Preview: ‘Jackets host #1 Western Oregon Thursday, Concordia on Senior Night Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, February 23, 2016 Preview: ‘Jackets host #1 Western Oregon Thursday, Concordia on Senior Night Saturday

In its final two regular season games of the 2015-16 season, MSUB’s men’s basketball team hosts No. 1 Western Oregon Thursday before a Senior Night game against Concordia on Saturday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – The hopes for the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team to earn a berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships remain alive, and the Yellowjackets will have to win their final two regular season games at home this week against No. 1 Western Oregon University and Concordia University at Alterowitz Gym. Currently in a tie for seventh place in the GNAC standings, MSUB enters this week’s games with an overall record of 1016 and a mark of 7-11 in conference games. MSUB is two games behind Western Washington University (15-12, 9-9 GNAC), and would have to pull even with the Vikings to earn the sixth and final berth into the conference tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker.

“We like the way we have been playing the last three weeks, and we have seen some really positive things,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “Western Oregon is a very experienced team, and we will have our hands full on Thursday.

Concordia has played well, and the last regular-season week at home is always a big week.

Thursday’s game against the top-ranked Wolves will tip off at 7 p.m., as will Saturday’s contest against the Cavaliers. In his final career game at Alterowitz Gym on Saturday, senior Emmanuel Johnson will be honored in a pregame ceremony directly before tipoff. Live video coverage with commentary and statistics will be available for both games this week through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

Thursday’s game sponsor will be Riverstone Health and MSUB’s Tougher Than Tobacco program, which has worked to ban tobacco products on MSUB’s campuses. Saturday’s game sponsor will be MSUB’s Housing and Residential Life office.

“We are just trying to focus on Western Oregon, and they are a really good team,” said Johnson. “They got the best of us when we played there, but we are just trying to prepare for them. Knowing that they are one of the top teams in the country is enough motivation in itself.”

Last week, the Yellowjackets picked up an 84-80 victory over Saint Martin’s University, before falling 93-67 at No. 25 Seattle Pacific University in the ROOT SPORTS GNAC Game of the Week.

SENIOR SENDOFF FOR EJ: MSUB’s lone senior this year, Johnson is playing his best basketball of his two seasons as a Yellowjacket. Over his last 14 games, Johnson is averaging 15.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 82.2 percent from the free-throw line in 29.6 minutes.

Senior Emmanuel Johnson will play his final games at Alterowitz Gym this weekend.

Last week against the Saints, Johnson had his fourth 20-point game of the season, scoring 22 and pulling down seven rebounds in 33 minutes. He made 7 of 9 shots from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and hit 5 of 6 free throws.

He followed with a 14-point effort against the Falcons, and has scored in double figures in 12 of his last 14 games. VERSUS THE WOLVES: Had six points, one rebound, and one block in 15 minutes. VERSUS THE CAVALIERS: Had six points and a season-high nine rebounds…had a pair of steals, a block, and an assist in 35 minutes.

In his two years at MSUB, Johnson has scored 532 points for an average of 10.2 per game, and has grown into one of the Yellowjackets’ key leaders and contributors. He is a 46.3 percent shooter from the field, 37.9 percent from long range, and 76.3 percent from the foul line, and has also added 4.7 rebounds per game in his 52-game career.

“EJ lives in the gym and works on his game all the time, and that is really inspiring,” sophomore forward Kamal Tall said on Johnson. “I think it is contagious, because we only have one senior and he just shows the way that it’s done. You can definitely tell he has taken his game to the next level.”

“EJ has been great to coach, and he has done everything we have asked of him,” Stevens commented on the senior.

“The main thing with all of our student-athletes is it is fun to see their growth, and EJ is a much better person, student, and basketball player than he was when he got here.”

IMPRESSIVE PRESTON: For the fourth time this season, true freshman Preston Beverly reached his high mark in rebounding as he grabbed 13 in MSUB’s win over Saint Martin’s. He added 17 points, making it his sixth double-double of the year which ranks third in the GNAC. Beverly followed with his sixth 20-point game of the season on Saturday, hitting three 3-pointers for 21 points against the Falcons.

In 18 conference games this year, Beverly ranks 12th in scoring with 14.8 points per game and is fourth in rebounding with 7.5 boards per game. Overall on the year he is averaging 12.7 points per game while leading the team with 6.7 rebounds. VERSUS THE WOLVES: Had his first-ever double-double, scoring 19 points and adding 13 rebounds…also had two steals, an assist, and a block. VERSUS THE CAVALIERS: Had six points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes…had three blocks.

THE MATH ON MATTHEWS: Averaging the scoring for junior Marc Matthews over the last seven games, he is putting up 16.9 points per game. He has added a solid rebounding effort to his standout scoring totals, with 5.3 boards per game during that stretch. Last week against the Saints, Matthews narrowly missed out on a double-double and came up one rebound shy of his career high as he had eight to go with 23 points. Matthews also had three assists, a block, and a steal in one of his best all-around games of the season. VERSUS THE WOLVES: Scored five points…had three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes. VERSUS THE CAVALIERS: Had eight points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

OLUFEMI MOVES UP THE BLOCKED SHOTS RANKS: With three blocks in each game last week, junior Emmanuel Olufemi now has 46 denials on the season which is tied for third-most in MSUB single-season history and is the eighth-best mark in Yellowjacket career history. Olufemi’s 2.7 blocks per game are the most in the GNAC, and only Joseph Stroud of Central Washington (60 blocks in 23 games) and Jordan Kitchen of Saint Martin’s (49 blocks in 26 games) have more than him. In his first season after transferring from Miles Community College, Olufemi needs 10 more blocks to break MSUB’s single-season record of 55 held by Chris Herriford (1992-93). VERSUS THE WOLVES: Did not play. VERSUS THE CAVALIERS: Did not play.

