‘Jackets fight off Clan 76-72, halt losing skid

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, January 30, 2016 ‘Jackets fight off Clan 76-72, halt losing skid

MSUB’s men’s basketball team holds on for a hard-fought 76-72 road win over Simon Fraser, bringing a seven-game losing skid to an end Saturday.

BURNABY, B.C. – Sven Jeuschede iced the game with less than two second remaining, hitting a pair of free throws to help the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team to a 76-72 win over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Simon Fraser University Saturday night at the West Gym on the SFU campus.

Jeuschede’s final two shots put the game out of reach for the Clan, as the ‘Jackets halted a seven-game losing skid and won for the first time since Jan. 2.

Freshman Preston Beverly led all players with 22 points and 12 rebounds, as he recorded his second straight doubledouble. Marc Matthews contributed 20 points, and sophomore Kamal Tall had a season-high 10 for MSUB. The ‘Jackets moved to 7-13 overall on the season and are now 4-8 in GNAC play.

The Clan fell to 1-17 with the loss and are still in search of their first GNAC win at 0-12 in conference games this season.

JJ Pankratz was SFU’s top scorer with 17 points and rebounder with nine, and Max Barkeley added 13 in his first game back after a seven-game absence.

The lead changed hands frequently throughout the game, with the Yellowjackets’ advantage peaking at seven points 15 minutes in. SFU closed the first half on a 10-4 run however, and MSUB led 40-39 at the break.

Six different players scored for the ‘Jackets in the opening six minutes of the second, as MSUB built its largest lead of the game at 56-48. SFU closed the gap over the next three minutes however, and tied the game at 60-60 on a layup by Gibran Sewani with 9:13 to play.

Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way, and with a minute left a layup by Beverly gave the ‘Jackets a 7372 advantage. The Clan missed two free throws, a layup, and a 3-pointer, failing to score in the final minute despite several opportunities. Free throws by Matthews and Jeuschede sealed the win, and the ‘Jackets completed the season sweep of SFU after a 94-83 win over the Clan at home on New Year’s Eve. Marc Matthews defends against SFU’s Oshea Gairey Saturday night in the Yellowjackets’ 76-72 win over the Clan. (Photo courtesy of Ron Hole)

The ‘Jackets made 28 of 64 shots (43.8 percent) in the game, including 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from long distance. The Clan out-rebounded the ‘Jackets 37-33, but suffered from a shooting percentage of just 20.0 from 3-point range (3-for-15). Overall SFU shot 47.5 percent from the field (28-for-59), and made 13 of 19 foul shots (68.4 percent).

Both teams had success under the basket, with SFU scoring 44 points in the paint and MSUB scoring 42. The ‘Jackets capitalized with 15 points off of 16 SFU turnovers, and protected the ball well with a season-low seven turnovers.

Kendall Denham tied Matthews with a team-best five assists, and also had seven points while making all five of his free throws. Cade Alcorn was productive with seven points and six rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, and Jordan Perry chipped in five points for the ‘Jackets.

THE BUZZ: Beverly was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was Beverly’s fourth double-double of the season and second in-a-row…Beverly is averaging 14.8 points over his last four games, and 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on the season…Matthews has scored 20 or more points in five games this season, and leads the team with an average of 13.6 per game…the game featured 10 ties and 17 lead changes…the Yellowjackets were without senior Emmanuel Johnson and junior Emmanuel Olufemi due to an issue crossing the Canadian border.

AHEAD: MSUB kicks off a four-game home stand next Thursday against Central Washington University at 7 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym. The ‘Jackets will also face Northwest Nazarene next week, before taking on Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska at home the following week.

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