4-game GNAC home stand starts Thursday for Yellowjacket men

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, February 2, 2016 4-game GNAC home stand starts Thursday for Yellowjacket men

The Yellowjacket men close the regular season with six of their final eight games at Alterowitz Gym, including four straight GNAC contests at home starting Thursday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Four home games in the next 10 days await the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team, as the Yellowjackets return to Alterowitz over the next two weeks of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

MSUB will host Central Washington University this Thursday and Northwest Nazarene University this Saturday, with both games set to tip off at 7 p.m. The home stand continues with an early Tuesday game next week (Feb. 9) against the University of Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m., and concludes next Saturday (Feb. 13) with a 5:15 p.m. tipoff against the University of Alaska in the front end of a doubleheader with the MSUB women.

All games will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. Stockman Bank will serve as Thursday’s game sponsor.

The ‘Jackets are coming off of a 76-72 road win over Simon Fraser University last Saturday, that snapped a seven-game losing skid. MSUB is currently 7-13 overall on the season, and is in a tie for seventh place in the GNAC standings at 4-8 in conference play.

CWU, MSUB’s opponent on Thursday, is the team ahead of the ‘Jackets in sixth place with a mark of 7-5 in GNAC play and 12-5 overall on the year. The Crusaders are currently one game behind the Yellowjackets in a tie for ninth place at 39 in GNAC games and 7-11 overall. MSUB lost to CWU 87-75 in Ellensburg, Wash., on Jan. 9, after a narrow 98-96 defeat at the hands of the Crusaders in Nampa, Idaho on Jan. 7.

“Central and Northwest Nazarene are both really talented teams,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “Central jumped on us a little bit, but our guys did a good job of staying in the game through the end. We realized after playing NNU that they have some really good players offensively. They have been very competitive and have been in every game they have played this season.”

The ‘Jackets will take one more road trip this season, heading to Seattle to challenge Saint Martin’s University and Seattle Pacific University. The two games sandwich the contests against the Alaska schools and the regular-season closing home games against No. 2 Western Oregon and Concordia University the final week of February. The ‘Jackets are still alive in the hunt for a GNAC Championship Tournament berth, as the top six teams in the regular-season standings will earn a spot in the event scheduled for March 2-5 in Lacey, Wash., hosted by Saint Martin’s.

“Coming into these games, working together is going to be a key offensively and defensively,” commented sophomore guard Jordan Perry. “We need to work on trying to be the same team throughout the whole game from start to finish.”

BEVERLY DOUBLING DOWN: Leading the team with four double-doubles this season, true freshman Preston Beverly had one in each game last week and has emerged into one of MSUB’s top offensive players. Beverly had his third 20-point effort of the season on Saturday, finishing with 22 points and a dozen rebounds against the Clan. After a 26-point effort in a home win against Western Washington in January, Beverly scored 14 and grabbed 11 rebounds last Thursday on the road against the Vikings.

Beverly is averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 12 conference games this season, and is the team’s third-leading scorer overall with 11.5 points in 20 games. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Had 13 points, four rebounds, a block, and a steal in 28 minutes. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Scored 17 points and added six rebounds…made 6 of 11 shots from the floor and had two assists and two steals in 24 minutes.

Freshman Forward Preston Beverly.

“Snapping that losing streak is definitely something that will boost our confidence,” Beverly commented. “Now that we got the win against Simon Fraser we want to build off of it. We definitely want to take advantage of being on our home court these next six games here.”

DENHAM DOES IT ALL: Playing one of the most well-rounded games of his career, sophomore point guard Kendall Denham had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and zero turnovers in 37 minutes against WWU last week. Recovering from an injury early in the season, Denham has excelled over the last eight games, averaging 11.4 points and 3.6 assists and playing at least 33 minutes in each one. Last season’s GNAC leader in minutes played per game, Denham is averaging 30.4 minutes per game this year. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Had 11 points and a team-best five assists…grabbed two rebounds and one steal while playing a team-high 37 minutes. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS:

Scored a career-high 25 points…made 8 of 11 shots including 5 of 8 from 3-point range and all four free-throws…added three rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes.

