Yellowjacket men play on ROOT SPORTS Saturday in Seattle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Yellowjacket men play on ROOT SPORTS Saturday in Seattle

MSUB’s men’s basketball team heads out for its final road trip of the regular season, challenging Saint Martin’s University on Thursday before the ROOT SPORTS GNAC Game of the Week against Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Featured this week in the ROOT SPORTS Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game of the Week, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team hits the road for its final away contests of the regular season.

The Yellowjackets (9-15, 6-10 GNAC) head to Lacey, Wash., for a Thursday evening game against Saint Martin’s University scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Mountain time at Marcus Pavilion. The ‘Jackets will then be featured on ROOT SPORTS Saturday night against Seattle Pacific University, with a 10 p.m. Mountain time tipoff set at Brougham Pavilion.

Thursday’s game against the Saints will feature live video and statistics through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here, while Saturday’s game will have live statistics here in conjunction with the ROOT SPORTS broadcast.

The Yellowjackets are coming off of a split last week at home, defeating the University of Alaska Anchorage 90-71 last Tuesday before a 66-61 setback against the University of Alaska on Saturday. MSUB has won three of its last five games overall, and holds an outside chance of earning the sixth and final berth into the GNAC Championships, set for March 2-5 in Lacey. MSUB is currently two games behind Western Washington, in seventh place in the standings.

“We are going to have to play well moving forward throughout the rest of the season to finish the way we want to finish,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We know if we can make a run these last two weeks, there’s still a chance for us to make the conference tournament.”

MSUB will close its regular season next weekend at home, hosting No. 1 Western Oregon University on Feb. 25 and Concordia University on Senior Day, Feb. 27, at Alterowitz Gym. The Yellowjackets’ two opponents this week will square off on Tuesday evening in Lacey, with an 8 p.m. tipoff time scheduled between the Falcons and Saints.

GOING OUT ON TOP: In the final half of his senior season, forward Emmanuel Johnson has played his best basketball in two seasons at MSUB. Over his last 12 games, Johnson is averaging 15.3 points and has scored above 20 points three times. He was a top scorer in both of MSUB’s games last week, finishing with 21 against the Nanooks after sinking five threes against the Seawolves and scoring 19 points. VERSUS THE SAINTS: Led the Yellowjackets with 17 points…went 9-for-9 from the foul line…just missed a double-double with team-high nine rebounds. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Led team with 15 points…made 6 of 11 shots in 25 minutes.

DOUBLE FIGURES FOR DENHAM: Posting his second-highest point total of the season against the Seawolves, sophomore point guard Kendall Denham was efficient with his shots at 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range, and 4-for-4 from the foul line for 14 points. Denham added five more assists and four steals last week, and holds a solid assist-turnover ratio of 1.96. VERSUS THE SAINTS: Scored 10 points and added four rebounds…had two steals and one assist in 37 minutes. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Had eight points and three rebounds…notched a team-best five assists and had a steal in 35 minutes.

Senior Emmanuel Johnson had a team-high 21 points against the University of Alaska at home on Saturday.

“Tuesday was a really fun environment, and we started out well and just carried on from there,” Denham said regarding his team’s hot shooting night against the Seawolves. “To do that again, we just need to keep moving the ball like we did that game.”

BEVERLY POSTS FIFTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Freshman Preston Beverly had a major hand in MSUB’s 17 made 3-pointers last Tuesday, as he connected five times from long range en route to 25 points. He also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, solidifying his team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Over his last six games, Beverly is averaging 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds. Beverly is tied for third in the GNAC in double-doubles with Alaska’s Travante Williams, and only Corey Hammell (11) and Sekou Wiggs (7) both of Alaska Anchorage, have more such games this season.

VERSUS THE SAINTS: Had 10 points and three rebounds…notched a season-high three blocked shots. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Scored 13 points and added four rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.

MATTHEWS ON HIS SCORING MARC: Junior guard Marc Matthews scored 14 points against the Nanooks, matching his team-leading season average exactly. He has scored in double figures in his last five games, and is averaging 17 points in that time span. Matthews has also grabbed a season-high six rebounds in each of his last three games, and is a touch under 4.0 on the season with 3.8 per game. On Tuesday against the Seawolves, Matthews equaled his season high with five assists. VERSUS THE SAINTS: Scored 13 points and had two rebounds…hit 3 of 7 3-pointers and added a block in 27

minutes. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Had nine points and four rebounds, and added two assists and two steals with zero turnovers in 33 minutes.

