BILLINGS, Mont. –The Montana State University Billings Men's Basketball is set to host conference foes Western Oregon University and Saint Martin's University in two key Great Northwest Athletic Conference games.

MSUB (8-9, 4-5 GNAC) currently sits in sixth place at the midway point of conference play.  WOU (10-9, 3-6 GNAC) is in seventh and SMU (6-11, 3-6 GNAC) is in the eighth position. Two wins could possible put the Yellowjackets three games ahead of the seventh place school and could very well vault them up into the top four.  The top six teams qualify for the GNAC tournament in March.     

"We feel like this week is a brand new start for our team," head coach Jamie Stevens said.  "We are halfway through the conference schedule and this week's games begin the important second half of our season.  Going forward, every game is crucial for positioning in the GNAC standings."

The Yellowjackets nearly pulled off an upset against league leading Seattle Pacific University last Saturday (Jan. 25) but fell in double overtime 92-87.

Kalob Hatcher registered his second double-double with 12 points and a career high 13 assists.  Jonathan Mesghna tied his career high with 24 points and pulled down five rebounds.  Austin Hudson also scored a career high 26 points and gathered in a team leading 7 rebounds.

MSUB defeated SMU on the road earlier this month (Jan. 2) 66-50.  Mesghna lead the way with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Two days later (Jan.4), WOU pulled off a 98-90 double overtime win against the Jackets in Monmouth Ore. Six MSUB players finished in double figures, but WOU was able to snatch victory at the edge of defeat twice; first in the closing seconds of regulation and then again at the end of the first OT period. 

"I like the way we are playing as a group," Stevens said.  "We are just a team that needs to learn how to win some close games. Unfortunately, we lost games in the first half of our season that I feel like we could have won."

Mesghna leads the Jackets, and is tied for 13th in the GNAC in scoring with 14.2 points per game.  He also is tied with teammate Austin Hudson for the team lead and 10th in the league in rebounding, both average 6.0 boards per game.  Hudson is second on the team and 17th in the GNAC in scoring averaging 13.5 points per game. 

Kalob Hatcher leads the Yellowjackets and the conference in assists.  He averages 7.1 per contest and 8.0 in league games.  His 13 assists without a turnover against SPU, matched the GNAC record for most assists without a turnover in a game set by Luke Cooper of Alaska Anchorage against Eastern Washington on Nov. 24, 2007. 

Hatcher has steadily climbed the ladder in assists per game nationally and is now sixth in the Nation (7.1 per game) for the division two level.   He is third on the team in scoring averaging 11.2 points per game as well. 

WOU's leading scorer is Rodney Webster who is ninth in the GNAC is scoring, averaging 15.3 point per game.  Webster scored 27 points the last time the two teams met including a game tying three to send the game into double OT. 

MSUB is 10-7 all-time against WOU, but 7-1 when playing the Wolves at home. 

"Western Oregon presents some problems with their defensive pressure," Stevens said.  "They do a great job of turning opponents over. They also have great size which presents some rebounding issues. For us to be successful Thursday night, we will need to take care of the ball and not allow second and third chance opportunities for them on our defensive end."

SMU's leading scorers are Evan Coulter and Ryan Rodgers who are tied for 13th in the conference (along with MSUB's Mesghna) averaging 14.2 points per game. 

MSUB is 12-10 in games against SMU and are 7-3 when playing the Saints at home.

"SMU is a team that can really shoot the basketball," Coach Stevens said.  "They have several players that can get hot and knock down threes. We will really need to guard the three point line against them and take advantage of our interior play on the opposite end."

The game against WOU is schedule for Jan. 30 at 7:00 PM and is sponsored by Stockman Bank.  All children sixth grade and younger receive free admission to the game.  The game against SMU is on Feb. 1 at 7:00 PM.  For stats and live video for both games, visit MSUBSPORTS.COM.