BILLINGS, Mont. – Wrapping up the 2017-18 season at home, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team hosts four Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents over the next two weeks at Alterowitz Gym.
 
The Yellowjackets (13-14, 5-11 GNAC) enter the week in ninth place in the GNAC standings and have split their last four conference games. MSUB will host Saint Martin's University on Thursday, and Seattle Pacific University on Saturday with both games being the opener of a doubleheader with the Yellowjacket women's team and tipping off at 5:15 p.m. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for both games online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.

"We are glad to be home for two consecutive weeks, and are looking forward to the challenge that each team will bring," commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "SMU is playing at an incredibly high level at this point, and they are extremely well-coached. They play as hard and together as any team in the league, and we will have to play with great energy for 40 minutes to defeat a team as good as they are. SPU will provide us with a little different challenge, as they have really good size at every position. They are physical and we need to do a good job rebounding and an even better job of keeping them out of the lane and off the foul line. Any way you slice it, this will be a tough, competitive weekend of basketball."
 
MSUB will remain home to close the regular season next week, hosting the University of Alaska on Feb. 22 and the University of Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 24 at Alterowitz Gym.
 
PINK VISION: Thursday's game will be Pink Night at Alterowitz Gym, with all fans wearing pink being admitted to both the men's and women's game for free. Between games of the doubleheader, MSUB will hold a special ceremony to honor breast cancer survivors in a partnership with St. Vincent Healthcare's EVA Project. All proceeds from the games will be donated to the EVA Project, as MSUB supports research towards the battle against cancer.
 
The 'Jackets are coming off a solid 77-75 win over Simon Fraser University on the road last Saturday, as they overcame a double-figure deficit with six minutes to play to claim the victory. MSUB also lost last week 91-65 at Western Washington University.
 
LAST FIVE: W-L-W-L-L
 
ROLLINS CONTINUES GROOVE: Finding his stride late in the year, first-year junior Zack Rollins continues to be the Yellowjackets' top performer offensively. He matched his season high with 27 points in the win over Simon Fraser, knocking down 9 of 12 field goals including 6 of 9 threes in the game. Over his last 14 games Rollins is averaging 18.2 points per game, and overall on the year he ranks seventh in the conference with 15.8 points per game. Rollins is also the Yellowjackets' top rebounding man with 5.1 boards per contest, and his 29 steals are also most on the squad.
 

DENHAM LOOKS TO FINISH STRONG: Wrapping up a stellar four-year career with the 'Jackets, senior Kendall Denham has continued his most prolific campaign yet as a Yellowjacket. His 11.7 points per game are 3.4 more points than his previous personal best in a season, and he ranks second on the team in scoring. Entering the week, Denham is No. 12 in school history with 136 made 3-pointers, and he broke into the top-10 in both career assists with 319 and career steals with 97. He is also fifth in the GNAC this year with 2.2 made threes per game, and his total of 60 makes from the arc is tied for third most in the conference.
 
TERASHIMA A TRIPLE THREAT: Expected to be among GNAC Freshman of the Year finalists, point guard Kobe Terashima has sustained his season-long momentum in running the Yellowjackets' offense. The Boise, Idaho native is coming off a 10-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist performance against SFU, the seventh time this year he has scored in double figures and had three or more in the other two categories. Through just 27 games, Terashima is already halfway to breaking into the MSUB career top-15 in assists, as he has racked up 118 this year which leads the GNAC.
 
CAREER WEEK FOR ABDUL: Putting together the best weekend of his MSUB career so far, junior Hafeez Abdul was an honorable mention among the GNAC Player of the Week nominees. After an 18-point, seven-rebound night at WWU, Abdul went off for a season-high 26 points and just missed a double-double with nine boards against the Clan. Abdul made 14 of 20 shots overall on the week, and was locked in from the foul line going 13-for-15 including a perfect 8-for-8 last Saturday. MSUB will look for Abdul to continue his streak of three straight games scoring in double figures, and he is also averaging 8.7 rebounds during that time.
 
