BILLINGS, Mont. – After a 12-day pause, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will return to action against the visiting Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks this Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
 
Both games will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game against Alaska will be televised on SWX, but livestream and live stat links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at msubsports.com.
 
This week's games will be the first for the Yellowjackets (7-8, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) since the team went on pause for health and safety concerns last week, which caused road games at Simon Fraser and Western Washington to be postponed.
 
"We've been dealing with this pandemic for almost two years now, so our guys have been pretty resilient," MSUB head coach Mick Durham said. "Our attitude has been great. I can tell that we need to play games. These 10- or 12-day breaks can feel a little bit long this time of year, so hopefully we can get into a good routine now, get in these two games, then get on the road to finish the season."
 
While the Simon Fraser game hasn't been rescheduled, the 'Jackets will now travel to Western Washington on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. MT, creating a six-game road swing for the final full month of the season. So far, the 'Jackets are in a three-way tie for fourth with Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene.
 
LAST TIME OUT
MSUB's last game against Seattle Pacific nearly two weeks ago had all the hallmarks of a typical 2021-22 Yellowjackets game.
 
One big offensive performance.
 
Two huge defensive stands.
 
Yet another rebounding battle won.
 
The Yellowjackets – who were picked to finish 10^th out of 10 teams in the GNAC preseason poll – took it to the defending champion Seattle Pacific Falcons in a 67-54 win that was not as close as the final score indicated.
 
After trailing by 10 points midway through the first half, the 'Jackets held SPU scoreless for the final 6 minutes and 16 seconds of the first half. Then they outdid themselves on defense in the second half with a back-breaking 17-0 run over the course of 9 minutes and 45 seconds to pull away with the win.
 
"I don't know if we saw that coming," Durham said of the second-half run. "We were on the brink at the end of the first half, but a couple guys off the bench helped us when we got in foul trouble. The foul trouble continued in the second half, but all of a sudden, we held them scoreless for nine minutes and we built a 17-point lead. And it wasn't like we built it quickly – it was pretty methodical. We kept getting stops all the way to the four-minute mark."
 
Throughout it all, MSUB fought with one hand tied behind its back. Two starters were hampered with foul trouble, prompting two backups and two walk-ons to play pivotal minutes for most of the game. Yet eight of the 11 players to log minutes scored, three finished in double-figures and the team shot 41.1% from the field in the win. In the second half, MSUB was the more effective shooting team in all facets of the game, plus the defense held SPU to 0-for-9 three-point shooting in the final stanza.
 
"We've shown signs of that," Durham said. "We started off the second half against Holy Names on a 23-0 run and we've had stretches like that. That was huge to do that against a veteran team like Seattle Pacific."
 
Individually, Carrington Wiggins was MSUB's constant force on offense. Ever the nifty finisher around the rim, Wiggins got to the basket when he needed to, hit three of his single-game-high five threes in the first half, then helped seal the deal at the free-throw line, making all his free throws.
 
Yet no 'Jacket came through in the clutch quite like Brent Finn. The senior guard scored most of his points in the second half – a corner three here, a drive to the basket there, then making six-straight free-throws after the final media timeout helped ensure the victory. Although the Falcons tried pressing and playing the foul game late, Finn made them pay, finishing 7-for-8 from the charity stripe en route to scoring 11 points off the bench.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES
Record: 7-3 (2-1 GNAC)
Head coach: Rusty Osborne (17^th year)
Head-to-head record: 33-47
Last meeting: Feb. 22, 2020 (87-73, Alaska Anchorage)
 
When Alaska Anchorage takes the floor against MSUB on Thursday, the Seawolves will snap a 28-day streak without playing a game. Despite carrying a 2-1 record in GNAC play, the Seawolves have had their last six games postponed. Although the Seawolves haven't played in a while, Durham is familiar with UAA head coach Rusty Osborne's system because Durham coached against Osborne at Alaska Fairbanks from 2011-18.
 
