BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference can make it difficult for any team to earn the elusive two-game weekend. The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team is no exception. The Yellowjackets (11-9, 6-6 GNAC) have gone 1-1 in each of the last three weeks as they enter the stretch run precariously positioned in the sixth spot in the standings, which would qualify them for the conference tournament, but just barely.
 
This week they will try again for a sweep but will have to do it on the road. Thursday at 7:30 p.m. local time, the 'Jackets play at Concordia University on Cavalier Court. On Saturday, the team takes on defending GNAC champion Western Oregon at New PE Building at 5:15 p.m. local time. Both games will be available to stream with live statistics. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of msubsports.com.
 
As every team knows, you have to be able to win at least a small number of road games to call the season a success. MSUB now has a chance to prove it with six of eight games away from Billings to end the regular season.
 
"Being at home for the last two and a half weeks has been good for us to get into a routine between basketball games and school," said MSUB head coach Mick Durham. "We've competed very well away from Billings all year and this time of year it shouldn't really matter where you play. It's going to be difficult either way. Concordia has a bunch of gritty competitors and a lot of seniors with experience and Western Oregon has probable been the most consistent team at home and has made Monmouth a very tough place to play. We know we have to play well to win this week."
 
The Yellowjackets have a talented young squad in 2018-19 that has at times showed they are capable of winning by wide margins against their GNAC counterparts. The team appeared to be playing close to their best in a 92-63 win over Seattle Pacific on January 26. Then they followed with a 40-point rout of Central Washington 87-47 on January 31 after CWU had beaten MSUB in overtime earlier in the season.
 
Saturday, the Yellowjackets suffered a 92-89 overtime loss to Northwest Nazarene, despite leading by as many as 27 points in the second half. A combination of turnovers and NNU shot making led to MSUB's eventual demise in the extra session. The 'Jackets are 1-3 in overtime games this season. Perhaps the most exciting game of the year came on January 19 when MSUB fell to Simon Fraser 112-107 at the conclusion of triple overtime.
 
Junior guard Tyler Green has 111 made field goals and ranks fifth in the conference with 17.1 points per game. Senior guard/forward Zack Rollins is also in the top-10 with 15.0 points per game (seventh). Brendan Howard continues to impress and will likely garner newcomer of the year consideration at 14.3 points per game (10^th GNAC) for the Yellowjackets.
 
As a team, MSU Billings ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring at 81.8 points per game and eighth in defense as they allow 77.4 points per game to opponents. MSUB holds a .713 free throw percentage (ninth), .374 three-point percentage (fourth), .735 defensive rebounding percentage (second), and .284 offensive rebound percentage (seventh).
 
 
Melvin Newbern Jr. leads the GNAC in rebounding with 8.8 rebounds per game and a total of 175 in 20 starts. Newbern Jr. ranks No. 45 in NCAA Division II in rebounds per game and is one rebound shy of the top 50 players for total rebounds.
 
MSUB shoots the fourth most 3-pointers in the GNAC. Tyler Green ranks No. 1 in 3-pointers made per game at 3.8. Green is also seventh in 3-point field goal percentage with a percentage of .449. Zharon Richmond has 20 blocked shots ranking third.
 
Scouting Concordia University
Game Day: Thursday, February 7 – 7:30 p.m. LT
2018-19 Record: 8-13, 3-10 GNAC, 3-8 home, 3-5 away, 2-0 neutral
Form: W , L , L , W , L
Head Coach: Brad Barbarick (25^th season)
2017-18 Record: 5-23, 1-19 GNAC, 3-11 home, 0-12 away
 
The Concordia Cavaliers outscored Western Oregon 9-2 in the final two minutes of Tuesday night's game to upset the Wolves 77-72. Jarrett Gray scored 23 points and Hunter Sweet chipped in 18 points for the Cavs. Both Gray and Sweet had key three-point field goals in the final 77 seconds of the game.
 
Gray leads Concordia with 15.7 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. Sweet is second with 11.3 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game. Other starters include Cody Starr (9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Dom Bradley (8.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and Jace Cates (6.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg).
 
The Cavaliers score 75.2 points per game (ninth) and allow 77.0 points per game to opponents (seventh). CU is also third in free throw percentage (.737), eighth in 3-point percentage (.362), and eighth in rebounding.
 
The Yellowjackets defeated the Cavaliers 80-69 on January 12 in Billings. Tyler Green had 23 points with four 3-pointers and 7 of 9 free throws. The 'Jackets outshot Concordia 45-percent to 42-percent from the floor. MSUB won the game despite committing 17 turnovers and having the ball stolen 10 times.
 
