Inspirational win on Senior Night keeps MSUB men alive in GNAC race

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, February 18, 2017 Inspirational win on Senior Night keeps MSUB men alive in GNAC race

Seniors Jace Anderson and Marc Matthews are sent off with a bang in their final career game at Alterowitz Gym, as MSUB’s men’s basketball team keeps its postseason hopes alive with a big 92-83 win over Saint Martin’s.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Emotions ran high at Alterowitz Gym Saturday night, as Montana State University Billings men’s basketball seniors Marc Matthews and Jace Anderson willed the Yellowjackets to a 92-83 win over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Saint Martin’s University in the final game of their careers at home.

A trip to the conference tournament remains on the line for the Yellowjackets (14-12, 9-9 GNAC), who pulled even with Saint Martin’s (15-11, 9-9 GNAC) in the league standings for fourth place with two regular-season games to go. MSUB also cleaned its slate and avenged a tough 106-58 loss to the Saints earlier in the season.

“When tonight came, it was tougher than I thought it would be to play,” Matthews commented on an evening in which he led MSUB with 23 points. “Once I settled into the game in the second half, my game came to me.”

“Marc and Jace were awesome, and when you talk about Senior Night there’s added pressure because you want to go out and do it right,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens.

“There is so much that went into this game, and I couldn’t be any happier for these seniors.”

One of the biggest momentum swings of the night came immediately following halftime, when Jace Anderson drained a three and Matthews slammed down a dunk for five consecutive points that gave the ‘Jackets the lead for good.

Matthews went on to drain three 3-pointers over the next 3:30 to finish a 23-3 run that closed the first half and opened the second, and helped MSUB construct a sturdy 52-39 advantage.

Senior Jace Anderson hands the ball off to Kendall Denham, who was MSUB’s most vital player on both ends of the court Saturday night.

On the front end of the scoring push was a remarkable play by sophomore Preston Beverly, who beat the first-half buzzer by commanding his own rebound on a tough layup, and slamming it home to pull the ‘Jackets within one point down 37-36 at the break.

Beverly finished the night with his 15th career double-double, matching Matthews with 23 points and adding 14 rebounds,

two assists, a pair of steals and a block in 30 minutes.

The Saints spent the entire second half working their way back into the game, and cut the deficit to a single point down 72-71 after a jumper by Rhett Baerlocher. The sophomore had a chance to give the lead back to SMU but after a missed three on the next possession, an 11-5 burst by MSUB put the game away with less than a minute to play.

Starting the final rally of the night for the ‘Jackets were two of the biggest points in the best game of Kendall Denham’s career, as he sunk a pair of free throws with 3:04 remaining that moved the score to 74-71. The junior finished the night with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals in 37 minutes, and consistently wreaked havoc on the Saints on the defensive end.

“Kendall is a scrapper, and he is going to give everything he’s got every night,” Anderson commented on a teammate he has been connected to since their prep football days together. “He played huge tonight, and we wouldn’t have won that game without him. I am proud of him.”

Back-to-back treys by Denham with 12 minutes to play helped keep a hefty margin in MSUB’s hands, as the second shot from the arc made the score 60-46.

Zack Lessinger made a major impact with eight points and four rebounds in just 11 minutes off the bench, and Sven Jeuschede chipped in six points and six rebounds as a reserve as well.

MSUB shot 45.5 percent from the field in the second half (15-for-33), after hitting just 34.2 percent of shots in the opening 20 minutes (13-for-38). That included 8 of 20 treys down the stretch (40.0 percent), after just 3 of 15 accuracy

(20.0 percent) in the first half. The ‘Jackets made 25 of 32 free throws (78.1 percent), their most attempts from the line since their first game of the season.

The Saints by contrast cooled off in the second half, after opening the game shooting 54.6 percent from the field (12-for22) and making 6 of 8 treys. SMU was limited to just 3-for-11 accuracy from the arc in the second half, and was 9-for-19 from the perimeter overall in the game (47.4 percent).

Trey Ingram led SMU with 17 points, while Baerlocher and Brandon Kenilvort had 16 apiece. Point guard Cole Preston was also in double figures with 14 assists, and just missed a double-double with a game-high nine assists.

SENIOR NIGHT: Matthews and Anderson were honored in a pregame ceremony on the court, in a tribute commemorating their five-year careers with the ‘Jackets. Matthews was joined by his father Dave Matthews, and Anderson by his parents Brent and Debbie Anderson. The two broke into MSUB’s program and redshirted as freshmen in 2012-13, before playing the past four seasons side-by-side.

THE BUZZ: Denham was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was Denham’s fourth double-figure game in his last five contests, a span during which he is averaging 11.8 points…Matthews moved to No. 11 in MSUB history with 1,261 career points…the senior needs 18 more over his final two regular-season games to obtain sole possession of No. 10 in MSUB career scoring…the teams are once again even at 14-14 in the series, and MSUB is now 8-6 in games at Alterowitz Gym. COMING UP: The ‘Jackets face a crucial road trip in the final weekend of the 2016-17 regular season, as they travel to Oregon to face Concordia University on Feb. 23 and Western Oregon University on Feb. 25. Both games will tip off at 8 p.m. Mountain time, and live video and live statistics will be available for both through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

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