"Coach Osborne and I have coached against each other for the past 11 years," Durham said. "I think we have a pretty good understanding of each other and what we're trying to do."
 
"I don't think there's any question that the games against the Alaska schools feel like rivalry games to me," Durham added.
 
Picked to finish second in the GNAC preseason poll, the Seawolves have ridden a quartet of double-figure scorers to a 7-3 record and a seventh-place spot in the most recent D2SIDA West Region poll. As a team, the Seawolves lead the league with 19.2 assists per game, shoot 38.4% from three and have outscored the opposition by an average of 10.3 points per game.
 
"They're tough kids who can really shoot the three," Durham said of the Seawolves. "They can really compete."
 
The Seawolves' offense starts with leading scorer Tobin Karlberg (17.0 points per game), who is flanked by a pair of transfer guards in Hunter Sweet (Concordia-Portland) and David Rowlands (Hawai'i Pacific) – both of whom average 16.6 and 13.0 points per game, respectively. In particular, Rowlands has run the offense to the tune of 5.7 assists per game, which is tied for the best mark in the GNAC.
 
"They have a very good group of veterans leading them," Durham said. "Keegan Crosby is also filling in a nice role for them and Caleb Larsen comes off the bench for them too. They're one of the older, more experienced teams in the league, and consequently, that's why I think they were picked to finish second in the league."
 
Down low, senior forward Oggie Pantovic (13.7 points, 9.7 rebounds per game) is the conference's second-leading rebounder, averaging 9.7 points per game. A first-team All-GNAC selection from 2019-20, Pantovic has four double-doubles this season.
 
ALASKA NANOOKS
Record: 4-8 (1-5 GNAC)
Head coach: Greg Sparling (4^th year)
Head-to-head record: 43-31
Last meeting: Feb. 20, 2020 (71-68, Alaska)                   
 
Like their Alaskan counterparts, the Alaska Nanooks have been hampered by the pandemic, game cancelations and playing tight rotations so far. Playing a seven-man rotation in their last two GNAC games, the Nanooks upset Central Washington in overtime on Jan. 15 before falling 79-76 to Simon Fraser on Jan. 18. That win against the Wildcats was Alaska's first GNAC victory of the season.
 
But Alaska's players who have suited up are some of the most volatile scorers in the conference. Led by the GNAC's leading scorer Shadeed Shabazz – who already has three 30-point games and a 40-point outing so far – who is one of the toughest defensive assignments in the conference.

"You've got to try different guys on him," Durham said. "If he's hitting the threes, then he's awfully tough. He's a great finisher around the rim, he's left-handed. If you can keep him to his average of around 20 points per game, then that would be our goal."
 
Listed at 6-feet-1 and 145 pounds, the shifty, left-handed guard is not just a scorer. Shabazz leads the GNAC with 3.0 steals per game, which is fifth-most in all of Division II. His defense leads to offense, which makes him a one-man transition threat.
 
"He's got great basketball instincts," Durham said. "He's got great reaction time and he's very long. He leads the league in steals, so we have to be very conscious of him and not give him easy baskets."
 
Lest they be mistaken for a one-man team, the Nanooks have a talented supporting cast as well. Four players average at least 9.0 points per contest, and the Nanooks have pieced together a formidable roster from the transfer portal. Former Washington guard Quin Barnard is the team's second-leading scorer: He averages 13.3 points per game and shoots 45.4% from three, the latter of which ranks fourth in the conference.
 
"Both Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks are similar in that they have smaller guards who can shoot," Durham said. "Fairbanks is pretty athletic too, both inside and on the perimeter."
 
Junior college transfer Willie Thomas III (10.2 points per game) and Coleman Sparling bolster the Nanooks' frontcourt. Sparling, who is head coach Greg Sparling's son, transferred from UT Arlington and nearly averages a double-double with 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. And although he isn't new to Alaska, senior point guard Koby Huerta rounds out the backcourt, averaging 11.3 points in 34.3 minutes per game.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB plays Alaska Anchorage this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Livestream and live stat links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at msubsports.com.