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BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team is in fifth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with just four games left in the regular season. This week, MSUB travels to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's.
THE SERIES
* Thursday is the 16th all-time meeting between Montana State Billings and WOU.
* The Yellowjackets hold a 9-6 all-time advantage in the series.
* MSU Billings is 1-5 all-time in Monmouth versus Western Oregon.
* Montana State Billings has won three straight over the Wolves.
* Saturday is the 21st all-time meeting between MSUB and Saint Martin's.
* MSU Billings has has an 11-9 advantage in the all-time meetings.
* The Yellowjackets have won four straight in the series.
* MSUB has won four of the 10 all-time meetings in Lacey.
QUICK HITS
- The Yellowjackets are 11-0 this season when leading with five minutes left in regulation, and 2-11 when trailing.
- MSUB is 25-2 under Stevens when they shoot better than their opponent, and is 12-1 when it shoots 50 percent or better.
- Montana State Billings is 8-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points, and 1-7 when opponents score over 80 points.
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Kalob Hatcher is fourth in NCAA Div. II in assist-to-turnover ratio, and leads the GNAC.
- He is third in the GNAC in assists with an average of 4.8 per game.
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Jarrell Crayton is third in the conference in scoring (16.0), and fourth in rebounding (7.1).
- The senior is also eighth shooting 54.7 percent from the field.
- A MSUB win Thursday, coupled with a Saint Martin's loss to Seattle Pacific, and the Yellowjackets make the GNAC tournament.
- The top six teams make the GNAC tournament, and MSUB is currently in fifth.
ABOUT THE WOLVES
Western Oregon University is just 1-7 on the road this season, but it has won seven games at home. The Wolves have dropped three of their last four, and five of their last seven. WOU won its first two Great Northwest Athletic Conference games, but have gone 3-9 since in conference play. Western averages the third most steals per game (8.1) in the GNAC, led by Devon Alexander's conference best 2.4 per contest. Andy Avgi leads the Wolves with an average of 15.8 points, and 5.5 rebounds. He is fourth in the conference in scoring and field goal percentage (.579). Tyler Funk is second in the GNAC in three-point field goal percentage (.485), and 12th in assists per game (3.1). In the first meeting this season, Kolton Nelson led the Wolves with 14 points off of the bench. He made six of his nine attempts from the field. Avgi had 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team grabbed its third consecutive victory with an 88-74 win over Western Oregon University on Jan. 23. The Yellowjackets finished with five double-digit scorers.
David Arnold led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
Kalob Hatcher made four of his five three-point attempts and finished with 16 points. The junior added a game-high six assists.
Sam Johnson contributed 12 points, while
Omar McDade and
Robby Trabing both had 11.
Jarrell Crayton, Johnson and Trabing grabbed six rebounds each. Arnold and McDade both had five assists. Montana State Billings shot 47 percent from the field, including 12-of-25 from behind-the-arc.
ABOUT THE SAINTS
Saint Martin's University enters the week with the best turnover margin (+2.91) in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Saints are giving up a conference-low 10.1 turnovers per contest. A large part of that success has been thanks to their point guard, Brady Bomber. The senior has done well taking care of the ball, and is second in the GNAC with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is dishing out 4.0 assists per game, which is fourth in the conference. Roger O'Neill is sixth in the GNAC with an average of 15.6 points per game. In the first meeting this season, Saint Martin's was led by O'Neill's game-high 23 points. He scored 16 of his 23 in the second half, and made 10 of his 14 attempts from the field throughout the game. O'Neill also had a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high four steals. Eric Taylor and Evan Coulter added 11 and 10 points respectively.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team picked up its second straight victory with a 77-64 win over Saint Martin's University (Wash.) on Jan. 24. The Yellowjackets were paced by four double-digit scorers.
Jarrell Crayton totaled a team-high 18 points. The senior finished 7-of-11 from the field.
David Arnold added 15 points,
Kalob Hatcher had 11, while
Devon Wallace contributed 10.
Robby Trabing grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Hatcher threw a game-high five assists. Montana State Billings shot 46 percent from the field, 9-of-25 from behind-the-arc, and 16-for-22 from the free-throw line. MSUB outrebounded the Saints, 36-27.