KAMAL STANDS TALL: Sophomore forward Kamal Tall made the most of his first start of the year, scoring 10 points and raking in four rebounds in just 11 minutes against the Clan. Tall has proven efficient in the limited time he has seen on the court, making 9 of 16 shots (56.3 percent) and 4 of 5 free throws in 10 games. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Had one rebound in five minutes of action. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Saw the court for seven minutes off the bench.

JOHNSON ANOTHER CAREER NIGHT: After setting a career mark with 22 points at Alaska on Jan. 14, senior forward Emmanuel Johnson bettered the mark last Thursday with 25 points against the Vikings. Johnson also had three rebounds, two assists and a steal, and has scored in double digits in each of his last eight games. He leads the team among active players in scoring in conference-only games, with 14.0 points. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Scored 11 points and had five rebounds…recorded a pair of blocks in 22 minutes. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Chipped in 15 points in 25 minutes…had two rebounds, two assists, and a steal while making 6 of 15 shots.

SVEN SWISHES SHOTS TO SEAL IT: Heading to the line with a two-point lead in hand and less than two seconds left, freshman guard Sven Jeuschede nailed two free throws Saturday to seal the win over Simon Fraser. The crucial shots came on the heels of one of his best games of the year, as he scored seven points and added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals against the Vikings in a seasonhigh 33 minutes last Thursday. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Had five points and a season-high eight rebounds…added one assist in 29 minutes in his second start of the year. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Scored three points and had a season-best four assists…added a steal and two rebounds in 22 minutes in his first start of the season.

MATTHEWS HAS FIFTH 20-POINT GAME: Junior guard Marc Matthews reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season last Saturday, as he complemented Beverly’s team-high 22 points in the win. Matthews also had a season-high five assists, and added three rebounds, a block, and a steal in 34 minutes. Matthews continues to lead the team in scoring among active players with 13.6 points per game on the year. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Led the team with 17 points and added two assists, four rebounds, and a steal in 31 minutes…made Freshman Guard Sven Jeuschede.

5 of 13 shots while going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc and hitting all four free throws. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Had six points in 26 minutes…turned in three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

OLUFEMI MAINTAINS SPOT AMONG BLOCKS LEADERS: Junior center Emmanuel Olufemi had two more blocks against the Vikings, bringing his season total to 32 and keeping him in third place in the GNAC. Though he has played just 11 games and is not a statistical qualifier, his average of 2.9 blocks per game would tie for the conference lead. Only Joseph Stroud of CWU (50 blocks in 17 games), and Jordan Kitchen of Saint Martin’s (40 blocks in 20 games) have more denials than the 6-foot-9 Olufemi. He has at least one block in every game he has played in, and has multiple blocks in 9 of 11 games. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Had four blocks and scored eight points…turned in six rebounds and a steal with zero turnovers in one of his most well-rounded efforts of the season. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Had a season-high 12 points in 24 minutes…added two blocks and eight rebounds…made 4 of 5 shots and all four free throws.

ALCORN KEY IN WIN OVER CLAN: Freshman forward Cade Alcorn showed no signs of lingering illness after missing Thursday’s game against the Vikings out sick. On Saturday he played 28 strong minutes off the bench and contributed seven points, six rebounds, and took five charges to help swing momentum into his team’s favor. The seven points was his second-highest total on the season, and he also had a season-best three steals in the win. VERSUS THE WILDCATS: Played three minutes off the bench. VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Scored two points and added three rebounds in nine minutes.

AS A TEAM: The Yellowjackets rank ninth in the GNAC in scoring margin at minus-7.2, averaging 73.3 points per game while allowing 80.6. MSUB is No. 3 in the GNAC in free-throw percentage at 74.2, and No. 5 in 3-point field-goal percentage at 36.6. Overall from the field, MSUB is shooting 41.8 percent (ninth). The ‘Jackets are out-rebounded 37.435.4 on the year, rank third in the conference in 3-pointers made per game (8.7) and fifth in blocks per game (3.7).

