FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, August 3, 2015 MSUB men’s basketball schedule set for 2015-16 season
Including a Thanksgiving tournament and full slate of GNAC games, the MSUB men’s basketball schedule for 2015-16 is released by head coach Jamie Stevens Monday. BILLINGS, Mont. – A full slate of 28 games is on tap for the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team in 2015-16, including a home Thanksgiving tournament and 20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference games in this season’s schedule announced by Yellowjacket head coach Jamie Stevens Monday. “We have a tough schedule this season as always,” Stevens commented on his team’s 2015-16 slate. “We are on the road a little more than we are at home so we will need to grow early as a team. Road games early help us get ready for the rigors of the GNAC.” All of MSUB’s home games and select road games will feature live video coverage with play-by-play commentary via the Yellowjackets’ Stretch Internet portal online. Live statistics will also accompany all home games and select road games throughout the 2015-16 season. The Yellowjackets will kick things off by welcoming former players for an Alumni Game on Oct. 24, before challenging Rocky Mountain College in an exhibition game on Oct. 28 at the Fortin Center on the RMC campus.
The regular season begins two weeks later with a road trip to California, as MSUB will participate in the Cal State East Bay tournament from Nov. 13-14 on the West Coast. MSUB will host Rocky Mountain College in an exhibition matchup on Nov. 18, and the ‘Jackets will wear retro Eastern Montana College jerseys on Throwback Night. After a road trip to the Dakotas to face Black Hills State (Nov. 21) and the University of Mary (Nov. 23), MSUB returns to Alterowitz Gym to welcome three schools for the Yellowjacket Thanksgiving Tournament. “It will be great to be home for Thanksgiving,” said Stevens. “This is going to be a high-quality tournament with three other very good division two programs coming in.” Dominican University, University of Alaska, and Dixie State University will each travel to Billings for the four-team tournament, with the ‘Jackets taking on Dominican (Nov. 27) and Dixie State (Nov. 28) at the event. A five-game road trip will begin with MSUB’s first conference games of the season, as the Yellowjackets travel to Portland, Ore., to face the GNAC’s newest member in Concordia University on Dec. 3. MSUB will challenge reigning GNAC regular season champion Western Oregon as part of the road trip on Dec. 5. Another tournament on tap for the Yellowjackets this season is slated for Dec. 1112 in Seattle, as Seattle Pacific will host four schools over that weekend. MSUB will take on Azusa Pacific and Northwest College, before returning to Montana to face in-state opponent Carroll College in Helena on Dec. 16. As the calendar turns to 2016, the rest of the schedule will be conference games for the ‘Jackets. MSUB hosts Seattle Pacific on New Year’s Eve and will welcome Western Washington on Jan. 2. The Yellowjackets’ longest homestand of the season comes in the form of four games at Alterowitz from Feb. 4-13. The longest road trip of the season ends with a venture to Alaska, in which the ‘Jackets will challenge Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 12 and the University of Alaska on Jan. 14. The two games will follow road matchups against Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 7) and Central Washington (Jan. 9).
2015-16 Senior Emmanuel Johnson.
MSUB will close the 2015-16 regular season at home against Western Oregon (Feb. 25) and Concordia (Feb. 27), with the final game also serving as Senior Night. The 2015-16 GNAC Basketball Championships will be held at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash., and are scheduled for March 2-5, 2016. The top-six men’s and women’s teams in the GNAC regular season standings will earn berths into the conference tournament. “The GNAC will be as difficult as ever,” Stevens said. “Being the lone wolf gives us a fairly consistent schedule and routine playing almost every Thursday and Saturday. Concordia’s addition to the GNAC just presents another quality program to the already difficult league. They won more than 20 games in a very good NAIA league last year and they should be ready to compete right away after making the jump up to division two.”
Day Saturday Wednesday Friday Saturday Wednesday Saturday Monday Friday Friday Saturday Saturday Thursday Saturday Friday Saturday Wednesday Thursday Saturday Thursday Saturday Tuesday Thursday Thursday Saturday Thursday Saturday Thursday Saturday Tuesday Saturday Thursday Saturday Thursday Saturday Wed.-Sat.
Date Oct. 24 Oct. 28 Nov. 13 Nov. 14 Nov. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 23 Nov. 27 Nov. 27 Nov. 28 Nov. 28 Dec. 3 Dec. 5 Dec. 11 Dec. 12 Dec. 16 Dec. 31 Jan. 2 Jan. 7 Jan. 9 Jan. 12 Jan. 14 Jan. 21 Jan. 23 Jan. 28 Jan. 30 Feb. 4 Feb. 6 Feb. 9 Feb. 13 Feb. 18 Feb. 20 Feb. 25 Feb. 27 Mar. 2-5
2015-16 MSUB Men’s Basketball Schedule Opponent Location Alumni Game (Exh.) Billings, MT at Rocky Mountain College (Exh.) Billings, MT vs. Chico State (at CSU East Bay)+ Hayward, CA TBA (at CSU East Bay)+ Hayward, CA Rocky Mountain College (Exh.)^ Billings, MT at Black Hills State University Spearfish, SD at University of Mary Bismarck, ND Alaska Fairbanks vs. Dixie State & Billings, MT Dominican University & Billings, MT Alaska Fairbanks vs. Dominican & Billings, MT Dixie State University & Billings, MT at Concordia University (Ore.)* Portland, OR at Western Oregon University* Monmouth, OR vs. Azusa Pacific (at Seattle Pacific)# Seattle, WA vs. Northwest (at Seattle Pacific)# Seattle, WA at Carroll College (Exh.) Helena, MT Simon Fraser University* Billings, MT Western Washington University* Billings, MT at Northwest Nazarene University* Nampa, ID at Central Washington University* at University of Alaska Anchorage*
Ellensburg, WA
Anchorage, AK at University of Alaska Fairbanks* Fairbanks, AK Seattle Pacific University* Billings, MT Saint Martin’s University* Billings, MT at Western Washington University* Bellingham, WA at Simon Fraser University* Burnaby, BC Central Washington University* Billings, MT Northwest Nazarene University* Billings, MT University of Alaska Anchorage* Billings, MT University of Alaska Fairbanks* Billings, MT at Saint Martin’s University* Lacey, WA at Seattle Pacific University* Seattle, WA Western Oregon University* Billings, MT Concordia University (Ore.)*$ Billings, MT GNAC Championships Lacey, WA
+ - Cal State East Bay Tournament ^ - Eastern Montana College Throwback Night & - MSUB Thanksgiving Tournament * - Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game # - Seattle Pacific Tournament $ - Senior Day Home games in bold and played at Alterowitz Gymnasium. 2015-16 GNAC Championships hosted by Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--
Time (Local) 3 p.m. 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 3 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 5:15 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. TBA