‘Jackets hold on for 84-80 win over Saint Martin’s

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, February 18, 2016 ‘Jackets hold on for 84-80 win over Saint Martin’s

MSUB uses an 18-0 run early in the game to establish command, but Saint Martin’s battles to the end in a tough, 84-80 win for the Yellowjackets Thursday.

LACEY, Wash. – Kendall Denham knocked down the two most important shots of the game for the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team Thursday evening, hitting a pair of free-throws with three seconds left to ice an 84-80 victory over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Saint Martin’s University at Marcus Pavilion.

The final foul shots closed out a strong overall performance for the Yellowjackets, who kept their hopes for a GNAC Championships berth alive with the victory. MSUB is now 10-15 on the season and 7-10 in GNAC play. With sixth-place Western Washington University losing Thursday and falling to 8-9 in the GNAC, the Yellowjackets are now just one game behind the Vikings in the race for the final berth into the tournament.

“This was a great win, and obviously the first half was huge,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We just started the game so well. Not only were we making shots, but we were guarding and rebounding really well.”

An offensive rebound and put-back by SMU’s Victor Ieronymides brought Saint Martin’s within a single possession, down 81-78 with 43 seconds left in regulation. MSUB made 3 of 4 free throws while SMU made 2 of 4 the rest of the

way, as the ‘Jackets protected the ball well and earned the win. The ‘Jackets dominated the game on the glass, outrebounding SMU 42-32.

“They are a really well-coached team and can really shoot it, so we knew they would make a run,” Stevens said. “Our guys stayed strong through some adversity, and pulled out a great road win.”

SMU hit three 3-pointers and 5 of 12 shots overall in the final seven minutes as the Saints made a comeback. Freshman Preston Beverly and junior forward Emmanuel Olufemi were limited after each picking up their fourth foul with less than 10 minutes to play, but the Yellowjackets persevered and held off the Saints.

Marc Matthews led all scorers with 23 points, Emmanuel Johnson had 22, and Beverly had his sixth double-double of the year with 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Yellowjackets made 11 of 21 3-pointers – 10 of which came in the first half – and shot 46.4 percent overall from the field (26-for-56).

The Saints (13-13, 7-11 GNAC) had four different players score in double digits, and were led by 16 from Tyler Copp.

Ieronymides made a team-high three 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, Trey Ingram had 14, and Jordan Kitchen turned in 11 points and three blocks.

The Yellowjackets came out on fire in the opening half, making 9 of 13 3-pointers and shooting 56.3 percent from the field overall (18-for-32).

Ieronymides evened the score at 5-5 two minutes into the game, but the ‘Jackets went on an 18-0 run over the next three minutes to establish command of the game. SMU went 0-for-5 during the stretch, while MSUB went 7-for-8 in the game-changing scoring burst.

The ‘Jackets led by as much as 28 after a pair of free throws by Matthews with 6:22 to go before halftime, but the Saints made a push down the stretch. Kitchen scored on consecutive possessions to make it 54-35, and when MSUB committed a turnover with less than 10 seconds left Isaac Bianchini turned it into a last-second three that made the halftime deficit 16.

Fred Jorg, who scored a season-high 27 points in Billings the last time the teams met, was limited to just three minutes in the first half and scored two points in 10 minutes in the game.

MSUB made 21 of 25 foul shots (84 percent), while SMU made 19 of 26 (73.1 percent). The Saints shot 38.5 percent from the field (25-for-65) and 32.4 percent from long range (11-for-34).

Denham finished the game with six points, three assists, three rebounds and a steal, and Olufemi had five points and three blocks. Jordan Perry had a team-best four steals, to go along with five points and three rebounds.

THE BUZZ: Johnson was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game, as he also contributed seven rebounds…Beverly reached his season high of 13 rebounds for the fourth time this season…Beverly ranks third in the GNAC this season in double-doubles with six…Matthews came one rebound shy of his career high of nine…Olufemi is now fourth in MSUB single-season history and tied for 10th in career history for blocks with 43 despite having played in just 16 games as a Yellowjacket…MSUB approached three scorers reaching 20 points, a feat the team has not achieved since a 102-90 win over Rocky Mountain College on Dec. 17, 2012 when four ‘Jackets had 20 or more points…it was the fifth time in MSUB’s last 10 games that the team has grabbed at least 42 rebounds.

COMING UP: MSUB gets set to take on No. 25 Seattle Pacific University on Saturday, in a game featured on television throughout the west region on ROOT SPORTS. Tipoff is set for 10:10 p.m. Mountain time at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. After the Falcons fell to the Saints 67-63 on Tuesday, Saturday’s matchup figures to be a pivotal game for both teams in the GNAC standings.

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