BILLINGS, Mont. – After a three-week break from competition, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team returns to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with home games against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's this Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
 
Both men's basketball games will tip off at 5:15 p.m. All livestream and live stat links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at msubsports.com.
 
Last week, the Yellowjackets' (5-7, 1-1 GNAC) were scheduled to take their annual Alaska trip last week, but COVID complications within the Alaska Nanooks program, then travel issues up to Alaska Anchorage prevented MSUB from playing. Instead, MSUB will play at Alaska on Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. MT, then make the trip to Alaska Anchorage for another 9 p.m. showdown on Feb. 8.
 
Until then, however, the 'Jackets will pit their GNAC-leading defense against the only 2-0 team in league play (Western Oregon) and a Saint Martin's offense that boasts five double-figure scorers. So far, MSUB's defense has held opponents to 63.9 points per game on 40.2% shooting; both figures rank 27^th and 34^th in the nation, respectively.
 
"We have a good buy-in from everyone," MSUB head coach Mick Durham said of the Yellowjackets' defense so far. "I think it's been a collective group effort. We've leaned on different guys for the tough defensive assignment every night. There aren't too many secrets in GNAC play, so I hope we can stay consistent and keep improving."
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Back in December, the Yellowjackets made the most of their trip to Las Vegas, as they split a pair of games in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. First, MSUB took the then-fourth-ranked West Texas A&M Buffs (who are now ranked third) down to the wire, but fell 59-57 on a buzzer-beater, then the 'Jackets put the clamps down on Rollins College in a 59-40 win less than 24 hours later.
 
All told, MSUB's defense was the headline during the trip. The 'Jackets held West Texas A&M to shooting just 29.5% from the field and Rollins fared slightly better with its 32.9% clip, but both were season-lows. Additionally, Rollins' 40 points were the fewest a Division II team has scored against MSUB since the 1987-88 season.
 
"I was really pleased with how we started out against West Texas A&M, how we competed and took it to the wire," Durham said. "And I was more impressed with how we bounced back. We seem to be a team that can get from one game to the next. We're pretty resilient in that way, how we're showing up every night. But are we perfect in the 40 minutes? We have our lapses, but we've done a pretty good job with preparing and being focused for each separate contest."
 
Proving they could hang with anyone in the nation, the 'Jackets got out to a hot start by outscoring the Buffs 16-3 in the first 10 minutes. When West Texas A&M tried to counter, MSUB's defense came through by baiting the mistake-averse Buffs into costly turnovers by doubling the low post, jumping the passing lanes and forcing West Texas A&M to take ill-advised shots late in the shot clock. Offensively, MSUB had four players with at least five points in the first half as the team out-shot West Texas A&M 38.5% to 28.1% in the defense-heavy contest.
 
The 'Jackets maintained the lead in the second half, withstanding several runs from the Buffs before the game's tense final minutes. Five-straight points from West Texas A&M forward Larry Wise nearly put the game away late, but threes from Carrington Wiggins and Nicholas Sebastiao helped the 'Jackets keep things close. Like he has so often this season, Damen Thacker came through with clutch free throws, then nailed a three to tie the game at 57 with seven seconds to go. Yet the 'Jackets walked away heartbroken after Zach Toussaint's off-balance corner jumper beat the buzzer and handed MSUB a 59-57 loss.
 
Playing on a short turnaround, the 'Jackets rebounded against Rollins College, which came into the tournament with two prolific scorers in Kyle Marion and Hutton Yenor – both of whom averaged nearly 20 points per game. But MSUB controlled the game from the jump: Malik Brikat and Jimmy Brown established interior scoring early, Thacker dissected the myriad of zones Rollins threw at him and the 'Jackets used a patient offensive attack en route to a 59-40 win.
 
"That's the positive part of [playing against Rollins' zone]: It made us be patient at times," Durham said. "We got a couple easy hoops early, but sometimes playing against a zone defense makes us make a few more passes. We can use that at times."
 
Although Rollins College pulled within one point in the second half, Bilal Shabazz and Emmanuel Ajanaku helped quash the Tars' comeback attempts. Shabazz's post passing led to easy buckets for Ajanaku, which sparked a 13-2 run that put Rollins in the rear-view mirror for good. Wiggins (13 points), Brikat (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Thacker (11 points, 7 assists) finished in double figures, plus Ajanaku nearly had a double-double off the bench with his nine-point, 10-rebound effort.
 
"Getting Bilal Shabazz back for Vegas helped with our depth and Emmanuel Ajanaku has really made some strides," Durham said of the frontcourt's performance in the Holiday Hoops Classic. "Malik Brikat has been showing some consistency. And Jimmy Brown has gotten us off to good starts, so we've stayed with him in the starting lineup."
 
