FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, March 7, 2016 MSUB men’s basketball season review
Taking a step forward in 2015-16, MSUB’s men’s basketball team overcomes significant injuries and looks to build on a promising year moving into next season. BILLINGS, Mont. – Overcoming adversity proved to be a theme throughout the 2015-16 season for the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team, which finished the season with a record of 11-17 and just missed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships with a league record of 8-12. Despite losing three projected starters and one true freshman to injury, the Yellowjackets bounced back with a doublefigure win total after a tough 5-23 season in 2014-15. “It was kind of a different year, and we only played two games all season where we actually had 10 guys suited up,” said fifth-year head coach Jamie Stevens. “The nice thing about that was every guy in the program played a lot of minutes and all of our roster was exposed to this level of basketball. Having that experience and having 11 returners back for next year will help the program out in the long run.”
Projected as a preseason all-GNAC standout, senior Momir Gataric could not return after suffering a torn ACL midway through the 2014-15 season. In MSUB’s fourth conference game of the season, starting guard and leading scorer Jace Anderson suffered a season-ending torn ACL, becoming the second starter lost for the year due to injury. Despite the setbacks, the Yellowjackets remained in the running for a GNAC tournament berth into the final weekend of the regular season, and finished just one game out of the race in eighth place in the GNAC standings. Though the ‘Jackets missed a shot at the postseason, the program finished the year on a positive note by going 4-3 in its final seven games and wrapping up the year with an emotional 86-85 win over Concordia University on Senior Night. MSUB’s lone senior, Emmanuel Johnson, was honored prior to the Yellowjackets’ final game of the year and played a key role on the court as a leadership figure in his two seasons at MSUB. Johnson ranked fourth on the team with an average of 12.5 points per game, and also chipped in 4.2 rebounds this year. He started 24 games and played in 27, shooting 42.9 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from long range and 80.7 percent from the foul line in 28.7 minutes. Johnson’s best scoring performance of the year came in a 25-point effort at Western Washington on Jan. 28, and he scored 20 or more points in five games overall. He finished his two seasons at MSUB No. 15 in the school record books in 3-point field-goal percentage at 38.76, and No. 14 in career blocks with 28. Johnson scored 569 points for an average of 10.5 in his two seasons, and shot 46.2 percent overall from the field in 54 games. Emmanuel Johnson and his father Glenert Brown are honored during MSUB’s Senior Night ceremony on Feb. 27, 2016 at Alterowitz Gym.
“EJ was a great senior for us,” Stevens said. “He isn’t a real vocal guy, but he got better as the year went on. EJ was a great example for everybody in our program. From the day he got here until his last game, he improved in every area of his life. If we can get that from every guy in our program, we will have something special. EJ will be missed and I look forward to seeing what his future holds.” While Johnson departs the program, the ‘Jackets will look forward to bringing back 2015-16 GNAC Freshman of the Year Preston Beverly and fellow honorable mention all-conference selection Marc Matthews. As a true freshman this year, Beverly ranked third on the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game and led the Yellowjackets in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game. Playing 25.7 minutes and starting 14 games, Beverly tied for the second-most double-doubles in the GNAC with seven, and ranked 11th in scoring (15.0) and third in rebounding (7.7) in conference-only games. Beverly twice reached his season high of 26 points, and grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds on four occasions. He also had three games in which he came up just one rebound shy of a double-double, and chipped in the second-most blocks on the squad with 16. Beverly shot 42.6 percent overall from the field, and earned Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic alltournament honors in an early-season tournament hosted by Seattle Pacific University in December.
“Preston had a great year,” Stevens said. “He has a chance to go down as one of the best players to ever play at MSUB. If he continues to improve in some specific areas on the court, and has a great off-season in the weight room, the sky is the limit for him.” Ranking second on the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game, Matthews had his best season yet as a Yellowjacket in his third year with the program. Matthews led the GNAC and posted the sixth-best mark in MSUB history in free-throw percentage at 85.56 on the season. His 392 total points were the most on the team, and he finished second in the conference in 3-point field goals made with 67 total (2.4 per game). Matthews scored a career-high 27 points on New Year’s Eve against Simon Fraser, and had 20 or more points in seven games on the season. He will enter his senior year with 856 points, needing 144 to become the 22nd player in MSUB history to reach 1,000. Matthews is also currently No. 11 in MSUB history with 136 made 3-pointers and No. 17 in career blocks with 25. Providing further veteran leadership along with Matthews, sophomore Kendall Denham overcame an early-season injury and started 17 games as the Yellowjackets’ point guard. Denham averaged 8.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 72 assists. Denham was seventh in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio at plus-1.9, and notched a career-best 10 assists in his final game of the year against Concordia.
2015-16 GNAC Freshman of the Year Preston Beverly.
An academic all-conference selection, Denham scored a career-high 25 points on the road against Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 7, as he drilled a season-high five 3-pointers. Denham shot 43.9 percent overall on the year and 80.9 percent from the foul line. Denham ranks 15th in MSUB history with 3.27 assists per game, and is on pace to break into the top-10 in total assists by the end of his career as he has 160 through two seasons. “Kendall and Marc played well and did what you expect your veteran players to do,” Stevens said. “Kendall’s leadership has been amazing and he truly has become the voice of our program.” Also competing in his second season of eligibility with the ‘Jackets was Jordan Perry, who averaged just under double figures in scoring with 9.2 points and added 4.3 rebounds. Catching fire at the end of the season, Perry scored 19 and 20 points in his final two games as he ended the season with momentum.