HARD TO GUARD FROM 3: MSUB remains one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the NCAA, checking in at No. 6 in the nation with 295 made threes in 27 games. The figure leads the GNAC, and the team is fifth in the conference with a team 3-point field-goal percentage of 38.4. The GNAC is stellar as a whole in 3-point field goal percentage, with five teams in the top-50 in the NCAA and led by Saint Martin's at 40.0 percent (No. 25). Overall the 'Jackets have scored 2,147 points, and are on pace to reach 2,467 which would be the 15th-highest point total in school history (dating back to 1927). MSUB is already eighth in school history in made threes in a season with 295, and is projected to reach the top-5 among single-season bests in the category.
 
Saint Martin's University Saints
2017-18 Record: 19-6, 12-5 GNAC
Last Five: W-W-W-L-W
Head Coach: Alex Pribble, 3rd season
2016-17 Record: 17-13, 10-10 GNAC (4th Place)
First Meeting: SMU 75, MSUB 69 (Jan. 20 at Lacey, WA)
 
The Saints have lost just three games since the calendar turned to 2018, two of them against first-place Western Oregon. Tuesday night, SMU downed Seattle Pacific 80-76 in overtime to make it nine wins in its last 10 games overall.
 
SMU finishes the regular season at home next week against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington, and the Saints need just one win in their final three games of the year to clinch a spot in the 2017-18 GNAC Championships.
 
Under third-year head coach Alex Pribble, Luke Chavez is the team's leading scorer with 16.7 points per game. Chavez scored 26 points in the second half and overtime on Tuesday against SPU, and is shooting 40.4 percent this year from 3-point range and 51.2 percent overall from the floor. Chavez also averages 4.0 rebounds, which ranks him fourth on the team.
 
Also averaging double figures for SMU is EJ Boyce, who is at 11.7 points per game. Starting all 25 contests so far this year, Boyce leads the team and ranks sixth in the GNAC in 3-point shooting at 45.1 percent from the arc.
 
In the rebounding department, Jordan Kitchen leads the team with an average of 4.7 boards per game and also ranks third in scoring with 8.7 points. Matt Dahlen and Tavian Henderson are tied for second on the squad with 4.4 rebounds, and the former is the team's leader with 36 blocks on the year.
 
SMU is out-scoring its opponents by a mark of 80.3-72.4, and is winning the rebounding battle 34.5-32.7. The Saints shoot 48.8 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from long range, and 68.1 percent from the free-throw line.
 
The Series: MSUB is 14-16 all-time against SMU and is 8-6 in home games. The teams have split the last four meetings, but SMU has won six of the last eight overall dating back to 2014.
 
Last Time Out: Rollins had 17 and Denham added 16 in MSUB's road loss, while Chavez led a quartet of SMU double-figure scorers with a team-high 15 points.

Seattle Pacific University Falcons
2017-18 Record: 14-10, 9-8 GNAC
Last Five: L-W-L-W-L
Head Coach: Grant Leep, 2nd season
2016-17 Record: 12-16, 8-12 GNAC (10th Place)
First Meeting: SPU 98, MSUB 87 (Jan. 18 at Seattle)
 
The Falcons have split their last eight conference games, and will be off until Saturday against the 'Jackets. SPU closes the year next week against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene at home.
 
Tony Miller was off to a stellar start with 18.0 points per game through 12 games, but has not played since the beginning of January as the Falcons have been without perhaps their biggest offensive weapon for the second half of the season.
 
Gavin Long has been a top scorer for SPU with 12.2 points per game, and Coleman Wooten is also in double figures with 11.0 points per game. Both players have started all 24 games this year, with the latter also ranking second on the team with 7.0 rebounds per game.
 
Nathan Streufert has been key for the Falcons, averaging 9.6 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds. The junior grabbed his team-best fourth double-double of the year in Tuesday's loss to Saint Martin's.
 
Though the Falcons don't have a single player in the top-10 in the GNAC in 3-point field-goal percentage, they may be the most balanced team from the arc as they lead the conference at 39.3 percent. SPU has maintained a positive scoring margin at 81.9-77.8, and is out-rebounding the opposition 37.7-32.2. The Falcons are shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and are at 71.7 percent from the free-throw line.
 
The Series: SPU has the upper hand in the all-time series, leading 42-30 since the first meeting in 1962. MSUB has had success at home however, with a 21-11 record against SPU in games played in Billings.
 
Last Time Out: Rollins scored 25 points and three other Yellowjackets reached double-figures, but MSUB was out-rebounded 39-30 in the road loss. Wooten led five Falcons who reached double figures with a team-best 21 points.