FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, December 15, 2015 Yellowjacket men play exhibition game at Carroll College Wednesday
MSUB’s men’s basketball team will play an exhibition game at Carroll College on Wednesday in its final contest before the holiday break. BILLINGS, Mont. – After closing the nonconference portion of its 2015-16 schedule on Saturday, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team will play an exhibition game against Carroll College on Wednesday evening in Helena. The Yellowjackets (4-6) will challenge the Saints (7-2) at 7:30 p.m. before having 10 days off for the mandatory NCAA holiday break. Live video will be available for Wednesday’s game here. “This is our last game before Christmas Break, and it gives us another chance to have nine guys play together one more time before GNAC,” commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “Carroll is a very good team that is ranked in the NAIA top-25, and they are undefeated at home so we will be going into a tough environment. That will hopefully help us down the road. Even though it is an exhibition game, we are going over there with the intention to play hard, play to win, and we want a good showing as we head into Christmas.”
MSUB will resume action on New Year’s Eve, hosting Simon Fraser University in the first of 18 Great Northwest Athletic Conference games through the end of February. MSUB has split its last four games, after opening conference play on the road with a 76-59 win over Concordia University and a 91-69 loss at No. 4 Western Oregon University. BEVERLY EARNS ALL-TOURNEY HONORS: After his second double-double of the season on Saturday, MSUB freshman Preston Beverly earned Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic all-tournament honors as he helped the ‘Jackets to an 85-83 win over Northwest University on Saturday in Seattle. Beverly scored 26 points and added 13 rebounds, and is averaging 13 points and 8.2 rebounds over his last six games. OLUFEMI WITH STRONG DEBUT: In his very first game with the ‘Jackets, 6-foot-9 junior Emmanuel Olufemi had a team single-game season-best six blocks and added six rebounds last Friday against Azusa Pacific. Olufemi then grabbed nine boards and added two more blocks and a dunk the following evening against the Eagles. Olufemi is a transfer from Miles Community College in his first season at MSUB, and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria.
Freshman Preston Beverly.
ANDERSON’S DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK TO FOUR: Junior Jace Anderson has scored in double figures in his last four games and seven of his last eight overall. The shooting guard had a dozen points against the Cougars on Friday and poured in 20 against the Eagles on 4 of 8 accuracy from 3-point range. Anderson is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor, 40.7 percent from long range, and 79.2 percent from the foul line on the season.
PERRY PLAYING FREE: Sophomore Jordan Perry scored in double figures in both games last week, and was a key difference maker in MSUB’s win over NU. Among Perry’s 10 points, he hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to help keep the lead in his team’s hand down the stretch. He also had a pair of steals and seven assists on the weekend, while grabbing nine rebounds. SEASON-HIGH ASSISTS FOR DENHAM: In his second week back after an injury, sophomore Kendall Denham turned in his season high in assists with seven on Saturday. He was one off of his career high of eight, which came against Ottawa University last year in Hawaii on Dec. 20. MARC FROM THE ARC: Junior Marc Matthews followed Anderson’s lead last week, connecting on 4 of 8 shots from long distance against the Cougars on Friday. He finished with 16 points, and continues to lead the team in scoring with an average of 14.9 per game. EVANS EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE: Freshman Christian Evans made all five of his shot attempts from inside the arc on Saturday, matching his third-best point total of the season with 12. He also collected seven rebounds, after grabbing five on Friday night. After redshirting in 2014-15, Evans is averaging 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, while shooting 48.9 percent overall. ‘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.
Wednesday, December 16 – at Carroll College Saints (exhibition) – 7:30 PM 2015-16 Record: 7-2, 3-0 Frontier Conference Head Coach: Carson Cunningham, 3rd season The Saints are off to a 3-0 start in Frontier Conference play, and have won four games in-a-row overall. It took a buzzer-beating 25-footer from Zach Taylor to keep Carroll’s conference record unblemished, as the Saints held off Montana western 64-63 last week. Taylor is the team’s leading scorer on the season, averaging 19.9 points per game and adding 4.4 rebounds. Oliver Carr (13.8 ppg), Ryan Imhoff (12.4 ppg), and Lorel Johnson (10.1 ppg) are also averaging in double figures for third-year head coach Carson Cunningham. Imhoff is the team’s leader in rebounding with 7.0 per game, while Taylor’s assists-per-game mark of 5.3 tops the squad. As a team the Saints are shooting 53.5 percent from the floor, 40.8 percent from 3-point range, and 78.3 percent from the foul line. Carroll is averaging 87.1 points per game and allowing 71.2, while out-rebounding opponents 33.1-27.0. The Series: MSUB holds an 87-62 edge in the long-running series between the schools, which dates back to the 1928-29 season. The Yellowjackets are 33-36 in games in Helena, but hold a strong 50-23 record at home. MSUB has won the last five games, seven of the last eight, and 19 of the last 21 overall dating back to January of 1984. Last Time Out: The teams last met on Nov. 9, 2013, with the Yellowjackets collecting a 65-60 victory in Billings. Matthews had six points on a pair of threes and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds in 30 minutes during his redshirt freshman season. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--