Watson.

Troy Truvillion (center) was honored by MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague and MSUB chancellor Dr. Mark Nook during halftime of Saturday’s men’s basketball game at Alterowitz Gym.

NEXT UP: MSUB heads west next week to face GNAC opponents Western Washington University and Simon Fraser University. The ‘Jackets will take on the Vikings – who defeated Central Washington 87-84 on Saturday – next Thursday at 8 p.m. Mountain time at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash. MSUB will then cross the Canadian border to challenge Simon Fraser – which lost at Northwest Nazarene 82-77 on Saturday – at the West Gym on the SFU campus next Saturday in another 8 p.m. Mountain time start. Live video and statistics for both of next week’s games will be available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal.

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