BILLINGS, Mont. – Three of the final five Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups for the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team are road games, and the Yellowjackets will begin the trek with a long trip to Alaska to face Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks this weekend.
 
MSUB (5-18, 3-10) will challenge the Seawolves on Thursday at the brand new Alaska Airlines Center, before heading to Fairbanks on Saturday to face the Nanooks in the Patty Center. Thursday's game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Mountain time, while Saturday's will have a special early start time of 3 p.m. Mountain time. Both games will feature live video and statistics via www.msubsports.com.
 
"We are looking forward to our last two-game road trip of the year," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "We felt like we played well last week and did a lot of good things. We definitely want to build off of last weekend's effort."
 
MSUB is on the road again next week, for a single game against Seattle Pacific that will be broadcast on ROOT SPORTS as the GNAC Game of the Week. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Mountain time at Brougham Pavilion in Seattle, and more details will follow in next week's preview.
 
The Yellowjackets split a pair of games during their most recent home stand, defeating Simon Fraser 85-78 and falling to Western Washington 75-65.
 
In the win over the Clan, senior Tyler Nelson recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The point total was a career high for the forward, who earned honorable mention GNAC Player of the Week for his effort. Nelson remains the team's leader in rebounding at 5.7 per contest.
 
"Tyler has done one thing every day since he has been in this program and that is work hard," Stevens said. "He helps our team in a large number of ways, and when his stats are good people start to see the results of his hard work."
 
Jace Anderson also had a big game against SFU, hitting three 3-point field goals and scoring 19 points. The sophomore followed that performance up with a team-best 18 points in the loss to Western Washington on Saturday. On the season, Anderson has upped his scoring average to 7.8 points per game and is shooting 43.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Senior Antoine Hosley, who has missed the last two games with an injury, will be back in action this week and represents the team's top scorer with 12.7 points per game.
 
Marc Matthews had a productive game last weekend against the Vikings with 11 points, and on the season he is averaging 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds.
 
Right behind Anderson in scoring against Simon Fraser was Emmanuel Johnson, who shot 7-for-10 from the field and recorded a season-best 18 points. The junior came up one rebound shy of a double-double, and also had an assist and a block. Johnson is averaging 7.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in his first season in the program.
 
As a team, the 'Jackets are averaging 69.7 points per game and are shooting 44.4 percent from the field. From 3-point range MSUB holds a mark of 34.1 percent and from the foul line the team is at 62.8 percent. MSUB remained nearly even in rebounding, averaging 33.8 per game while allowing 34.0.
 
Among conference leaders, MSUB ranks No. 2 in 3-point field goal percent defense, holding opponents to a mark of 35.3. The 'Jackets also rank highly in defensive rebound percentage, at 71.6 percent which is third-best in the GNAC.
 
Individually, Nelson's rebounding total of 5.7 ranks No. 9 in the conference, and Anderson ranks eighth in 3-point field-goal percentage (43.6).
 
MSUB will play the remainder of the season without double-digit scorer Momir Gataric (11.6 ppg), who sustained a season-ending injury against Western Washington on Saturday.
 
The Yellowjackets will be without starter Kendall Denham for Thursday's game and without starter Jordan Perry for both games. Denham and Perry are each currently serving suspensions for a violation of team rules.
 
Thursday, February 12 – 9 p.m. MTN – Alaska Airlines Center
University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
2014-15 Record: 13-9, 9-3 GNAC
Head Coach: Rusty Osborne, 10th year
2013-14 GNAC Finish: 5th (17-13, 10-8)
 
Riding a current four-game winning streak, the Seawolves currently occupy the No. 2 spot in the GNAC standings with a conference record of 9-3. UAA has won five of its last six overall, and 10 of its last 12 dating back to mid-December.
 
The Seawolves are led by a pair of standout seniors in Travis Thompson and Brian McGill. Thompson's 16.8 points per game rank fifth in the GNAC, and McGill's 15.3 rank eighth. McGill is also No. 3 in the conference in assists with 5.4 per game and Thompson is No. 2 in 3-point field goals per game with 3.1.
 
Kalidou Diouf is another double-digit scorer with 10.8 points per game, and his field-goal percentage of 63.3 ranks second in the conference.
 
A key role player for the Seawolves, Dom Hunter has come off of the bench in 11 games and is averaging 13.5 points in 23.5 minutes.
 
In terms of rebounding, Diouf and Sjur Berg are tied for the team high with 5.5 per game, and Travis Parrish has been effective starting 15 of 22 games and averaging 3.6 rebounds.
As a team the Seawolves have the second-best free-throw percentage at 75.7 and the team ranks No. 4 in field-goal percentage at 47.0. UAA is also second in the GNAC in assists with 17.7 per game and No. 1 in assist-turnover ratio at plus-1.4.
 
UAA averages 78.5 points per game while allowing 72.1, and the Seawolves outrebound opponents 34.9-30.5.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB scored just four points in the final 4:03 of regulation as UAA pulled away down the stretch in a 70-62 victory. The game was neck-and-neck from the start, but the Yellowjackets went cold in the crucial final five minutes.
 
Anderson poured in 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and Gataric added 17 for the 'Jackets last time out. Hunter scored 22 for the Seawolves however, and Thompson (14) and McGill (10) were also in double figures.
 
The Series: With the loss last time out MSUB is now 29-40 all-time against UAA. At home MSUB is 22-10, and on the road the Seawolves hold a commanding 29-5 record. This will be the first time for the 'Jackets playing in the brand new Alaska Airlines Center, a $10 million facility that was completed and opened prior to the 2014-15 academic year.
 
Saturday, February 14 – 3 p.m. MTN – Patty Center
University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks
2014-15 Record: 5-15, 2-10 GNAC
Head Coach: Mick Durham, 12th year
2013-14 GNAC Finish: 3rd (18-10, 12-6 GNAC)
 
A narrow 74-72 loss to Alaska Anchorage on the road last week extended Alaska Fairbanks's losing streak to eight games.
 
The Nanooks have three players scoring in double figures, with Ashton Edwards leading the way with 14.3 points per game. Ruben Silvas is averaging 12.2 points and is pacing the squad in rebounding with 5.7 per game, and Almir Hadzisehovic is close behind with 11.6 points and 5.0 boards.
 
Edwards is currently leading the GNAC in free-throw percentage, having converted 52 of 58 attempts on the season for a mark of 89.7 percent. Silvas is close behind Edwards at No. 4 in the GNAC with a free-throw percentage of 86.7, and he holds the No. 3 field-goal percentage in the GNAC at 60.6.
 
From long distance, Eric Fongue has been one of the top contributors for the Nanooks, shooting at a clip of 41.3 percent and averaging 6.7 points.
 
The Nanooks average 69.9 points per game and allow 75.1, and are about two rebounds below even as they allow 37.2 and collect 35.3. UAF ranks No. 3 in the GNAC in field-goal percent defense, holding opponents to a mark of 43.4 percent from the field. UAF also ranks highly in defending against the 3-point shot, currently sitting fourth at 35.4 percent.
 
Last Time Out: Anderson posted a career night with 27 points on 5 of 10 shooting from beyond the arc, as MSUB forced overtime and stormed to victory at home in Alterowitz Gym. Edwards had 22 points and Hadzisehovic added 20 for UAF, but the 'Jackets persevered to win their second game in-a-row on Jan. 15.
The Series: The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the 'Jackets against the Nanooks, and avenged last season's first-round loss in the GNAC Championships. Overall MSUB is now 40-23, 27-4 at home and 11-17 on the road against UAF.