Yellowjackets’ 2016-17 men’s basketball schedule released

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, August 2, 2016 Yellowjackets’ 2016-17 men’s basketball schedule released

MSUB’s men’s basketball schedule includes 27 regular-season games and three exhibition contests, as the Yellowjackets seek a return to the GNAC Championships this season.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Set to kick off the season in early November, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team announced its 27-game schedule for the upcoming 2016-17 season on Tuesday.

The Yellowjackets will play three exhibition contests in addition to their regular-season slate, as the squad looks to return to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships next March in Lacey, Wash.

“We are excited about the 2016-17 schedule,” said sixth-year head coach Jamie Stevens. “We feel like the non-league slate will get us ready for GNAC play. We like the balance between road and home games, and feel like we should compete every night with the experienced group we have returning.”

MSUB will host Carroll College on Nov. 2 and Montana Tech two evenings later in a pair of exhibition games at Alterowitz Gym. The matchup against the Orediggers is tabbed Eastern Montana College Throwback Night, with the Yellowjackets set to wear black and gold EMC Throwback jerseys. MSUB’s third exhibition game will be at Rocky Mountain College at the Fortin Center on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

“We do have some local flavor on our schedule as well,” Stevens commented on the four matchups against Montana schools. “It is great to get Carroll, Montana Tech, and Rocky on our schedule, and it’s always nice to play schools that are close to us.”

The regular season begins with a tournament hosted by Cal Baptist University, as MSUB will take on the host school and Holy Names University on Nov. 11-12 in Riverside, Calif. The Yellowjackets’ regular-season home opener is set for Nov. 19 against NCAA west region opponent Cal State East Bay. MSUB will then play three games on the road before beginning its conference schedule, with contests at Chadron State on Nov. 22, and a pair of games in Grand Junction, Colo., in a tournament hosted by Colorado Mesa University.

Senior Marc Matthews returns as one of MSUB’s top scorers, earning honorable mention all-GNAC with 14.0 points per game in 2015-16.

The ’Jackets open GNAC play at home by hosting defending west region champion Western Oregon University on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., and Concordia University two nights later. A second encounter with crosstown rival Rocky Mountain College on Dec. 10 is the final nonconference game of the season, as the ‘Jackets will ring in the new year after Christmas break with

league play the rest of the way.

MSUB enjoys its longest home stand of the year from Jan. 5-14, when it hosts four conference opponents at Alterowitz Gym. The long stretch in Magic City will be matched by a four-game road trip running Feb. 2-11, capped off by the longest journey of the year to challenge Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage.

Upon their return to Billings in mid-February, the ‘Jackets will have their final home contests of the year as they host Seattle Pacific on Feb. 16 and Saint Martin’s University on Senior Night, Feb. 18.

A pair of weekends feature doubleheaders with MSUB’s women’s basketball team, as the men will play the late, 7:30 p.m. game on Jan. 12 against UAA and Jan. 14 against UAF. The ‘Jacket men will start at 5:15 p.m. against SPU on Feb. 16 preceding the women’s game, and will flip-flop start times two nights later for Senior Night against the Saints.

MSUB closes the regular season on the road, challenging Concordia University in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 23, and finishing at Western Oregon in Monmouth, Ore., on Feb. 25. The ‘Jackets will strive to finish in the top-6 in the GNAC regularseason standings, in hopes of earning a berth into the conference tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

“The league schedule will be as difficult as ever,” said Stevens, whose team finished the 2015-16 season just out of the conference tournament mix in eighth place with a mark of 11-17 overall and 8-12 in league play. “Our toughest stretch will definitely be in February where we play six of eight games away from Billings.”

This year’s GNAC Championships will run March 1-4 at Marcus Pavilion, the home site of host school Saint Martin’s University. The tournament champion will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, scheduled for the following weekend (March 8-11) at the site of the No. 1 seed in the region.

All home contests and select road games this season will feature live video coverage, with play-by-play commentary from Jeff Rosenberry and Aaron Like. The Yellowjacket Sports Network’s production also includes live statistics, available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

Aaron Like (left) and Jeff Rosenberry will return as MSUB’s play-by-play commentators for the 2016-17 basketball season.

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