BILLINGS, Mont. – Two games remain on the schedule for the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team, as the Yellowjackets will return home to Alterowitz Gym to close the season against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington this week.
 
MSUB (5-21, 3-13 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) will play host to the Crusaders on Thursday evening at 7 p.m., before welcoming the Wildcats on Saturday at the same start time. The game against CWU will serve as MSUB's Senior Night, and Tyler Nelson and Antoine Hosley will be honored before the game. Live video and statistics will be available for both games at www.msubsports.com.
 
"Our entire week of preparation is really twofold," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "One, we want to get our young guys some more GNAC experience and we especially want to play well as we close out our season and begin preparing for 2015-16. More importantly, we really would like to send Tyler and Antoine out on very high notes. They have both been very strong representatives of our program and have sacrificed a lot for their teammates and coaches. We appreciate everything they have done and although we don't have a great record, we will do everything in our power this week to send our seniors out on a good note."
 
The Yellowjackets were featured on ROOT SPORTS last week against Seattle Pacific, falling to the Falcons 81-59 in their fourth-straight defeat. Marc Matthews reached the 20-point plateau for the third-straight game, leading all players with 21 in Seattle.
 
With the recent surge in scoring, Matthews upped his season average to double figures at 10.2 points per game, and he is shooting 40.5 percent from the floor overall on the season. The sophomore is also tied for the team lead in made 3-pointers with 40.
 
Scoring 15 points against SPU was Hosley, whose 12.7 points per game lead the team. The senior from Portland, Ore., is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and ranks second on the team with 16 steals this season.
 
Averaging 8.1 points for the 'Jackets, sophomore Jace Anderson continues to be the team's leader in 3-point field-goal percentage at 43.0. He is also shooting a team-best 73.3 percent from the foul line, and holds a strong 46.2 percent mark from the field overall.
 
Leading the team and ranking No. 17 in the conference in field-goal percentage, Emmanuel Johnson holds a strong mark of 51.3 percent from the floor. The junior is also averaging a team-second best 5.1 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 13 blocks.
 
Nelson is the team's leader in rebounding with 6.0 per game, a figure that ranks ninth in the GNAC. The senior has started all 26 of the Yellowjackets' games this season.
 
Freshmen Jordan Perry and Kendall Denham are averaging 6.4 and 6.3 points per game, respectively, and the former is third on the team in rebounding with 4.7 boards. Denham continues to lead the GNAC in minutes played with 33.8 per game, and ranks No. 9 in the conference in assist-turnover ratio at 1.7.
 
Overall, the Yellowjackets are shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from 3-point range and averaging 69.0 points per game this season. MSUB shoots just 64.3 percent from the free-throw line, but over the team's last five games that number has stood at 77.1 percent.
 
Thursday, February 26 – 7 p.m. – Alterowitz Gym
Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders
2014-15 Record: 12-14, 10-6 GNAC
Head Coach: Dave Daniels, 4th season
2013-14 GNAC Finish: 9th (7-19, 5-13 GNAC)
 
Recently clinching their first-ever berth in the GNAC Championship tournament, the Crusaders will enter Thursday's game having won their last two. Currently in a battle for seeding in the GNAC tournament, NNU picked up a big 100-93 win over Alaska Anchorage last Saturday after slowing down Alaska Fairbanks in a 67-56 win last Thursday.
 
Among four double-digit scorers for NNU is Erik Kinney, whose 14.8 points per game are the most on the team and the ninth-most in the GNAC. Kinney is also a force on the boards with 6.6 rebounds per game, and his 41 steals are the most on the team.
 
Alex Birketoft (13.1 ppg), Kevin Rima (12.0 ppg) and Aubrey Ball (10.6 ppg) are also double-figure scorers for the Crusaders. Briketoft is the No. 2 free-throw shooter in the GNAC at 87.0 percent, and he also ranks eighth in the conference in field-goal percentage at 57.1.
 
Rima leads the team and ranks No. 2 in the GNAC with 7.5 rebounds per game, and Birketoft is right behind with 7.3 boards.
 
As a team NNU ranks No. 3 in the GNAC from the foul line at 74.6 percent, and No. 2 in rebounding defense with 30.6 per game. The Crusaders out-rebound their opponents on average 33.8-30.6, and the team has the third-most blocks per game in the conference with 3.8.
 
NNU shoots 47.3 percent from the field including 37.4 percent from 3-point range.
 
Last Time Out: The teams faced each other on the opening weekend of GNAC play, with the Crusaders collecting a narrow 59-57 victory at home inside Johnson Sports Center. Rima was the leading scorer for NNU with 16 points, and he added eight rebounds. Kinney finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, as NNU outrebounded MSUB 34-27 in the game.
 
Hosley and Momir Gataric were each in double figures in scoring for the 'Jackets, with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Series: MSUB leads the all-time series between the teams 16-14 and has a 10-6 record at home against the Crusaders. NNU has now won the last three meetings between the two, including wins of 63-61 and 66-60 last season that snapped a four-game winning streak for the 'Jackets in the series.
 
Saturday, February 28 – 7 p.m. – Alterowitz Gym – Senior Night
Central Washington University Wildcats
2014-15 Record: 16-7, 11-5 GNAC
Head Coach: Greg Sparling, 20th season
2013-14 GNAC Finish: 7th (12-14, 8-10 GNAC)
 
Getting set to challenge Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Central Washington will enter the game having won three in-a-row and four of its last five games overall. The Wildcats will face the Yellowjackets on the back end of their road trip, after taking on the Falcons Thursday.
 
CWU will then remain in Billings for next week's GNAC Championships, as the Wildcats have clinched one of the six conference berths.
 
Last week, CWU picked up a big 80-67 win over Alaska Anchorage and followed with a 75-66 triumph over Alaska Fairbanks.
 
Leading the charge for the Wildcats this season has been Dom Williams, whose average of 19.9 points per game ranks No. 2 in the conference. His 3.5 assists per game are the eighth-most in the GNAC, and he is shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range.
 
Gary Jacobs (11.8 ppg), Joseph Stroud (11.4 ppg), and Jordan Russell (10.6 ppg) are also averaging in double-digits in scoring this season. Stroud is the team's leading rebounder with 5.5 boards per contest, and his 65 blocked shots rank second in the conference.
 
Jacobs is shooting 81.6 percent from the foul line, and Russell is a 40 percent marksman from 3-point range.
 
The Wildcats have the fourth-best scoring margin in the GNAC at plus-6.7, and the team averages 79.0 points per game. CWU allows opponents to grab 37.3 rebounds per game while only picking up 34.7, but the Wildcats shoot 47.4 percent from the field while holding opponents to just 42.6 percent.
 
Last Time Out: In the first GNAC game of the season, CWU picked up an 88-79 victory over the Yellowjackets at Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg, Wash. Williams unleashed for 31 points and also had five assists, and Jacobs added 14 for CWU.
 
For the Yellowjackets, Matthews finished the game with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Hosley added 16 points in the loss.
 
The Series: MSUB is now 5-15 all time against CWU, with a record of 1-9 in road games. At home, MSUB has a record of 3-5 against the Wildcats.
 
CWU has won two games in-a-row and eight of the last 10 between the two dating back to the 2010-11 season.