FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, December 11, 2015 Yellowjacket men fall short against Cougars 82-63 Saturday
MSUB has a trio of double-digit scorers but can’t match four in double figures for Azusa Pacific in an 82-63 loss on Saturday. SEATTLE – Four double-figure scorers including a game-high 24 points from Joey Schreiber pushed Azusa Pacific University to an 82-63 victory over the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at Brougham Pavilion in the opening game of the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic hosted by Seattle Pacific University. The Yellowjackets received 16 points from Marc Matthews on 4 of 8 from 3-point range, and also had 12 points from Jace Anderson and 11 from Jordan Perry in the loss. “A lot of credit goes to Azusa, and I thought they played very well,” commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “I thought we did some good things, but in the end we didn’t get enough stops. We need to clean some things up, but overall we are looking forward to another chance to play again tomorrow night.” In his first game of the season with MSUB, junior Emmanuel Olufemi tied Perry for the team high in rebounds with six as he played 16 minutes. Preston Beverly added nine points and five boards for the ‘Jackets, who fell to 3-6 with the loss.
Azusa Pacific (7-2) received 14 points from Corey Langerveld, 13 from Bruce English, and a dozen from LyDell Cardwell. Petar Kutlesic led all players with 12 rebounds, and Schreiber just missed a double-double with nine boards in the game. The Cougars held a 47-40 edge in rebounding, including 16 on the offensive end. Overall APU shot 40.8 percent from the floor, 40.6 percent from 3-point range, and 68.8 percent from the foul line. Comparatively, MSUB shot at a clip of 37.3 percent from the field, 37 percent from long range, and 50 percent (3-for-6) from the foul line. A short jumper by Beverly broke a five-minute dry spell for the ‘Jackets, and the second of four threes by Matthews made the score 12-9 in favor of the Cougars with 13:30 to go in the first. An ensuing jumper by Alcorn from the foul line and a deep three by Anderson gave MSUB its first lead of the game at 14-12. The Cougars responded with an 11-0 run however, as MSUB went cold over the next five minutes and a three by Schreiber pushed Stevens to call a timeout. Perry hit a big three to help the ‘Jackets keep pace down the stretch in the first, and created a turnover with a steal and diving save on a ball headed out of bounds to give MSUB possession. “I thought Jordan played really hard, and his effort tonight was outstanding,” Stevens said. “Kendall, Jace and Jordan all played extremely hard, and so did Emmanuel for his first game.” APU finished the opening frame strongly, and took a 43-33 edge into the locker room. A free throw by Austin Dyer gave the Cougars their first 20-point lead at 65-44 midway through the second, and the distance was enough to hold off the ‘Jackets the rest of the way. The ‘Jackets failed to cut into the lead into the closing minutes, as the Cougars won their second game in-a-row and sixth of their last seven overall. MSUB had 15 assists and 14 giveaways, while APU had 21 assists and just a dozen turnovers. The teams were even in second-chance points (13-13) and on fast-break buckets (9-9), but Schreiber’s game-high effort gave the Cougars a 36-25 edge in points off the bench. THE BUZZ: The alltime series between the Yellowjackets and Cougars is now even at 1-1…Perry was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the double-figure night was the fourth of the season for Matthews…Olufemi finished his first game with MSUB with a season-individual game best six blocks for the ‘Jackets. NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets take on Northwest University in their final game at the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--