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 Emmanuel Olufemi 46 2015-16 5. Pat Reynolds 42 1985-86 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. Emmanuel Olufemi 46 9. Jonathan Wiley 45 Robert Utterbank 45

Junior Emmanuel Olufemi denies UAA’s Sekou Wiggs of a shot in MSUB’s game in Anchorage this season. Olufemi’s average of 2.7 blocks per game is the highest mark in the GNAC.

PERRY SWIPES FOUR: Sophomore guard Jordan Perry equaled his season high with four steals against the Saints, and also had a pair of assists, five points, and two rebounds in 20 minutes. His 30 steals are the most on the team this season, and he is also averaging 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds while playing in all 26 games. VERSUS THE WOLVES: Scored five points and had four assists in 24 minutes. VERSUS THE CAVALIERS: Set a season high with four steals…had 10 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

ALCORN LOOKING FOR REPEAT AGAINST OREGON SCHOOLS: In his very first GNAC game back in December, true freshman Cade Alcorn scored 12 points and added 13 rebounds for a double-double in MSUB’s win over the Cavaliers. Alcorn made 5 of 8 shots and had five offensive boards in 25 big minutes in Portland.

Two nights later against the Wolves, Alcorn scored four points and had six rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes in his first GNAC start.

Freshman Cade Alcorn.

AS A TEAM: The ‘Jackets are averaging 74.0 points per game while allowing 79.4 for a scoring margin of minus-5.4. MSUB has out-rebounded opponents 37.4-36.9 over its last 11 games, and ranks third in the GNAC in 3-point field-goal percentage at 37.3. The ‘Jackets are also No. 2 in the conference in free-throw percentage (75.1) and rank 10th in overall field-goal percentage at 42.1.

Thursday, February 25 – #1 Western Oregon University Wolves – 7 PM 2015-16 Record: 23-3, 16-2 GNAC Head Coach: Jim Shaw, 1st season Last Meeting: WOU 91, MSUB 69 (Dec. 5, 2015 at Monmouth, OR) Having clinched the No. 1 seed and regular-season GNAC title, Western Oregon is coming off a split against the Alaska schools last week that snapped the team’s 13-game winning streak. Losing to the University of Alaska 87-78 last Thursday, WOU rebounded with a strong 64-58 road win over the University of Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

The Wolves will host the Concordia Cavaliers on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in their final home game of the regular season before playing in Billings Thursday.

WOU has been led all year by reigning GNAC Player of the Year Andy Avgi, who ranks second in the conference with 21.0 points per game. The senior also leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game, and is No. 6 in the GNAC in field-goal percentage at 55.0.

The Wolves have three other players scoring in double figures, with Julian Nichols at 12.4, and Jordan Wiley and Tanner Omlid at 10.5 each. Nichols is one of the top assist men in the league, averaging 5.0 per game and holding a GNAC-best 3.4 assist-turnover ratio. Omlid, in his first season with the Wolves, is second to Avgi on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game and leads the team with a field-goal percentage of 58.1. Wiley is the team’s top 3-point shooter, hitting at a clip of 44.2 percent from downtown on the year.

The Wolves have the third-best scoring margin in the GNAC, averaging 78.8 points per game while allowing 68.9. WOU leads the league in steals with 8.7 per game, and has the top turnover margin at plus-4.85 and assist-turnover ratio at 1.6.

The Series: In a balanced all-time series, WOU holds a slight advantage with an 11-10 record against the ‘Jackets. The Wolves have now won the last five games in the series, after knocking off MSUB in Monmouth, Ore., in December.

Last Time Out: Avgi went off for 27 points and Devon Alexander and Omlid had 19 points apiece as the Wolves rolled to victory.

Saturday, February 27 – Concordia University Cavaliers – 7 PM – SENIOR NIGHT 2015-16 Record: 7-18, 5-13 GNAC Head Coach: Brad Barbarick, 21st season Last Meeting: MSUB 76, Concordia 59 (Dec. 3, 2015 at Portland, OR) The Cavaliers are currently on a two-game losing skid and have dropped five of their last six overall. CU lost to Alaska Anchorage 93-67 Thursday and at the University of Alaska 92-69 on Saturday.

CU will challenge Western Oregon on Tuesday before Saturday’s game against the Yellowjackets.

The Cavs have four double-digit scorers, led by Drew Martin who averages 15.2 points per game. Latrell Wilson (14.7 ppg), Tyler Gutierrez (11.1 ppg), and Riley Hawken (10.3 ppg) are also among the team leaders in scoring. Martin doubles as the team’s leading rebounder, and his 6.7 board per game ranks him ninth in the GNAC. Wilson is the team’s top 3-point shooter, hitting at a clip of 37.0 from beyond the arc and leading the squad with 44 makes overall.

As a team, CU averages 71.1 points per game while allowing 86.2, and brings down 32.6 rebounds while giving up 41.9.

The Cavs shoot 43.9 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from 3-point range, and 66.0 percent from the free-throw line.

The Series: MSUB has won both games between the teams, one coming earlier this year and the other coming during the 1998 season.

Last Time Out: Hawken had a team-high 14 points, Martin added 11 and Wilson had 10 as the Cavs fell to the ‘Jackets at home in the 2015-16 GNAC opener.

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