WESTERN OREGON WOLVES
Record: 3-7 (2-0 GNAC)
Head coach: Wes Pifer (3^rd season)
Head-to-head record: 11-21
Last meeting: Feb. 1, 2020 (98-75, Western Oregon)
 
That 3-7 record might be deceptive. The Western Oregon Wolves kicked off their season with a seven-game road trip – which included taking sixth-ranked Cal State San Bernardino to overtime – before turning heads by upsetting the Alaska schools in games that weren't particularly close. First, Western Oregon blitzed Alaska in a 99-74 win, in which the Wolves held the GNAC's leading scorer Shadeed Shabazz to two points. Then the Wolves completed the sweep with an 80-71 win over Alaska Anchorage, which was picked to finish second in the GNAC preseason polls.
 
"They had a tough schedule: They were on the road for three straight weeks before winning those league games at home," Durham said. "I definitely think Western Oregon is coming in as a dangerous team with some confidence after being 2-0 with wins over the Alaska schools."
 
So far, guard Cameron Cranston has been one of the most dynamic players in the conference, averaging 17.2 points per game on 46.2% shooting – including a 44.3% clip from three. The 6'6" junior also averages 5.7 rebounds, which leads the team.
 
"Cameron Cranston has been taking the bulk of their shots," Durham said. "He had a big game here against us a few years ago where he started hitting a couple of threes and finished with 29 points. He's really a rhythm guy. They have good perimeter depth, which allows them to be fresh defensively and press."
 
Like MSUB, WOU enters this week after a lengthy break. Western Oregon's last game was an 80-77 loss to Corban University out of the NAIA's Cascade Collegiate Conference back on Dec. 11.
 
SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS
Record: 8-3 (1-1 GNAC)
Head coach: Aaron Landon (2^nd season)
Head-to-head record: 16-19
Last meeting: Feb. 15, 2020 (79-59, MSUB)
 
Picked to finish ninth in the GNAC preseason poll, the Saints quickly rendered those predictions moot. In a sign of results to come, the Saints had a halftime lead at Oregon State, were ahead for 30 minutes and let a would-be statement GNAC win slip away in a 83-80 season-opening exhibition loss. From there, Saint Martin's had a productive, six-game road trip in California, where they went 4-2 against PacWest and CCAA competition.
 
Once conference play rolled around, the Saints suffered a minor setback in a 76-67 loss to Alaska Anchorage, in which the Saints allowed the Seawolves to connect on 14 of their 35 three-pointers. However, Saint Martin's rebounded with am 87-74 win over Alaska, in which six different Saints scored in double-figures and the team withstood a 30-point night from Nanooks guard Shadeed Shabazz.
 
The Saints have a balanced offense with five players averaging at least 10 points per game. Chief amongst those players is Brett Reed: a seventh-year senior forward who is averaging 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his first season for the Saints.
 
"They added some nice pieces from last season and they're very dangerous," Durham said of the Wolves. "They can throw a lot of different things at you, switch their defenses and have a pretty good balance."
 
SMU also boasts two of the GNAC's most accurate shooters in Marky Adams, who leads the GNAC with his 71.2% shooting, and the aforementioned Reed, who makes 61.5% of his field goals. Out on the perimeter, Alex Schumacher (11.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game) leads a Saint Martin's backcourt bolstered by transfers like Kyle Greeley (Portland State), Jade Nielsen-Skinner (Portland State) and Christian Haffner (Des Moines Area CC).
 
"I think he is one of the best guards in our league," Durham said of Schumacher. "He's very fast, explosive and he has been through a lot in the GNAC."
 
STAT CORNER

• MSUB has played the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, as its Division II opponents have a combined .667 win percentage.
• MSUB's defense is amongst some of the nation's best in terms of points per game allowed and opponents' field goal percentage. The Yellowjackets are limiting teams to 63.9 points per game on 40.2% shooting, which rank 27^th and 34^th, respectively. Both marks are the best in the GNAC.
• Carrington Wiggins (15.5 points per game) and Damen Thacker (14.3 points per game) rank 7^th and 12^th in the GNAC in scoring, respectively.
• Connecting on 44.7% of his three point attempts, Nicholas Sebastiao continues to be one of the GNAC's top shooters. He has connected on 21 of his 47 threes, which ranks fifth in the conference; only Western Washington's Daniel Hornbuckle is more accurate from three with more attempts than Sebastiao.
• Damen Thacker continues to be one of the most dynamic players in the conference. He is one of two GNAC players ranked in the top 20 in points (14.3, 12th), rebounds (5.3, 17th), assists (3.7, 8th) and steals (1.8, 4th) per game. Coincidentally, the other player to have this distinction is Western Oregon's Cameron Cranston.

 
UP NEXT: MSUB will host Western Oregon this Thursday at 5:15 p.m. The game will kick off a doubleheader with the women's team, who plays Western Washington shortly thereafter. Links to live stats and livestream links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at msubsports.com.