Sophomore Kendall Denham led the Yellowjackets with 72 assists in the 2015-16 season.
Showing his versatility, Perry was among leaders in many stat categories as he led the team in steals with 33 and was second in assists with 59. He shot 40.0 percent from the field, and averaged 27.1 minutes while starting 13 games and playing in all 28.
“JP played with a great edge to him, especially at the end of the year,” said Stevens. “He played his best basketball late in the season. I hope he can build off of that going into next year, and I look forward to seeing his growth as we move into his junior season.” While Beverly was the top new player on the squad this season, junior transfer Emmanuel Olufemi also had an impact in his first year as a Yellowjacket. Despite playing in just 19 games, Olufemi made a run at MSUB’s single-season blocks record as he finished second with 48. The total was the third-highest in the conference, and his average of 2.5 per game ranked second. Olufemi had at least one block in every game he played, had multiple blocks in 13 games, and reached his season-high of six blocks on two occasions. In addition to his shot-blocking skills, Olufemi finished second on the team in rebounding with 5.8 per game and also added 5.4 points under the basket. He posted his season-high in scoring with back-to-back 13-point games in February, and had a season-best 12 rebounds at Alaska on Jan. 14. Olufemi’s two six-block games tied him for second-most blocks in MSUB single-game history. In just one season, he is tied for seventh in Yellowjacket history in career blocks, and needs 50 next season to break the career record of 97 (Chris Herriford).
Sophomore Jordan Perry led the Yellowjackets with 33 steals on the season.
Also new to the program this season, sophomore Kamal Tall and freshmen Cade Alcorn and Sven Jeuschede earned playing time for the ‘Jackets. Alcorn played in 26 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds. He posted a double-double in his first-ever GNAC game, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds at Concordia on Dec. 3. Playing a key role off the bench, Jeuschede averaged 15.8 minutes per game and chipped in 20 assists against 17 turnovers. He averaged 2.4 points and played in 18 games for MSUB. Tall, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 7.4 minutes in 18 games and scored a season-high 10 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 30. “We were excited about the recruiting class we brought in and we are even more excited to watch them develop going into their second year in the program,” said Stevens. “All of them will do a lot of great things in our program moving forward, and having depth with actual experience should make our team very good in 2016-17.”
Junior Emmanuel Olufemi had the second-most blocks in MSUB single-season history with 48 in 2015-16.
In the 12 games he played in this season, junior Jace Anderson averaged a team-best 14.1 points and had 33 assists in 25.9 minutes per game. Anderson poured in a career-best 30 points in MSUB’s overtime win at the University of Mary on Nov. 23, and reached double figures in all but three
of the games he played. Anderson shot 48.7 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from 3-point range, and 83.9 percent from the foul line. Anderson earned academic all-conference honors for the second year in a row, and was picked as the GNAC Player of the Week after scoring 18 points in each of MSUB’s two victories over Simon Fraser and Western Washington on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2. He will return next year as a senior, as will freshman Zack Lessinger who redshirted this season after suffering a broken foot early on in the year. “We felt like we could compete with anybody in the conference this year even with our depleted roster,” Stevens said. “Barring injuries and other unforeseen circumstances, we feel like we have a chance to be very good next year. Having a variety of guys come back with experience and the level of players they are definitely has me excited about the future. We need to add a piece or two to the mix, but with the amount of experience we have returning, we feel like 2016-17 will be a great year.”
Junior Jace Anderson led MSUB in scoring with 14.1 points per game despite missing most of the year with an injury.
Among the highlights of the year for the ‘Jackets was a big 90-71 win over the University of Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 9, in which MSUB hit 17 3-pointers. The ‘Jackets had a string of three straight victories early on in the year, with home wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington that got them off to a 3-1 start to league play.
As a team MSUB finished the year eighth in the GNAC in scoring margin at minus-5.3, averaging 74.3 points per game while giving up 79.6. MSUB ranked third in 3-point field-goal percentage at 37.2, second in free-throw percentage at 76.1, and 10th in field-goal percentage at 42.1. Though MSUB finished the year ranked eighth in rebounding margin at minus-0.5, the ‘Jackets improved drastically in that category and out-rebounded opponents 37.4-36.1 over their final 17 games of the year. RECORD BOOK UPDATES The ‘Jackets posted the 16th-best single-game shooting percentage in program history, hitting at a clip of 59.2 percent against Black Hills State as they made 29 of 49 shots on Nov. 21. MSUB’s 63.0 percent ledger from 3-point range on Feb. 9 against Alaska Anchorage was the fifth-best mark in school history, and the team’s 61.5 percent from long range against Black Hills State was right behind at No. 6. MSUB made 17 of 18 free throws against Alaska at home on Feb. 13, which was the fifth best percentage in program history. The team’s 10 blocked shots against Saint Martin’s on Jan. 23 tied for second-most in single-game school history. The team had seven blocks in three games this year, which is tied for 12th-most in a single game in MSUB history. MSUB’s team free-throw percentage of 76.1 (423-for-556) was the third-best mark in school history, and the ‘Jackets set a school record with 99 blocks on the season as they bested the old mark of 98 (1986-87 season) by one. The Yellowjackets’ 248 made 3-pointers was the 15th-best mark in program history as well.