BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men's basketball team will renew its cross-town rivalry with Rocky Mountain College Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium for the 164th meeting in the series' history.
The Yellowjackets and Battlin' Bear rivalry dates back to 1929 and was last played three years ago in 2007 with a 88-79 setback for the Yellowjackets at home. That loss snapped a six game winning streak for the Jackets, which stretched from 1999 to 2005.
Over the history of the series, MSUB holds an 86-77 advantage overall, and is 49-27 at home. On the road however, the Jackets are 25-31 at Rocky and 12-19 at neutral sites. MSUB's last win in the series was a 100-76 drumming at RMC on Dec. 10, 2005.
The Jackets enter Wednesday coming off an impressive 83-63 victory over current NAIA member and NCAA Division II transition school, Minot State. MSUB controlled much of the game as there were five ties, but the Jackets took over in the second half and coasted to the 20 point victory.
In that game, senior Raason Young went for 22 points and seven boards, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and made two steals. Four other players were in double figures for the Jackets, led by Robert Mayes with 12 points and eight boards and Jaxon Myaer who had 12 and nine assists.
The Jackets shot 50.0 percent from the floor and were 8-of-21 from behind the arc. MSUB also took 21 free throws, making 13 (61.9%). The defense forced 17 turnovers and created 22 points off of those turnovers. The Jackets took advantage in the paint, outscoring the Beavers 32-24.
Minot also forced 17 Jacket turnovers, and got 18 points in the process. 11 of those turnovers were steals, but the Beavers shot just 39.4 percent from the field and had just four attempts from the free throw line.
In two games the Jackets are shooting 50.9 percent (56-110) from the field and have connected on 37.0 percent of their three-pointers. MSUB is 64.7 percent from the line this season and are averaging 38.5 rebounds per game. The Jackets are also outscoring opponents 75.5 to 66.5 per contest.
DeAndre Chambers currently leads the Jackets in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game along with four boards. The senior is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from deep. Young and Mayes are also averaging double digits, Young with 17.0 points per game and Mayes with 13.5.
Myaer has been steady at the point, leading the team in assists with 21 total in two games. The junior transfer is also averaging 8.5 points and has grabbed 3.5 rebounds per game. Inside, Emery Henning is averaging 7.5 points per game and is grabbing 6.5 boards per contest.
Anthony Carter is currently the leading scorer for the Battlin' Bears, averaging 15.3 points per game and pulling down an average of 2.1 boards. Sergio Trocha is just behind Carter, averaging a double-double with 14.9 points and 10.4 rebounds.
The Battlin' Bears enter the contest at 4-4 and are coming off back-to-back losses to San Diego Christian (78-88) and Eastern Oregon (72-78). The last win came against South Dakota School of Mines and Tech on Nov. 20, with a 57-56 win.
Wednesday night's contest will be a counter game for the Yellowjackets, but will count as an exhibition for Rocky Mountain College.
The game sponsor will be Cellular Plus of Billings. Fans can purchase $2 tickets at any of the six Cellular Plus locations around the Billings area. Also, the first 100 fans through the door will receive a free wireless Bluetooth courtesy of Cellular Plus to assist in the new “hands free” law in Montana.
All MSUB home contests can be seen live on the new Jacket Vision webstreaming page. Please log on to www.msubsports.com and click on webstreaming under the Multimedia tab. Ken Adelblue will provide play-by-play coverage of all MSUB men's and women's basketball games this season. Fans can view live statistics by navigating to the men's basketball schedule page on www.msubsports.com.
