BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off a convincing upset-victory over then 24^th-ranked Seattle Pacific University, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team is looking to continue to improve and raise their stock in the conference this week with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games.
 
The Yellowjacket men, boasting a high-scoring offense are preparing to face two familiar foes later this week following their 86-77 victory over the Falcons that has them sitting 10-7 overall including a 5-4 mark in league action. MSUB is currently fifth in the conference standings while their next opponent, Western Oregon University, benefited the most from SPU's downfall inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The Wolves, boasting an overall record of 14-4 and a 7-2 mark in league action that now has them second in the league standings, will prowl into Billings on Thursday before the Saints come marching into town on Saturday with an 8-10 record and 4-5 record in the conference. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.
 
MSUB has already seen both of these teams previously this season, splitting the two road games during the last week of December. On Dec. 29, the Yellowjackets earned a 79-61 victory over SMU in Washington before dropping their next game 71-60 at WOU.
 
As a team, MSUB currently boasts the third-best scoring offense in the conference which is also the 20^th-best offense in the nation. The Yellowjackets are currently averaging 83.1 points per game and are also rated 13^th-nationally in three-point field goals per game, scoring 9.3 treys per outing. Leading the three-point barrage has been senior guard Jaxon Myaer who ranks 25^th-nationally with 2.9 three-pointers per game.
 
Leading the high-scoring Yellowjackets is senior guard Antoine Proctor averaging a conference second-best 18.9 points per contest. Proctor has 322 total points this season and leads the team with 41 steals which has him 21^st in the nation as the Washington, D.C. native averages 2.4 swipes per game.
 
Just behind Proctor in point-production is Myaer, averaging a team second-best 14.4 points per game. The senior from Salt Lake City, UT has really given Stevens and crew a solid presence to lead the offense as he leads the team from the field, hitting on 47.4% (83-175) of his looks. That percentage includes a .438 (49-112) performance from three-point range which is good enough for 10^th-best in the league.
 
Myaer is also fifth in the conference with 4.1 assists per game (70 total) and leads the team from the free throw line with an .829 shooting percentage but teammate David Arnold, who had one of his best outings of the season against SPU, is third in the conference from the charity stripe, hitting 35 of his 40 attempts (.875).
 
Arnold is second on the team in three-point shooting as he has hit 16 of his 41 attempts for a .390 average and is also second on the team in shooting from the field with a .458 (38-83).
 
Robert Mayes and Taylor Stevens round out the Yellowjackets currently averaging double-digit points with 11.3 and 11.2 respectively. Mayes leads the team in rebounding, bringing down 6.6 boards per game.
 
For Western Oregon, Blair Weadon leads a quartet of players who average double-digit points with a conference fifth-best 15.7 points per outing, but when the Wolves hosted MSUB on Dec. 31, Weadon and teammate Kyle Long were able to each score 18 points and go 7-for-14 from the field. Weadon also leads the team with 38 steals and 52 assists for the season.
 
Also for the Wolves, James Gehring is second in the GNAC with a .591 (65-110) shooting performance while Kolton Nelson, the third leading-scorer on the squad, is ninth in the league going .538 (78-145) from the field. Nelson averages 10.9 points per game.
 
SMU is lead in scoring by the third-leading scorer in the GNAC in Jeremy Green. When the Saints hosted the Yellowjackets back in December, Green scored 20 points off a 9-18 outing from the field which exceeds his 17.7 points per game. Green is ninth in the conference in rebounds with 7.2 per outing while Brok Pendleton, who is 12^th in the nation with 2.4 blocks per game, is bringing down a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game which is good enough for sixth-best in the GNAC.
 
Roger O'Neill also exceeded his season average when the two programs last met with 15 points. O'Neill is third on the team in points per game, averaging 13.3 this season just behind Pendleton's 14.1.

Thursday's game against Western Oregon will feature another “$5 Family Night” at Alterowitz Gymnasium. Families will be admitted to the game for just $5.
 
As part of the Hall of Fame weekend activities, MSUB will also unveil the newly constructed “Corridor of Champions,” located in the lobby of the PE Building prior to Saturday's game against Saint Martin's. The newly built corridor was a collaborative effort between Montana State Billings' Alumni Association and the Athletic Department. The unveiling ceremony will be held approximately five minutes prior to the 7 p.m. start of the men's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 28.