‘JACKET MEN TO BE FEATURED ON ROOT SPORTS FEB. 20: The Yellowjacket men will be featured on the GNAC’s ROOT SPORTS Game of the Week in February, when MSUB challenges Seattle Pacific. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. Mountain time on Feb. 20, in a game televised on the ROOT SPORTS network throughout the western United States.

Thursday, February 4 – vs. Central Washington University Wildcats – 7 PM 2015-16 Record: 12-5, 7-5 GNAC Head Coach: Greg Sparling, 20th season Last Meeting: CWU 87, MSUB 75 (Jan. 9 at Nicholson Pavilion, Ellensburg, Wash.)

The ‘Cats have split their last six conference games since defeating MSUB at home on Jan. 9, and will take on the Crusaders Tuesday evening at Nicholson Pavilion before Thursday’s game in Billings.

Last week, CWU defeated Concordia University 102-75 before falling at No. 2 Western Oregon University 85-68.

In addition to leading the conference in blocked shots, Stroud is the top offensive catalyst for the Wildcats with a teambest 16.6 points per game. Gary Jacobs is close behind with 15.1 points per game, and the duo ranks fifth and ninth, respectively, among GNAC scoring leaders. Stroud (6.7 rebounds per game) and Jacobs (6.8 rebounds per game) are also two of the top inside presences in the conference, as the former is one of just two players above 60 percent shooting from the field (60.4) and the latter ranks 12th at 51.1 percent.

Also in double figures in scoring on the season are Joey Roppo (12.7 ppg), Devin Matthews (11.5 ppg), and Naim Ladd (10.3 ppg). Roppo and Ladd are the top sharp shooters, holding percentages of 42.2 and 41.3, respectively, from 3-point range. Matthews runs the offense for seasoned coaching veteran Greg Sparling, and paces the GNAC with 5.2 assists per game.

As a squad the Wildcats out-score opponents 86.8-78.8, and hold a 39.8-35.2 edge in rebounding. CWU leads the GNAC in field-goal percentage (49.0) and in 3-point field-goal percentage (38.7), but ranks ninth in free-throw percentage (70.9).

The Series: MSUB is 5-17 all-time against the Wildcats, but holds a more even 3-6 record in home games.

Last Time Out: Five Wildcats scored in double figures, with Roppo leading the way at 19 points, Jacobs scoring 16, and Stroud finishing with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Saturday, February 6 – vs. Northwest Nazarene Crusaders – 7 PM 2015-16 Record: 7-11, 3-9 GNAC Head Coach: Scott Flemming, 1st season Last Meeting: NNU 98, MSUB 96 (Jan. 7 at Johnson Sports Center, Nampa, Idaho) The Crusaders have lost four of their last five games, but fell by more than 10 points just once in that time span. NNU will travel to Central Washington on Tuesday to face the Wildcats before Saturday’s game in Billings.

Last week, CWU dropped a pair of games in Oregon, losing to No. 2 WOU 62-59 before a 72-70 loss to Concordia.

Leading NNU all season long have been Bouna N’Diaye and Mike Wright, who are averaging 14.8 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Detwon Rogers (13.4 ppg) and Joel Devastey (10.1 ppg) are the Crusaders’ other double-figure scorers.

NNU has a balanced team in terms of rebounding, with N’Diaye, Rogers, and Devastey all at 5.3 rebounds per game or better. N’Diaye and Nikola Prvulj are the top long-distance shooters for the ‘Saders, each hitting their mark from downtown at better than 40 percent.

Wright is the team’s top facilitator, with 84 assists and a team-best 23 steals in 35.7 minutes per game.

As a team, NNU is out-scored 78.1-74.1, and is out-rebounded 41.2-35.1. The Crusaders are shooting 43.1 percent overall from the field, 36.6 percent from 3-point range, and 72.8 percent from the foul line.

The Series: In 32 historic meetings, the series is exactly even with each team having won 16 games. The ‘Jackets are 10-7 at home against the Crusaders, but have lost the last two games at Alterowitz Gym. Last Time Out: Rogers stole the show with 27 points, and N’Diaye chipped in 19 and 10 rebounds as the Crusaders won their first GNAC game of the year in dramatic fashion over the ‘Jackets.

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