LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will close out its nonconference schedule by playing No. 4 West Texas A&M and Rollins College at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, held in Las Vegas, Nev. this Friday and Saturday.
 
The Yellowjackets' (4-6, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) game against West Texas A&M will be on Friday at 3 p.m. MT, then Saturday's game against Rollins College will tip off at 1 p.m. MT. Both games will be livestreamed on FloHoops, which requires a paid subscription to access.
 
"I think our schedule has been really good and it's helped us," MSUB head coach Mick Durham said. "We've had no nights off. I'd like to think our guys are getting an understanding of what we need to do night in and night out to compete. And West Texas A&M and Rollins College are no exception. Both teams can score."
 
"I think our defense and rebounding have been our bright spots, and we'll see how both of those hold up this weekend," Durham added.
 
After this week, the 'Jackets return to GNAC play with its annual Alaska road trip against Alaska (Dec. 30) and Alaska Anchorage (Jan. 1, 2022). MSUB's next home contest will be against Western Oregon on Jan. 6 at 5:15 p.m.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK
 
Playing against Rocky Mountain College twice last week, MSUB split the season series with its crosstown rival, with the road team winning each contest. Earlier in the week, the 'Jackets shrugged off a slow start, and team leaders Damen Thacker and Carrington Wiggins both caught fire in the second half of the team's 67-52 win.
 
Yet the Battlin' Bears would get their revenge with a second-half comeback of their own, as Rocky's defense generated 20 turnovers – most of which came in the second half – and handed MSUB a 64-61 home loss on Saturday, Dec. 11.
 
In a sense, both Rocky games encapsulated two things Durham hopes to see his team improve on: limiting turnovers and consistent play across the board.
 
"We've had to move on pretty quick from our rival week," Durham said. "Obviously we have to take care of the ball. As a coach, you want consistency from your players night in and night out, so you can have a little bit of an idea of what to expect. That's been an area that's been a little up-and-down for us so far this season. Hopefully we can smooth that out as we get ready for the rest of the GNAC games after Christmas."
 
Yet MSUB had several bright spots last week.
 
Both Thacker and Wiggins turned in big statlines in the first game against Rocky: Wiggins led all scorers with 24 points – 20 of which came in the second half – and shot 9-for-17 from the field; whereas Thacker had another all-around outing with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Even in the following game, Wiggins shook off a tweaked ankle in the first half and finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds, which was his ninth-straight game scoring in double-figures.
 
According to Durham, second-year freshman Nicholas Sebastiao also had two solid games. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in both Rocky games, plus his first-half three-point shooting in Saturday's game helped MSUB jump out to an early lead.
 
"I think Nicholas Sebastiao put together a couple of solid games last week and he's really established himself," Durham said. "He's a physical kid and he can hold his own defensively. You can see him get more and more comfortable offensively. I've been really pleased with how he's stepped up."
 
Elsewhere, freshmen Emmanuel Ajanaku and Emmanuel Akpan provided sparks off the bench in their first full rivalry series against the Battlin' Bears. In Wednesday's game, Ajanaku notched six points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Then in Saturday's game, Akpan made the most of his minutes by playing solid defense and adding three points and a steal during the first half.
 
"With our bench guys, you need them to come in and give some energy," Durham said. "I think Akpan does that defensively and Ajanaku does that, for the most part, on the boards and running the floor. It's nice to see these freshmen get minutes."
 
"Emmanuel Ajanaku has been getting good, quality minutes; you can really see his improvement from game-to-game too," Durham added.
 
#4 WEST TEXAS A&M BUFFS
Record: 10-1
Head coach: Tom Brown (7th season)
Head-to-head record: 0-1
Last meeting: Dec. 20, 1983 (90-71, West Texas A&M)
 
Ranked fourth in the latest NABC poll, Buffs come into Vegas on a six-game win streak — four of which have been blowouts. West Texas A&M's lone loss has been at Lubbock Christian, which is Division II's current top-ranked team.
 
