FULL PDF VERSION
BILLINGS, Mont. – After a five-game home-stand, the Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team travels to No. 7 Seattle Pacific University Saturday. It will be the second straight game against a top 10 opponent for the Yellowjackets.
THE SERIES
* Saturday is the 62nd all-time meeting between Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific.
* The Falcons own a slim 32-29 advantage over MSUB.
* MSU Billings is 21-6 against SPU at home, but have won just seven of the 32 games in Seattle.
* After losing nine straight in the series, the Yellowjackets have won two of the last three.
* Seattle Pacific avoided a season-sweep and a third straight loss to Montana State Billings last year with a 78-70 win in Seattle.
* MSUB has dropped 17 straight games at SPU, dating back to a 74-73 win on Jan. 16, 1987.
* The series dates back to the first meeting on Dec. 27, 1962. A 72-58 win by MSUB at home.
QUICK HITS
- The Yellowjackets are 7-0 this season when leading with five minutes left in regulation, and 21-1 under
Jamie Stevens.
- MSUB is 20-1 under Stevens when they shoot better than their opponent, and is 11-0 when it shoots 50 percent or better.
- Montana State Billings is also 17-3 when outrebounding the opponent.
- The Yellowjackets were 8-6 at this point last season.
-
Jarrell Crayton has reached double-digit scoring in 12 of MSUB's 15 games this season.
- Crayton is in the top 10 in the conference in five major statistical categories.
-
Kalob Hatcher is third in the GNAC in assists with an average of 5.0 per game.
- As a team, MSU Billings is fifth in the conference in assists per game (15.6).
- The Yellowjackets are 3-6 against Top 25-ranked teams under Stevens.
- After never facing a top 10 opponent under Stevens, MSUB faces two consecutive top 10 teams in a span of seven days.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
Seventh-ranked Seattle Pacific University was picked as the preseason coaches' favorite to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. SPU lost a top-10 showdown with No. 5 Western Washington last week at home, but it was only its second loss of the season. The defensive-minded Falcons lead the conference in scoring defense (59.8), field goal percentage defense (.407), and three-point field goal percentage defense (.288). Seattle Pacific is eighth in NCAA Div. II in scoring defense. The Falcons are grabbing a conference-best 11.7 more rebounds than their opponent, which is sixth in the country. David Downs leads the GNAC with an average of 5.3 assists per game. Jobi Wall leads SPU at 13.8 points per outing. Riley Stockton is grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game. Seattle Pacific had its 12-game home win streak snapped with the loss to Western Washington.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The Montana State University men's basketball team fell behind early and never fully recovered as they fell 78-70 on the road to the Falcons of Seattle Pacific University on Feb. 18, 2012. Despite falling behind early, MSUB was able to shoot 36.8 percent from the field but only made seven of their 24 attempts from three-point range. The Yellowjackets made just 18 trips to the free throw line while sending the Falcons to the line 39 times including 30 in the second half.
Antoine Proctor had a team-high 21 points, hitting seven of his 19 attempts from the field. The Washington, D.C. native had a team-high two three-pointers and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. SPU hit 46.8 percent of their looks from the field but were just .222 from beyond the three-point arc as they hit just two treys.
THE LAST TIME OUT
The No. 5 Western Washington University men's basketball team picked up its 18th straight win at Montana State University Billings last Saturday, 95-80. The Vikings turned 21 MSUB turnovers into 31 points. WWU had 15 steals in the game, the most by an opponent in the
Jamie Stevens' era at MSU Billings. Western Washington finished 58 percent from the field, and 7-of-13 from behind-the-arc. It was also 16-for-28 from the free-throw line. Arnold scored a career-high 24 points for the Yellowjackets. The senior was 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
Jarrell Crayton recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. MSUB shot 46 percent from the field, made nine of its 26 three-pointers, and went 9-of-13 from the free-throw line.
GNAC FINISHES AT .726
Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams completed the non-conference portion of their schedules with a .726 winning percentage (61-23), the second best mark in the 12-year history of the conference. Conference teams were 36-20 in Division II contests, including 25-14 in regional counters (16-12 against the PacWest, 2-1 against CCAA teams and 7-1 in games against schools that count as regional counters due to the NCAA “contiguous”state rule). Montana State Billings finished 7-4 in non-conference play.
HALFWAY ALREADY
Montana State University Billings reached the halfway mark of its 29-game regular season. The Yellowjackets remaining 14 contests are all Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. MSUB won seven of its 11 non-conference games this season, almost identical to last season's 8-4 non-conference mark. So far this season, MSU Billings is 5-3 at home and 1-4 in true road contests. In 2011-12, the Yellowjackets were 6-3 at home at the halfway point, and 2-3 on the road. Montana State Billings begins the second half of conference play at Western Washington on Jan. 31.
