BILLINGS, Mont. – The last time the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team met Seattle Pacific, then-freshman Marc Matthews knocked down a buzzer-beater to lift the Yellowjackets to a 72-70 overtime victory over the then-No. 13 Falcons at Brougham Pavilion in Seattle last February.
 
The triumph by the 'Jackets snapped an 11-game SPU winning streak, and simultaneously upped MSUB's winning streak to four games en route to last season's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships tournament berth.
 
On Saturday, the Falcons (14-4, 6-2 GNAC) head to Billings for the first meeting between the teams in 11 months, as now-sophomore Matthews and the Yellowjackets get set for their lone GNAC matchup of the week. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym, and live video and statistics will be available via www.msubsports.com. Children age sixth grade and under will be admitted at no charge.
 
"We are excited for the challenge and opportunity to play a team and program the caliber of SPU," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "The last few times we have played them, it has gone down to the wire. We had two overtime games last year and both could have been won by either team."
 
The Yellowjackets (4-14, 2-6 GNAC) enter Saturday's game having won two of their last three dating back to a 111-104 road win over Simon Fraser on Jan. 10. Last Thursday, MSUB's Jace Anderson knocked down five 3-pointers as he keyed a big 83-78 overtime victory over visiting Alaska Fairbanks with a career-high 27 points.
 
The sophomore followed with 19 points against Alaska Anchorage last Saturday, but the 'Jackets went cold scoring just two points over the last four minutes in a 70-62 loss to the Seawolves. Anderson earned honorable mention GNAC Player of the Week for his efforts last week.
 
"Over the last three games we are probably playing as well as we have all year," Stevens said. "We have settled into a rotation that is playing well together, which has led to our success as a team overall."
 
MOMIR "GO-GO" GATARIC: Over his past four games MSUB junior Momir Gataric is averaging 18.3 points, and during that span he is shooting 60 percent from the floor (26-for-43), 39 percent from 3-point range (7-for-18), and 82 percent from the foul line (14-for-17). The big numbers have upped his season scoring average to 12.9 which ranks No. 12 in the GNAC, and he is also grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game.
 
ANDERSON AN ACE FROM THE ARC: After making 8 of 17 3-pointers last week, Anderson now ranks No. 3 in the GNAC in field-goal percentage behind the arc at 48.0. The percentage also ranks No. 5 in the MSUB record books among all-time single-season 3-point field goal percentages. The sophomore is averaging 19 points over his last three games, and has upped his total to 6.6 per game on the season. Overall from the field he is shooting 49.3 percent and he has committed just five turnovers in 16 games.

MSUB Record Book
Single-Season 3-Point Field-Goal Percentage

Rank	Name	Percent	Year (3FG-ATT)
1	Lance Vaccarelli	50.00	1990-91 (37-74)
2	Cameron Munoz	49.23	2003-04 (97-197)
3	Marty Bertolette	48.45	1992-93 (47-97)
4	Chris Herriford	48.14	1991-92 (39-81)
5	Jace Anderson	48.00	2014-15 (24-50)
6	Titus Warmsley	46.05	1996-97 (35-76)

 
DIVERSE DENHAM: While freshman point guard Kendall Denham has shown all season that he is one of the most efficient ball distributors in the conference with a GNAC seventh-best assist-turnover ratio of 1.9, by putting up a season-high 16 points in the win over the Nanooks he showed he is a dual threat as a scorer as well. Denham also made 7 of 8 free-throws in the win, and has made 12 of his last 15 overall. He averages 33.7 minutes per game, and has had at least two assists in every game so far this season.
 
NELSON DOWN LOW: Senior Tyler Nelson totaled 21 rebounds last weekend and tied a career high with 11 against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Nelson also scored a season-high seven points against the Seawolves, and his 5.5 rebounds per game lead the team and rank No. 11 in the conference.
 
OTHER PLAYER NOTES: Freshman Jordan Perry has stepped into a starting role for the 'Jackets over his last three games, averaging 11 points and 5.3 rebounds during that span…senior Antoine Hosley has scored in double digits in four of his last five games, and ranks No. 2 on the squad with 12.5 points per contest…he also has five assists against three turnovers and is shooting an even .500 from the field (14-for-28) in that span…junior Emmanuel Johnson scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds against Anchorage on Saturday, and continues to lead the team in field-goal percentage at 51.1.
 
Saturday, Jan. 24 – 7 p.m. – Alterowitz Gym
Seattle Pacific University Falcons
2014-15 Record: 14-4, 6-2 GNAC
Head Coach: Ryan Looney, 6th season
2013-14 GNAC Finish: 1st (26-6, 15-3 GNAC, GNAC Tournament Champions)
 
After a narrow, 68-66 loss at the hands of Western Washington on Jan. 10 halted a six-game winning streak, Seattle Pacific responded with back-to-back home wins over Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks last week.
 
With a conference record of 6-2, the Falcons currently sit in second place in the GNAC standings behind Western Oregon (6-1). SPU has won eight of its last nine games overall.
 
The Falcons had no problem handling UAA last week, as big men Mitch Penner (21) and Cory Hutsen (18) combined to score more than half of their team's points in the 73-51 victory. The points allowed tied for the third-fewest this season for SPU, which followed up on Saturday with a 76-64 win over UAF. That time it was Will Parker leading the scoring charge with 15 points, and Matt Borton and Riley Stockton each recorded double-doubles in the win.
 
Hutsen's 15.2 points per game rank No. 5 in the GNAC, and the senior is shooting 55.9 percent from the field on the season. Also averaging in double digits for SPU are Penner (14.1 ppg) and Borton (11.4), and the latter is the team's leading rebounder at 7.4 per contest.
 
Stockton, who is the nephew of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, is averaging 9.6 points and is shooting a GNAC eighth-best 56.5 percent from the field. The senior point guard also ranks No. 4 in the GNAC in assists with 4.4 per game, and his assist-turnover ratio of 3.0 is second-best in the conference. Stockton also averages 6.3 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 7 in the GNAC.
 
From 3-point range, Shawn Reid (8.8 ppg) is the Falcons' top marksman, as his percentage of 48.7 from beyond the arc leads the GNAC. Brendan Carroll is also a threat from downtown, converting at a clip of 43.9 percent from the arc.
 
As a team SPU is tops in the conference in points allowed, and the team's average of 63.1 also ranks No. 18 across the NCAA Division II. The Falcons are the top-shooting team from the field in the GNAC at 52.4 percent, and they are the lone team shooting above 40 percent from 3-point range (40.1).
 
The Series: The all-time series between the 'Jackets and Falcons has been fairly even, with SPU holding a slight 35-30 advantage. Historically, the home team has prevailed in the classic matchup as MSUB is 21-8 at home in Alterowitz and the Falcons are 26-8 at home in Brougham. Over the last three years, MSUB has gone 3-4 against SPU.
 
Last Time Out: Matthews stunned SPU with his overtime game-winner in Seattle last February, as the 'Jackets snapped a four-game losing skid at the hands of the Falcons with the win. On Jan. 25 last year, Stockton scored 16 points and Penner added 14 as SPU scored a narrow, 92-87 overtime win at Alterowitz.