BILLINGS, Mont. – After playing three games this week, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will play two games in the MSUB Thanksgiving Tournament Friday night and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Opponents include California State Dominguez Hills and Black Hills State University.
 
Basketball fans can also catch neutral site games both days including Alaska Fairbanks versus Black Hills State Friday at 5:15 p.m. as well as Cal State Dominguez Hills versus Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at 5:15 p.m. All scheduled games will take place at Alterowitz Gymnasium. All games will be live streamed on the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal and live stats will also be available online.
 
 
"We're excited for two quality games before we open conference play," commented MSUB head coach Mick Durham. "We're gaining confidence in each other as we play together more and being able to win recently has helped as well."
 
LAST TIME OUT: Five players reached double figure point totals when MSU Billings prevailed over Rocky Mountain College 79-73 in an exhibition game at Fortin Center Monday night. Melvin Newbern Jr. led the team in scoring with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Zack Rollins was right behind with 17 points (6-for17) while Brendan Howard (13 pts), Zharon Richmond (13 pts) and Sven Jeuschede (11 pts) all chipped in on the strong offensive night for MSUB.
 
The Jackets never surrendered the lead and held off a late charge by Rocky Mountain College, who got back within one point with 1:17 remaining in the game. MSU Billings carries two straight regular season wins along with the victory over Rocky into the Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend.
 
MUST'VE BEEN MELVIN: Melvin Newbern Jr. has been showing why he was selected third-team All-American last season at North Dakota State College of Science. The transfer junior is third on the Yellowjackets in points per game (11.8) and has one double-double (against University of Mary). Newbern Jr. came up with a clutch 3-point play against Rocky Mountain College to seal the win over the crosstown rival Battlin' Bears. He had 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the winning effort.
 
HOWARD THE 'JACKET: Like Newbern Jr., freshman transfer Brendan Howard has made an immediate impact on his new team in 2018-19. Howard has averaged 15.0 points per game and is 25-for-50 from the field (.500). Howard is originally from Great Falls, Montana and returned to his home state after spending his first season in college as a redshirt at Eastern Washington, an NCAA Division I team in the Big Sky Conference. Howard is also the younger brother of MSUB assistant coach Bobby Howard.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: The Yellowjackets began the season on the road with a pair of exhibition games at Grand Canyon University and University of Nevada Las Vegas. The team then played a pair of games in the West Region Crossover Tournament in San Diego before finally returning to Billings for the home opener on November 14. Coach Durham has emphasized the need to be a strong team at home and so far, the sentiment has shown on court.
 
The team picked up wins over University of Mary and Minot State at home to lead off the homestand. Next up, the Yellowjackets finish with six more games at Alterowitz Gymnasium. The team does have a road contest until January 3 and they will have two chances to grab home wins over GNAC competition over the six game stretch with Alaska Fairbanks on November 27 and Alaska Anchorage on December 1.
 
'JACKETS CASH IN ON FREE THROWS: The Yellowjackets made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line Monday night, going 10-for-10 from the line. The team averages 8.8 made free throws per game and will need to continue the upward trend to improve on a .648 on the season.
 
Scouting California State University Dominguez Hills
Game Day: Friday, November 23 – 7:30 p.m.
2018-19 Record: 1-2, 0-0 CCAA, 0-0 home, 0-1 away, 1-1 neutral
Head Coach: Steve Becker (sixth season)
2017-18 Record: 13-17, 10-12 CCAA, 6-7 home, 7-8 away, 0-2 neutral
 
The Toros are 1-1 against Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams this season and 1-2 overall. Last season CSUDH squeezed into the CCAA post-season tournament played a competitive game against No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona, falling 73-60. This year the Toros have two notable returners.
 
"Dominguez Hills is a new team like us and have played two GNAC teams and split," said Durham. "We need to continue to make strides offensively and defensively to better prepare ourselves for conference.
 
Senior forward Mikey Hatfield started 20-of-27 games and averaged eight points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Hatfield dished out 23 assists, 10 steals, and 10 blocks. Sophomore guard Kolten Kresl averaged 8.8 points per game as a freshman and shot 39-percent from the field and 35-percent from 3-point range. Kresly scored a season high 30 points at Hawai'I Pacific on November 22.
 
Senior forward Michael Chavers has led the Toros in scoring two out of the first three games in 2018-19. Chavers is currently shooting .541 from the floor and has been fouled inside frequently. At 6-foot-5, Chavers reach has allowed him to make eight steals and 15 rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Gabriel Hicks scored six points in the Toros' season opener against Western Washington, but posted 19 and 18 against Simon Fraser and Dominican University of California respectively. Hicks has made a strong case to see more playing time this season after starting two games as a freshman.
 
The Yellowjackets are playing Cal State Dominguez Hills for the first time since 1981, their only meeting. The Toros won the game 61-52 in the NCAA Tournament so Friday night will be a chance for the 'Jackets to get revenge from 39 years ago.
 
Scouting Black Hills State University
Game Day: Saturday, November 24 – 7:30 p.m.
2018-19 Record: 1-1, 0-0 RMAC, 0-0 home, 1-1 away, 0-0 neutral
Head Coach: Ryan Thompson (first season)
2017-18 Record: 15-12, 12-10 RMAC, 12-2 home, 3-10 away
 
In two games this season, the other Yellow Jackets have gone 1-1. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Black Hills State lost to Northern State 82-50. BHSU rebounded to win against Augustana University 65-62.
 
Fraser Malcolm has done the bulk of the scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game and 30.5 minutes. Malcolm is shooting .519 from the floor and .375 from 3-point range. The senior was named all-RMAC second team after averaging 14.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a junior.
 
Last season, the Yellow Jackets averaged 72.5 points per game (12^th RMAC) and 69.6 points against (3^rd RMAC). BHSU shot .356 from beyond the arc (12^th RMAC) and .454 from the field (6^th RMAC). The team held a +0.48 turnover margin and a 1.1 assist to turnover ratio. Black Hills State was sixth best in the RMAC in offensive rebounds (9.6 rpg) but struggled on defensive rebounds (23.4 rpg) and finished 13^th out of 15 in the RMAC in the category.
 
The Yellow Jacket were a very good home team but struggled mightily on the road. Despite only three road wins all year, Black Hills State finished in the top half of the RMAC standings (seventh) and narrowly missed the conference playoffs.
 
Ryan Thompson is in his first season as head coach but has been assistant coach since 2016-17. He leads a roster made up of six freshmen, two sophomores, five juniors, and four seniors. BHSU has four players 6-foot-6 or above, including junior center Antonio Capley who stands 6-foot-11. The Yellow Jackets have a large international representation with Sweden, Serbia, and Scotland natives on the roster. Freshman guard Sawson Geuke is the only player originally from South Dakota.
 
MSU Billings is 11-7 all-time against Black Hills State. The two teams last playing in 2015 and MSUB prevailed 82-80.