MSU Billings is 6-2 all-time against Concordia University in games dating back to 1998. Last season MSUB won both games of the season series, including a one point, 80-79 win at Alterowitz Gymnasium on February 3, 2018.
 
Scouting Western Oregon University
Game Day: Saturday, February 9 – 5:15 p.m. LT
2018-19 Record: 16-6, 9-4 GNAC, 10-1 home, 4-4 away, 2-1 neutral
Form: L , W , W , L , W
Head Coach: Jim Shaw (4^th season)
2017-18 Record: 31-2, 19-1 GNAC, 16-1 home, 11-1 away, 4-0 neutral
 
Despite the road loss to Concordia Tuesday night, the Wolves held on to their third place spot in the GNAC standings. WOU is 1.5 games behind Northwest Nazarene (10-2) and Saint Martin's (10-2) for first place and one game ahead of Seattle Pacific (8-4) for fourth. Western Oregon has proven extremely difficult to beat at home this season. Their only home loss came on January 17 against nationally ranked Saint Martin's. Last season, the Wolves fell in the NCAA Division II west region final to No. 3 Cal Baptist 80-76. WOU lost just once in Monmouth all year.
 
Similar to MSUB Billings, Western Oregon scores by committee with four players averaging over 10 points per game. Riley Hawken leads the offense with 13.0 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. Darius Lubom averages 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and Dalven Brushier scores 11.3 points per game and grabs 3.1 rebounds for the Wolves.
 
As a team, Western Oregon ranks seventh in scoring (79.5 ppg), first in defense (65.8 points allowed), fifth in free throw percentage (.726), 10^th in 3-pt percentage (.349), and fifth in rebounding. The Wolves also have a knack for causing turnovers and they rank tied for first in steals per game at 8.3.
 
The Yellowjackets lost to Western Oregon 81-65 at home on January 10. WOU made eight second half 3-pointers to pull away from MSUB, which shot just 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. Melvin Newbern Jr. led the 'Jackets with 21 points (9-for-13). Rollins (14 points), Green (12 points), and Howard (12 points) also reached double figures. The Yellowjackets have been held to 65 points or less just three times this season.
 
MSUB is 11-17 all-time against WOU and 1-9 over the last ten matchups. The last time the Yellowjackets defeated the Wolves was December 5, 2016 at home.
 
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW: Saint Martin's (17-3, 10-2) lost to Simon Fraser 61-59 Saturday night and fell into a first place tie with the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (15-3, 10-2), who have won four straight games. Western Oregon (16-6, 9-4) remained alone in third place, followed by Seattle Pacific (11-6, 8-4), Alaska Anchorage (.12-8, 7-5), and Montana State Billings (11-9, 6-6).
 
Adonis Arms (NNU) leads the conference with 21.1 points per game. Trevor Jasinsky (19.3) is second (19.3 ppg) and Obi Megwa (NNU) is third (18.2 ppg). Lubom (WOU) was selected as the Men's Basketball Player of the Week after he scored 46 points and shot 64.2 percent from the field in a sweep of the Alaska schools. He scored 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting with eight assists in Thursday's 94-78 win over Alaska and then led all scorers with 30 points on 11 of 17 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line in Saturday's 81-61 win over Alaska Anchorage.
 

Men's Basketball	Conference	PCT	Overall	PCT	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
Saint Martin's	10-2	.833	17-3	.850	9-1	6-2	2-0	Lost 1
Northwest Nazarene	10-2	.833	15-3	.833	8-0	5-3	2-0	Won 4
Western Oregon	9-4	.692	16-6	.727	10-1	4-4	2-1	Lost 1
Seattle Pacific	8-4	.667	11-6	.647	7-1	4-3	0-2	Won 2
Alaska Anchorage	7-5	.583	12-8	.600	8-2	4-6	0-0	Lost 1
Montana State Billings	6-6	.500	11-9	.550	10-4	1-4	0-1	Lost 1
Western Washington	5-7	.417	11-11	.500	6-3	2-5	3-3	Lost 3
Simon Fraser	4-8	.333	10-10	.500	8-3	2-6	0-1	Won 1
Central Washington	3-9	.250	9-11	.450	6-4	1-6	2-1	Lost 4
Concordia	3-10	.231	8-13	.381	3-8	3-5	2-0	Won 1
Alaska	2-10	.167	5-14	.263	1-4	1-9	3-1	Won 1