BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team returns to Alterowitz Gymnasium to host Saint Martin's (Wash.) Thursday and Western Oregon Saturday. It's the final games of the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.
The Yellowjackets (9-9, 2-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are coming off of a come-from-behind win at Northwest Nazarene (Idaho), 63-61.
Omar McDade recorded a 20-point performance for the second straight game. The senior finished 21 points; two nights after totaling a team season-high 26 points. More importantly, MSU Billings snapped a three-game losing streak with their seventh victory over NNU in the last nine meetings.
“First and foremost, it's nice to be back home playing a game,” MSUB Head Coach
Jamie Stevens said. “It seems like we have been gone for a while. It's also nice to be back into a routine with school finally beginning. Obviously, this is an important week for our team. The win last Saturday gave us some life and was a good win, but only if we can take care of business at home this week. Both teams are really well coached and will play hard. We have to match that and hopefully knock down some shots.”
Montana State Billings holds a slim 10-9 advantage in the all-time series against Saint Martin's. However, the Yellowjackets have won four of the past six, including the last three. SMU's last win in the series was on Dec. 30, 2010, 70-54, in Billings. MSU Billings has won six of the nine all-time meetings in Billings.
The Montana State University Billings' athletic marketing department recently announced that Thursday will be five-dollar family night at Alterowitz Gymnasium. An entire family can come to the MSU Billings and Saint Martin's game Thursday for five dollars.
Saint Martin's University (6-8, 2-4 GNAC) enters the matchup with Montana State Billings after losing three of its last four games and five of its last seven. The Saints have won one of their four true road contests this season. SMU lost its two conference road outings at Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage. Saint Martin's is last in the conference in points per game (67.7), and field goal percentage (.419).
The Saints are paced by Roger O'Neill. The senior is averaging 15 points per game, which is eighth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. But, it may be Brady Bomber who is the most dangerous with the ball. The senior is dishing out 4.1 assists per outing (4th in the GNAC), and is third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also sixth in the conference in steals per game (1.5). Rei Jensen's 7.4 rebounds per game is fifth in the GNAC.
In the last meeting, an extremely athletic and aggressive defense made the difference on Jan. 28, 2012, as Montana State University Billings wore down the Saints en route to a 82-74 win inside Alterowitz Gymnasium. For the second time this season, MSUB as a team were balanced across the 40 minutes of play, making the same number of shots as well as attempting the exact same number in both the first and second stanzas. The Yellowjackets ended the night shooting a 51.7 percent from the field that included going 10-of-21 from three-point range as four different players hit at least one three-pointer. Four players also scored in double-digit points for Coach Stevens and staff.
Saturday, MSU Billings welcomes Western Oregon (7-7, 2-4). Western Oregon University enters the week having lost five of its last seven contests, but snapped a four-game losing streak with a 78-60 home win over Simon Fraser in its last outing. Andy Avgi leads WOU with 17.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is third in the GNAC in points per game. The freshman is also third in the conference with a .601 field goal percentage.
As a team, Western Oregon is 10th the conference in scoring margin, being outscored by an average of 3.1 points per outing. WOU is second in the GNAC in turnover margin and third in steals per game (8.5). Another freshman, Devon Alexander leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in steals per game (2.7). He is the lone player in the conference averaging at least two steals per outing. Alexander was 15th in NCAA Div. II in steals per game last week.
Montana State Billings and Western Oregon meet for the 15th time Saturday. MSUB has eight of the previous 14 meetings, including the last two. The Yellowjackets have six of the seven all-time meetings in Billings. MSU Billings has won the past four meetings in Alterowitz.
In the last meeting, fifth-seeded Montana State University Billings came out firing on all cylinders, particularly in the second half, to upset the fourth-seeded Wolves, 80-75, in the second men's quarterfinal game of the 2012 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Basketball Championships. Both teams opened the game shooting the ball extremely well from the field in the first half as both teams shot over 50 percent. MSUB ended the night shooting 50.8 percent from the field after opening the game on a .516 clip while WOU ended the game shooting 47.5 percent after opening the game with a 51.5 percent performance in the opening stanza. The Yellowjackets were led by four players who ended the game in double figures.
Currently, the Yellowjackets'
Kalob Hatcher and
Jarrell Crayton are high in statistical categories in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Hatcher leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6) and is third in assists per game (5.1). Crayton is fifth in scoring per game (15.7) and third in rebounds per game (7.7). Hatcher is also in the top five in NCAA Div. II in assist-to-turnover ratio, and Crayton is in the top 10 in several statistical categories in the GNAC.
Thursday tipoff against Saint Martin's is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets and Western Oregon are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start, following the MSUB and Seattle Pacific women's basketball game. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com.