OLUFEMI’S OFFENSE: Junior Emmanuel Olufemi continued to see a spike in his offensive output last week, as he scored a dozen points against the Seawolves last Tuesday. Over his last four games, Olufemi is averaging 11.0 points while adding 4.8 rebounds. Olufemi’s 40 blocked shots are the third most in the GNAC, despite having played in just 15 games.

Though he is not a statistical qualifier, his average of 2.7 blocks per game would be tied for the most in the conference.

He has at least one block in all 15 games he has played in, has multiple blocks in 11 games, and has twice reached his season high of six blocks. VERSUS THE SAINTS: Matched season high with six blocks…had five rebounds and four assists in 16 minutes. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Had eight points and three rebounds in nine minutes.

“We knew Emmanuel was a pretty good defensive player coming in, and that he was going to help us on the boards and with his size,” Stevens said on Olufemi. “Offensively he has been a little bit of a surprise, and has been better than what we thought. He has gotten better as the season has gone on, and he has really cut down his turnovers.”

In just 15 games Olufemi is already No. 11 in MSUB career history for blocks, and is No. 5 in single-season history. The MSUB single-season record for blocks is 55 held by Chris Herriford (1992-93), and Olufemi would have to average 4.0 blocks over his final four games of the season to break the record. Herriford also holds the career record of 97 blocks, which is well within Olufemi’s reach if his 2015-16 average is projected out over next season.

Yellowjacket Men’s Basketball Single Season Blocks Leaders Top-10 Rk. Name Blocks Season 1. Chris Herriford 55 1992-93 2. Kyle Stirmlinger 47 2002-03 3. Pat Reynolds 46 1986-87 4. Pat Reynolds 42 1985-86 5. Emmanuel Olufemi 40 2015-16 6. Robert Mayes 36 2011-12 7. Brian Cook 31 2000-01 Chris Herriford 31 1991-92 Roy Utterbank 31 1987-88 10. Jaysun Mims 30 1990-91 Yellowjacket Men’s Basketball Career Blocks Leaders Top-10 Rk. Name Blocks 1. Chris Herriford 97 2. Brian Cook 89 3. Pat Reynolds 88 4. Kyle Stirmlinger 76 5. Buddy Windy Boy 58 6. Robert Mayes 49 7. Djole Palfi 48 8. Jonathan Wiley 45 Robert Utterbank 45 10. Jaysun Mims 43 11. Emmanuel Olufemi 40

Olufemi guards SPU’s Nathan Streufert during the teams’ meeting at Alterowitz Gym on Jan. 21.

PERRY PRODUCTIVE OFF BENCH: Sophomore guard Jordan Perry played quality minutes in both games last week, scoring 14 total points and grabbing nine rebounds in 43 minutes. Perry also had two assists, a block, and a steal, and did not commit any turnovers against the Alaska schools. Over his last four games, Perry has made 9 of 10 foul shots.

VERSUS THE SAINTS: Had six points and six boards, with three assists in 37 minutes as a starter. VERSUS THE FALCONS: Scored six points, and had two rebounds and two steals.

TEAM FIGURES: MSUB averages 73.8 points per game and allows 78.8 for a scoring margin of minus-5.0. The Yellowjackets have the second-best free-throw percentage in the GNAC at 74.0, and rank fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage at 36.8.

The ‘Jackets have improved drastically in rebounding, and have out-rebounded opponents 38.4-37.2 over their last nine games. MSUB has been topped by opponents just three times during that span, while grabbing 42 or more rebounds in four of those games. MSUB is now approaching an even rebound margin on the season, currently sitting at minus-1.3 (36.2-37.5).

SHOOTING FREE FROM THREE: MSUB’s 17 made 3-pointers last Tuesday against Alaska Anchorage were the most by a GNAC team this season at that point, as the Yellowjackets topped the previous conference high of 16 held by themselves and Alaska. Eleven of the treys came in the first half, and the ‘Jackets shot a program fifth-best 63.0 percent overall from downtown in the game.

