Preview: ‘Jackets return to D2 action hosting Cal State East Bay Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Preview: ‘Jackets return to D2 action hosting Cal State East Bay Saturday

Making its 2016-17 regular-season home debut on Saturday, MSUB’s men’s basketball team hosts Cal State East Bay at Alterowitz Gym. BILLINGS, Mont. – Making its regular-season home debut this weekend, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team will host Cal State East Bay on Saturday evening at Alterowitz Gym. Tipoff between the Yellowjackets and Pioneers is set for 7 p.m., and will be the third of three games played Saturday.

MSUB’s women’s basketball team hosts a doubleheader, with a neutral site game between Black Hills State and Northern State at 3 p.m., and the ‘Jackets taking on Cal Poly Pomona at 5 p.m. directly preceding the men’s game.

Saturday’s men’s game will be featured on ESPN Radio 910 KBLG in Billings, and will be available for online listening at www.espn910.com. All games will also feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

“The next stretch of six games is really big for us, and it starts with the game Saturday,” said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We have six D2 games and two conference games, so we really need to get off to a great start during this

stretch. We also have the fact that Saturday will be our home opener, and we really want to establish some home-court flow as the season begins.”

The Yellowjackets (1-2) are coming off of a 78-73 loss at Rocky Mountain College on Tuesday, after splitting a pair of games in California last week. MSUB lost to No. 9 Cal Baptist 101-86 last Friday, before picking up an 88-80 win over Holy Names University on Saturday.

“Cal State East Bay is very well-coached, and will be ready to play,” said Stevens. “We need to match that and build off of our early games to keep improving in all areas.”

EVANS DOUBLING UP: With 17 points and 14 rebounds against Rocky on Tuesday, sophomore Christian Evans posted his second straight double-double. Through his first three games, Evans is averaging 11.0 points and 10.7 boards, while leading the team with 31.7 minutes per game.

CAREER DAY FOR MATTHEWS: Pouring in a career-best 30 points on Saturday, senior Marc Matthews helped the ‘Jackets pick up their first win of the season. The strongest offensive showing of Matthews’ career was the first 30-point game since Jace Anderson achieved the feat last year, and it topped his previous career-best of 27.

With his five threes made this season, Matthews has moved into the top-10 in MSUB history with 141 treys in his career.

MSUB Men’s Basketball All-Time 3-Point Leaders Rk. Name 3-Pointers 1.

Cameron Munoz 451 2.

Markus Hallgrimson 371 3.

Buddy Windy Boy 305 4.

Mark Hamilton 286 5.

Reece Gliko 231 6.

Danny Phillips 222 7.

Titus Warmsley 195 8.

Dave Carse 193 9.

Chris Herriford 154 10.

Pryor Orser 141 Marc Matthews 141 Senior Jace Anderson is coming off of a 14-point performance on Tuesday against the Bears.

COMPLETE PERFORMANCE FROM BEVERLY: In Tuesday’s game against the Bears, sophomore Preston Beverly played perhaps his most complete game yet for the ‘Jackets. He scored 18 points and had eight rebounds, while adding a career-high four blocks, three assists, and a steal. The reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year leads the team with 16.3 points per game so far, and has increased his total rebounds in each of his first three games this season.

ANDERSON BACK IN ACTION: Starting the first three games this year coming off of a season-ending knee injury, senior Jace Anderson broke out with 14 points on Tuesday. He connected on 4 of 9 shots from the 3-point line, breaking an 0for-3 slump from the arc in his first two games of the year.

Having made 79 of 195 threes in his career, Anderson’s percentage of 40.5 from the arc ranks No. 9 in the MSUB record books.

CINCO’S TEMPO: Seeing action in all three games so far, freshman point guard Cinco Durr has a team-best nine assists and four steals. He has also converted 12 of 14 foul shots, trailing only Beverly’s mark of 16-for-19 from the line.

STANDING TALL: Junior forward Kamal Tall has made the most of his minutes this season, most recently grabbing a career-best eight rebounds against the Bears Tuesday. He also scored eight points in two of his first three games, and is averaging 5.0 boards while holding a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line.

PERRY RETURNS: Junior Jordan Perry made his season debut on Tuesday, after missing the first two games of the season with an injury. The ‘Jackets will look for the versatile veteran to provide further depth to the lineup, as he is coming off a season in which he averaged 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27.1 minutes.

TEAM FIGURES: The Yellowjackets are averaging 82.3 points per game, while allowing 86.3 through three contests.

MSUB is shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, and a solid 83.9 percent from the foul line. The team has struggled mightily from the arc however, making just 16 of 68 attempts (23.5 percent).

Saturday, November 19 – Cal State East Bay Pioneers – 7 PM 2016-17 Record: 1-1 Head Coach: Gus Argenal, 4th Season 2015-16 Record: 9-18, 5-15 CCAA The Pioneers are off to a 1-1 start this season, defeating Notre Dame de Namur 7960 on Nov. 11 before losing to GNAC foe Western Washington 107-81 the following evening.

CSUEB will host Fresno Pacific on Wednesday evening, before heading to the Big Sky state to challenge the Yellowjackets.

Freshman Druce Asah stole headlines in the first weekend for the Pios, scoring 25 points in his collegiate debut and adding 15 against the Vikings. The 6-foot-3 guard also grabbed nine rebounds in the games last week, and converted 7 of 11 threes to start the year on a tear.

Kyle Frakes, who is coming off of a redshirt season, was also effective in both games with 21 total points over the weekend. The junior center looks to be counted on as a top rebounder and scorer underneath the basket this season.

Micah Dunhour had a strong showing against his former team, as the transfer from NDNU posted an 11-point, 13rebound double-double in the Pios’ season-opener.

Overall CSUEB is averaging 80.0 points and is shooting 43.7 percent from the floor, 38.2 percent from the arc, and 69.0 percent from the foul line.

The Series: MSUB is 0-2 in the relatively new series, which started in 2014. Saturday’s meeting will be the first home game for the ‘Jackets against CSUEB.

Last Time Out: Matthews scored 18 points, but the ‘Jackets were limited to just 50 total in a 64-50 loss in Hayward, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2015.

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