BILLINGS, Mont. – With two more non-conference games coming up this weekend, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will close the 2014 portion of its schedule against Hawaii Pacific University and Ottawa University (Kan.) in the Aloha State.
 
The 'Jackets opened up the three-game road trip Monday evening with an 82-65 loss to Chaminade University, and will finish up action with back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
 
First up with a 7:30 p.m. Mountain time start on Friday will be Hawaii Pacific, and the 'Jackets will turn around with their game against Ottawa less than 24 hours later on Saturday at 5 p.m. Mountain time.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-9, 0-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are currently enduring a four-game losing skid. The team is being led in scoring by seniors Antoine Hosley and Austin Hudson, who are averaging 13.8 and 13.2 points per game, respectively.
 
Hudson is also the team's leading rebounder with an average of 6.9 per contest, and he is shooting 54.4 percent from the field on the season. Hosley has been a key factor for the team from long distance, posting a mark of 34.1 percent from the arc and making a team second-best 15 3-pointers. Hosley is also the squad's most prolific free-throw shooter, converting at a clip of 79.4 percent from the line.
 
Also averaging in double figures are Momir Gataric (11.0 ppg) and Marc Matthews (10.8). Gataric is shooting a strong 52.5 percent from the floor and his 15 assists are second-most on the team. Matthews leads the team in 3-point field goals with 18, and is shooting 33.3 percent on the season from downtown.
 
Emmanuel Johnson has provided 5.2 rebounds per game for the 'Jackets, and is shooting an even 50.0 percent from the floor while averaging 21.0 minutes per game. Redshirt freshman point guard Kendall Denham leads the team in minutes with 32.1 per game, and has a team-best 33 assists against just 17 turnovers.
 
Jordan Perry has turned in productive minutes off of the bench for MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens, averaging 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.1 minutes. Senior Tyler Nelson, who is the lone Yellowjacket to have started all 10 games, is another key rebounder with 4.8 per game.
 
As a team the 'Jackets are shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, 32.5 percent from 3-point range and 61.3 percent from the free-throw line. MSUB is being outscored on the season 76.3-69.9, and is nearly even with opponents in the rebound department with a slight 34.1-33.9 deficit.
 
Friday, Dec. 19 – 7:30 p.m. MTN – Neil S. Blaisdell Center
Hawaii Pacific University Sharks
2014-15 Record: 5-2, 2-1 PacWest
Head Coach: Darren Vorderbruegge (9th season)
 
Having won back-to-back games against the University of Hawaii Hilo, the Sharks will take on Chaminade University on Wednesday before their encounter with the Yellowjackets Friday evening. The wins over the Vulcans have HPU off to a 2-1 start to its 2014-15 PacWest Conference schedule, after the team fell to No. 23 Brigham Young University-Hawaii 75-61 to open its conference season on Dec. 4.
 
Overall, HPU has won four of its last five games, including a 74-62 win over GNAC opponent Central Washington in mid-November. HPU also took on GNAC foe Seattle Pacific during the GNAC/PacWest Challenge, falling to the Falcons 61-49 in Laie, Hawaii on Nov. 21.
 
Luke Hager has been the standout scorer so far for HPU, averaging 19.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Both figures are team-bests, as the 6-foot-8 forward is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor this season.
 
Another offensive key for the Sharks has been Justin Long, who is scoring at a clip of 13.0 points per game. Long leads the team with nine 3-point field goals this season, and is shooting an outstanding 89.7 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Darry Jones Jr. is HPU's other double-figure scorer with 10.6 points per game. The senior guard is also averaging 5.1 points and has a team-best 18 assists on the year.
 
Although HPU averages just 66.0 points per game, the team's stingy defense allows only 63.7. The Sharks are being outrebounded 39.0-37.9, and have committed 101 turnovers while generating 95.
 
The team is minimally effective from the perimeter, averaging 5.7 3-pointers and shooting just 29.9 percent from long range. Instead, the Sharks rely on Hager's strong play underneath and shoot a solid mark of 41.1 percent from the field. From the free-throw line, HPU holds an average of 73.1 percent.
 
The Series: Although the teams have not met since the 2005 season, MSUB holds the all-time advantage in the series with a 10-6 record. The two teams first met in 1999 and played at least once every year until the series was discontinued after 2005.
 
MSUB will look to pull its away record to an even .500 against HPU, as it currently sits at 3-4. The Yellowjackets have won the last five meetings between the two, including three wins in 2005 after two in-a-row in 2004.


Saturday, Dec. 20 – 5 p.m. MTN Time – Neil S. Blaisdell Center
Ottawa University Braves
2014-15 Record: 8-4 (NAIA)
Head Coach: Andy Carrier (25th season)
 
After winning six of its first seven games to open the 2014-15 season, Ottawa has alternated wins and losses over its past six contests. The Braves are coming off of an 86-73 loss to Friends University last Saturday, which came two days after a 90-85 overtime triumph over Southwestern College in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Association play.
 
The matchup against MSUB will be the first NCAA Division II contest of the season for Ottawa, which is stationed in Ottawa, Kan., and competes in the NAIA.
 
The Braves are being led by Marshon Norfleet, who is averaging 17.4 points per game and shooting 40.6 percent from the field. The 6-foot-1 junior guard has also been effective from 3-point range with a mark of 34.3 percent, and is shooting 78.7 percent from the foul line.
 
Adam Hasty (14.2 ppg), and Preston Oakes (13.6) are Ottawa's other double-digit scorers, and Hasty leads the team with 22 steals and 40 3-point field goals this season. Oakes is shooting 40.2 percent from the floor while grabbing 5.9 rebounds, and Hasty is contributing 4.1 boards with a team-best 63 assists.
 
Doing the heavy lifting underneath are 6-foot-5 Colin Nichols and 6-foot-9 Alex Lundry, who average 6.8 and 6.4 rebounds per game, respectively. Lundry is scoring at a clip of 9.7 points per contest while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, and Nichols averages 9.3 points while shooting 57.3 percent. Lundry leads the team with 26 blocks, and Nichols is shooting a strong 88.2 percent (15-for-17) on free-throws.
 
As a team the Braves focus on offense, outscoring opponents 78.2-74.8 on the season. Ottawa grabs 40.2 rebounds per game while allowing 38.1, and is shooting a strong 44.1 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from 3-point range, and 71.9 percent from the foul line as a team.
 
The Series: The meeting will be the first-ever between the two teams, and just the seventh time MSUB has played a team from Kansas. In prior meetings against five different Kansas teams, the Yellowjackets are 2-4 and have not played a team from the Sunflower State since taking on Emporia State in January of 2006.