Thursday, February 18 – at Saint Martin’s University Saints – 8:30 PM MTN 2015-16 Record: 12-12, 6-10 GNAC Head Coach: Alex Pribble, 1st season First Meeting: SMU 77, MSUB 60 (at Alterowitz Gym, Jan. 23, 2016) The Saints have caught fire as of late, winning five of their last seven games after starting the conference season with a record of 1-8. SMU has won three games in-a-row, including an 84-77 road win over Central Washington and a 98-68 blowout of Northwest Nazarene last week.

In the win over Northwest Nazarene, SMU topped MSUB’s season-high of 17 3-pointers by sinking 20 shots from beyond the arc. The newly-minted GNAC Team of the Week, SMU will host Seattle Pacific at 8 p.m. Mountain time on Tuesday evening.

Fred Jorg is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, as he is averaging 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The 7footer is shooting 47.0 percent from the field, and averages 20.1 minutes. Tyler Copp is averaging just under double figures with 9.7 points per game, and is the team’s top perimeter shooter at 43.5 percent on the season from the arc.

Trey Ingram has also been an effective scorer with 9.4 points per game, and is shooting 40.1 percent overall from the floor.

Cole Preston runs SMU’s offense as the team’s point guard, and his average of 4.6 assists per game is tied for fourth in the GNAC. As a team, SMU is out-scoring opponents 74.0-70.6, ranks third in free-throw percentage at 73.9, and leads the GNAC in 3-point shooting at 38.9 percent from downtown. The Saints hold the fifth-best rebounding margin in the league at plus2.3, averaging 37.3 per game while allowing 35.0.

The Series: MSUB is 12-13 all-time against Saint Martin’s, and is 5-8 in games played at Marcus Pavilion. SMU has now won four games in-a-row and five of the last six in the series.

Last Time Out: Jorg went off for a season-high 27 points, making 11 of 18 shots and 5 of 6 free throws at Alterowitz Gym. Six other Saints finished the evening with seven points.

GNAC GAME OF THE WEEK ON ROOT SPORTS Saturday, February 20 – at Seattle Pacific University Falcons – 10 PM MTN 2015-16 Record: 18-6, 11-5 GNAC Head Coach: Ryan Looney, 6th season Last Meeting: SPU 81, MSUB 71 (at Alterowitz Gym, Jan. 21, 2016) The Falcons remain in third place in the GNAC standings, despite dropping two of their last three games. SPU lost at Central Washington 71-68 on Saturday, after an 81-71 win over Northwest Nazarene last Thursday.

An overtime loss at home against No. 1 Western Oregon snapped an eight-game winning streak, as the Falcons are close to clinching a berth in the GNAC Championships.

Among leading scorers in the GNAC is senior Mitch Penner, whose 18.0 points per game ranks fourth in the league.

Penner ranks third on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game, and he ranks second on the squad with 28.2 minutes per game.

7-foot senior Gilles Dierickx (11.8 ppg) and Brendan Carroll (11.5 ppg) are also in double figures in scoring, while the former leads the team and ranks fifth in the GNAC with 6.9 rebounds per game. Carroll and Penner team up to make a formidable duo in terms of long-range shooting, with Penner shooting 48.0 percent and Carroll 37.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Bryce Leavitt is tied for fourth in the GNAC with 4.6 assists per game, and is adding 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes. Dierickx’s 32 blocks are the fourth most in the GNAC. As a team SPU is second in the GNAC in scoring margin at plus-10.8, averaging 76.1 points offensively while allowing a GNAC-best 65.4. SPU ranks second in field-goal percentage at 47.7, first in field-goal percentage defense at 40.2 and in 3-point field-goal percentage defense at 28.4, and fourth in 3-point shooting at 37.1 percent.

The Falcons continue to stand as the No. 1 team in all of the NCAA Division II in rebounding margin at plus-12.6, more than three full rebounds ahead of the No. 2 team. SPU averages 40.6 rebounds per game while allowing just 28.0 to opponents to lead the country.

The Series: MSUB is 30-38 all-time against SPU, and is 8-27 in games played at Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons have now won three in-a-row and seven of the last eight in the series, which dates back to Dec. 27, 1962.

Last Time Out: Penner scored 20 points, Carroll added 18, and Dierickx chipped in 17 as the Falcons secured a 10-point victory.

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