FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, February 2, 2017 NNU evens season series, defeats MSUB 88-81 Thursday
After MSUB defeats NNU at home earlier this season, the Crusaders return the favor with an 88-81 win over the Yellowjacket men in Nampa, Idaho Thursday. NAMPA, Idaho – A game-high 34 points by Kaileb Rodriguez lifted the Northwest Nazarene University men’s basketball team to an 88-81 win over Montana State University Billings on Thursday, as the Yellowjackets stumbled in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Johnson Sports Center. Sophomore Preston Beverly had a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double, and a career-best seven blocked shots, but the ‘Jackets couldn’t hold onto a four-point lead with 4:33 remaining as they lost their fourth in the last five. “Credit goes to NNU, but we had some chances to win the game tonight,” commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “It really came down to making shots. We had great looks all night, but just didn’t make enough of them. NNU did a nice job of getting the ball inside and getting to the free-throw line tonight.”
MSUB fell to 12-9 overall with the loss, and is now 7-6 in league play with seven conference games remaining on the regular-season schedule. The ‘Saders made up for a 77-72 loss in Billings on Jan. 7, and improved to 11-9 overall and 8-6 in GNAC play with their third straight victory. Threes by Bouna N’Diaye and Pol Olivier bookended a 9-0 run late in the game that turned a 74-71 lead for MSUB into a 79-74 hole. The ‘Jackets never recovered, and NNU needed nothing more than 9-for-10 accuracy from the foul line the rest of the game to seal the win. A three-point play by Jace Anderson with 26 seconds remaining gave the ‘Jackets a final glimmer of hope down 84-79, but Nikola Prvulj and N’Diaye each hit a pair of foul shots to ice the game. The Crusaders made exactly 15 of 32 shots in each half, but converted only 3 of 9 threes (33.3 percent) in the win. NNU was stellar from the foul line however at 25-for-31, reaching the mark 25 times in the second half and shooting 80.6 percent for the game. N’Diaye was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, and scored 25 points while just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Maurice Jones finished in double figures in a pair of categories, with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the home team. Sven Jeuschede tied a career high with 17 points and also grabbed five rebounds in 34 minutes. Anderson finished the game with 15 points on 4 of 9 accuracy from the arc, and Kendall Denham had nine points off of the bench. Marc Matthews, the team’s second-leading scorer on the year at 15.5 points per game, was held to eight points and made just 1 of 12 3-pointers.
Sven Jeuschede matched a career high with 17 points in Thursday’s road loss at Northwest Nazarene.
MSUB shot 40.5 percent overall (30-for-74), but was poor from both the arc at 29.7 percent (11-for-37), and the foul line at 58.8 percent (10-for-17). MSUB built an early 12-6 lead to start the game, but the Crusaders kept things close and grabbed their own advantage up 17-14 midway through the first. Neither team led by more than six points in the opening half, and MSUB clung to a 37-36 edge heading into the locker room. Beverly had 18 points by halftime, but didn’t score again until nearly five minutes into the second half. Meanwhile, backto-back threes by Anderson helped keep MSUB even and tied the score at 45-45 with 17:11 to play. The ‘Saders hinted that they were separating themselves with a 9-0 run to make it 55-46 with 13:50 to go, but Beverly knocked down a jumper seven minutes later on the heels of a 12-2 Yellowjacket run. MSUB couldn’t protect the five-point margin down the stretch however, as Rodiriguez scored five of his team’s next 10 points to help them wrestle command of the game back.
MSUB was outrebounded 47-37 on the evening, and committed eight turnovers while generating 12 NNU giveaways. THE BUZZ: Jeuschede was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…he matched a 17-point effort at Simon Fraser on Dec. 29, 2016 earlier this season…Beverly approached the GNAC single-game record for blocks, which stands at 10…he shattered his previous personal best of four blocks in a game, which he had reached four different times…MSUB is 18-17 in the all-time series against NNU, and is now 6-10 in games played at the Johnson Sports Center. AHEAD: The ‘Jackets remain on the road for a game against Central Washington University on Saturday at 8 p.m. Mountain time. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for the game against the Wildcats through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--