FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, February 4, 2017 Beverly’s big night boosts ‘Jackets to 96-69 win at CWU
Preston Beverly logs his second 30-point game of the season, and makes it a double-double with 11 rebounds, to help MSUB avenge an earlier loss to Central Washington with a 96-69 win Saturday. ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Preston Beverly made 12 of 19 shots Saturday night at Nicholson Pavilion, en route to a 32-point, 11-rebound double-double that highlighted a 96-69 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win for the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team against host Central Washington University. Beverly led an array of double-figure scorers, as Kendall Denham had 19, Jace Anderson finished with 16, and Marc Matthews turned in 11 in the big win for the ‘Jackets. The victory helped MSUB gain ground in the GNAC standings, as the Yellowjackets moved into a tie for fourth place with Northwest Nazarene at 8-6 in league play. MSUB is 13-9 overall, and is two games behind third-place Western Oregon
with six games to play. The ‘Jackets will visit first-place Alaska Anchorage (17-5, 11-3 GNAC) next week, just three games out of a share for the top spot in the league. “This was a good win for the guys tonight, and we had a great week,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “I felt like we played the same way tonight as we did on Thursday, but tonight we just made shots that we didn’t hit against Northwest Nazarene.” On a night where GNAC-leading scorer Dom Hunter was limited to just eight points, Jawan Stepney and Fuquan Niles led CWU with 15 points apiece. The Wildcats fell a game behind MSUB and NNU at 7-7 in sixth place in the GNAC, and are 12-8 overall on the season. MSUB caught fire from 3-point range, making 14 of 29 attempts (48.3 percent) on the evening. Contrarily, CWU made just 1 of 16 threes (6.3 percent), far-and-away its worst shooting performance of the year from the perimeter. The ‘Cats shot 39.1 percent overall in the game (25-for-64), and made 18 of 27 free throws (66.7 percent). “Defensively we were solid, especially running their guys off the arc,” Stevens said. “Hopefully our guys will enjoy this one tonight. Now we are looking ahead to Alaska on Thursday, and we need to have another productive week up there.”
Junior Kendall Denham scored 19 points on an efficient 6-for-7 night shooting, helping the ‘Jackets to a big win over Central Washington.
Though the 30-point spread by the end of the night was MSUB’s second-largest margin of victory this season, the teams were neck-and-neck in the opening half with neither side leading by more than six points. MSUB held onto a 42-38 lead at halftime, before bursting out on a 16-4 run to break open a 16-point lead
in the second. Beverly scored 10 points during the offensive push, hitting two of his four 3-pointers on the evening leading to a 58-42 advantage. MSUB never slowed down, as CWU endured long cold stretches and fell further behind. The ‘Cats went without a basket for more than three minutes late in the second half, and trailed by an insurmountable margin of 85-60 with 6:49 left to play. Denham played one of his finest games of his career, making 6 of 7 shots from the field and all five of his free throws. He added seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal, and did not commit a turnover in 24 minutes. Anderson was locked in from the arc, going 4-for-4 from long range and 6-for-8 overall in the game. Kamal Tall grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, while making 4 of 6 shots for eight points. Six different Yellowjackets hit a three, and MSUB finished the game shooting 47.9 percent (16-for-36) overall from the field. The visitors were also excellent from the foul line, making 12 of 14 attempts.
MSUB won the battle of the boards 45-39, tying for its second-highest single-game total of the year. The ‘Jackets also had a season-high 22 assists, while committing a season-low six turnovers. Beverly led all players with six assists, and six other Yellowjackets had multiple helpers in the game. Niles had a team-best eight rebounds for CWU, and asserted his status as the conference leader in blocks with three denials. Jerome Bryant had nine points off the bench for CWU, and sophomore star Naim Ladd, who had missed the previous two games, scored four points and added three rebounds in 18 minutes. THE BUZZ: Beverly was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was the reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year’s second 30-point game this season…after 28 points on Thursday, Beverly posted his second consecutive 60-point weekend in the GNAC…he bumped his season scoring average over 20 points at 20.1, which ranks fourth in the league…his six assists tied his career high, which he reached earlier this year against Alaska Anchorage…Denham was six points shy of his career-high of 25 points…Tall’s previous career-high in rebounds was eight which he reached this year against Alaska…MSUB is now 6-19 against CWU and won for just the second time ever at Nicholson Pavilion (2-10). AHEAD: The Yellowjackets remain on the road next week, making their longest trip of the year to visit the Alaska schools. MSUB will challenge the University of Alaska on Feb. 9 in a game that starts at 9 p.m. Mountain time, before heading to Anchorage to take on the Seawolves of Alaska Anchorage on Saturday in another 9 p.m. Mountain time start. Both games will feature live video and live statistics, available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--