BILLINGS, Mont. – Headed to the West Coast this weekend, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will kick off its 2015-16 regular season with a pair of west region games against Chico State University and Cal State East Bay as part of the CCAA/GNAC Pioneer Challenge in Hayward, Calif.
The Yellowjackets will take on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Mountain time on Friday, before facing the Pioneers at 7 p.m. Mountain on Saturday. Both games will feature live statistics,
available here. Live audio will be available for Friday's game against the Wildcats
here. "First and foremost we are excited about the opportunity to finally play games that count," said MSUB head coach
Jamie Stevens. "We are going to be rolling some freshmen out there this weekend, and they are going to get their first taste of college basketball. It is going to be a good measuring stick for us for the rest of the season."
The Yellowjackets have yet to play a counting game this season, and were picked to finish tied for seventh place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.
MSUB's roster features six returning players with experience, and seven newcomers. Senior
Momir Gataric was a unanimous pick to the GNAC preseason all-conference team, and he and
Emmanuel Johnson are the lone seniors on the team.
Senior Emmanuel Johnson."I just worked on ball handling, being more consistent with my shot, and playing free," Johnson commented on the focus of his offseason workouts. "Having more big guys makes a big difference, and it helps us rebound and compete inside a lot more."
Sophomore point guard
Kendall Denham led the GNAC in minutes per game a season ago (34.2), and junior
Marc Matthews played in all 28 games averaging 9.9 points. Also back for MSUB is junior guard
Jace Anderson, and sophomore guard
Jordan Perry.
Among the newcomers are four players who stand 6-foot-7 or taller, with freshmen
Preston Beverly and
Zack Lessinger, sophomore
Kamal Tall, and junior
Emmanuel Olufemi filling out much-needed size on the Yellowjackets' roster. True freshman
Cade Alcorn, redshirt freshman
Christian Evans, and freshman guard
Sven Jeuschede each also figure to compete for minutes this season.
"We have a lot of new and young guys, and they have had to step up so far this season," Anderson commented. "It has taken them a little bit to get used to it, but now they are starting to grow up and get the hang of things."
Friday, November 13 – Chico State University Wildcats – 7 p.m. MTN2015 Record: 0-0Head Coach: Greg Clink, 8th season2014 Record: 22-8, 18-4 CCAA Yet to play a game in 2015-16, Chico State was picked in the preseason CCAA coaches' poll to repeat as the conference's champion after winning the title a season ago.
The Wildcats have their leading scorer from a season ago back in Robert Duncan, who averaged 13.9 points per game as a sophomore in 2014-15.
Senior Tanner Giddings was also among team leaders in points last year with 7.6 per game, as was fellow senior Drew Kitchens with 7.3.
Last season, the Wildcats outscored opponents 68.6-60.7, holding one of the top defenses in the conference. Chico shot 47.2 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from 3-point range, and a mediocre 64.4 percent from the foul line.
All nine of the Wildcats' upperclassmen are returners from a season ago, with seven freshmen playing into the mix in 2015-16 as well.
The Series: The Yellowjackets hold a dominant mark of 9-1 alltime against the Wildcats, with the last meeting between the two on Dec. 12, 1993. The Wildcats won that matchup 78-75, to snap a nine-game losing streak to the 'Jackets that dated back to the first historic meeting on Dec. 5, 1968 in Billings.
Saturday, November 14 – Cal State University East Bay – 7 p.m. MTN2015 Record: 0-0Head Coach: Gus Argenal, 3rd season2014 Record: 6-22, 4-18 Saturday's tilt against MSUB will be the first game of the season for the Pioneers, who were tabbed to finish 11th out of 13 teams in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll.
Coming off of a 6-22 season, CSUEB returns Ryan Okwudibonye, who averaged 11.2 points in a limited role through five games. Jack Pasquini is also back for the Pios, after averaging 9.3 points and grabbing a team-best 8.8 rebounds as a junior.
The team will welcome a pair of veterans for their first season, with senior Alex Carmon transferring from the Academy of Art and senior Robert Garrett coming in from Santa Clara University as a guard and center, respectively.
CSUEB was outscored 73-61 last year, allowing 37.4 rebounds per game while hauling in 31.7. As a team the Pioneers shot 38.3 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from 3-point range and 67.6 percent on foul shots.
The Series: MSUB and CSUEB met for the first time last season, with the Pioneers hanging on for an 86-80 win on Nov. 14, 2014. Gataric had 13 points in the loss for the Yellowjackets, playing 36 minutes.