Despite losing three of its top scorers from last year's national-runner-up campaign, the Buffs seemingly haven't missed a beat.
 
Head coach Tom Brown's squad boasts a top-50 defense (in terms of points allowed) and four players who average at least 10 points per game. Former North Texas transfer Larry Wise leads the way for the Buffs, averaging 15.3 points (on 48.1% shooting) and 4.9 rebounds per game. He's flanked by Zach Touissant, who averages 14.3 points per game and shoots 39.4% from three, plus Julius Brown (12.3 points per game) rounds out the double-digit scorers.
 
"They're a very athletic team," Durham said of the Buffs. "Their guards put a lot of pressure on you with their dribble penetration and their small forward Larry Wise probably will be one of the most talented players we'll see this season. And they have good depth. They're still figuring things out with the rotation, but for the most part, they've really been leaning on their perimeter guys while their inside players step it up."
 
Although West Texas A&M doesn't have a true big man, Hayden Blankley, Kavon Booker and Jesse Iweze all average over 5.0 rebounds per game. None of those players are taller than 6-foot-6 on the roster. Plus, the Buffs take care of the basketball and only average 9.8 turnovers per game, which is the 13th-fewest in the nation.
 
"As well as our defense has been, if we can limit our turnovers and get them down to where we'd like them to be, that might be the difference against West Texas A&M," Durham said. "They're not going to beat themselves. They're going to play good defense, they don't turn it over and – if they are missing shots – they're good at offensive rebounding."
 
Friday's game will be MSUB's first game against a ranked team this season; although MSUB played No. 23 Cal State San Marcos on opening weekend, the Cougars were unranked at the time. Additionally, the game will be the first meeting between West Texas A&M and MSUB in 38 years.
 
ROLLINS COLLEGE TARS
Record: 6-4
Head coach: Tom Klusman (42^nd season)
Head-to-head record: 0-1
Last meeting: Dec. 22, 2019 (58-54, Rollins College)
 
Saturday's game between MSUB and Sunshine State Conference member Rollins College will be the second-ever meeting between the schools. Coincidentally, the first meeting was also in the 2019 Holiday Hoops Classic, in which MSUB fell 58-54 in what Durham called a "low scoring and deliberate" game.
 
"They play a lot of zone, which will be good for us to see before we play our league games," Durham said of Rollins College. "They'll play different types of zones and press a little bit. But the difference between this team and the team two years ago is its ability to score. They have so many weapons offensively."
 
This time, however, the Tars have a new-look offense. Rollins College boasts two of the nation's top-100 scorers that nearly average 20 points per game in Navy transfer Kyle Marion (19.8 points per game) and Hutton Yenor (18.3 points per game), the latter of whom scored 10 points in the two teams' first meeting two years ago. Center Brooks Cluxton is still around and averages 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.
 
As a team, Rollins College has become more reliant on its outside shooting. The Tars have a proclivity for bombing threes: They make 11.2 threes per game and connect on 39.3% of their attempts from beyond the mark – and both marks rank 12^th and 25^th in the nation, respectively. Plus, the team's 6-4 record can be deceiving, as Rollins has the nation's 12th-hardest strength-of-schedule based on its opponents combined .692 win percentage.
 
"We have to get their personnel down the best we can before the quick turnaround," Durham said. "Our players will have to figure some things out during the game and learn the best they can."
 
Like MSUB, Rollins College has a tough opponent in No. 1 Lubbock Christian to open the Holiday Hoops Classic. But unlike MSUB, one early knock on Rollins College is its defense. Opponents shoot 35.7% from three against Rollins College, which ranks 212th out of 297 Division II teams. By comparison, the Yellowjacket defense has held the opposition to shoot 33.8% from distance.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB opens its trip to Las Vegas in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic against West Texas A&M on Friday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. MT. The 'Jackets then play Rollins College at 1 p.m. MT the next day. Both games will be streamed on FloSports; links to live stats and livestream links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at msubsports.com.