GAME NOTES

BILLINGS, Mont. – With just four weeks left in the regular season, the Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team welcomes No. 6 Seattle Pacific University in a vital Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.

The top six teams in the final standings of the regular season qualify for the conference's postseason tournament, and the Yellowjackets (12-10, 5-6 GNAC) are currently sixth. Montana State Billings holds a half-game lead over Western Oregon for the sixth spot, but is also only one-game behind fourth-place, and two games from third-place.

After losing three straight, the Yellowjackets have won four of the past five. Five of MSUB's final seven games are at home, where it is 7-3 this season, beginning with a tough test this weekend.

“We are looking forward to having five of our last seven at home,” MSU Billings' Head Coach Jamie Stevens said. “It feels like we have been on the road a lot so it's nice to get to stay home for a while. It's also nice to have a single game this week. Many of our guys need to get rested and healthy and having only the single game on Saturday will be refreshing.

“That being said, Seattle Pacific is really good, one of the best teams in the country. They have it all, great size, really good shooters at several spots, they are deep and they are really well coached. They pounded us in Seattle and we will have to play much better to even have a chance against them.”

Seattle Pacific enters the weekend as a top-10 ranked team, behind one of the nation's best defenses. The Falcons have the 15th best scoring defense in NCAA Div. II, and are in the top-10 in scoring margin. Offensively, SPU is seventh in assists and ninth in three-point field goal percentage. Jobi Wall is making nearly 50 percent of his shots from behind-the-arc and an average of over three per game. David Downs leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in assists per game, while Riley Stockton is second in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Falcons have four players averaging double-digit scoring per game, led by Wall's 14.6 points. SPU had its seven-game win streak snapped in an 83-76 overtime setback at No. 2 Western Washington. Seattle Pacific is attempting to qualify for its ninth consecutive national tournament appearance, an NCAA Div. II long streak.

Earlier this season, then-ranked No. 8 Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team grabbed its 11th win of the season with an 81-56 victory over Montana State University Billings on Jan. 12. The Falcons eased to the win behind 49 percent shooting from the field, and four double-digit scorers. Andy Poling finished with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Patrick Simon and Downs added 15 and 10 points, while Wall had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Wall and Downs both tossed six assists. Seattle Pacific made 33 of its 67 shots from the field, including seven of its 22 three-point range. It also was 8-of-12 from the free-throw line. The Falcons limited MSUB to 35 percent shooting from the field in the first half.

The Yellowjackets' Jarrell Crayton totaled 46 points in a split last week. He had 24 points in a loss at No. 2 Western Washington, and 22 in a win at Simon Fraser. The senior made 19 of his 28 attempts from the field, and added 12 rebounds. He has moved to third in the conference in scoring (16.2 ppg), fourth in rebounds (7.4), and fourth in field goal percentage (.562).

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 4.9 per game.

The Falcons own a slim 33-29 advantage over MSUB. MSU Billings is 21-6 against SPU at home, but have won just seven of the 33 games in Seattle. MSUB has dropped 18 straight games at SPU, dating back to a 74-73 win on Jan. 16, 1987. Montana State Billings has won the last two meetings in Billings, including an 86-77 win over then-ranked No. 24 Seattle Pacific. The series dates back to the first meeting on Dec. 27, 1962. A 72-58 win by MSUB at home. Saturday's 62nd meeting between the teams is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com.