Men’s Basketball Heads to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team embarks on its final road trip of the regular season as it travels to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene this week.  The Yellowjackets and Wildcats square-off Thurs., Mar. 5, at 7 p.m. Pacific time.   MSUB then travels to NNU for the regular season finale Sat., Mar., 7, at 7:30 p.m. Mountain time.

Heading into the final week, the Yellowjackets are 9-16 overall and 4-10 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  MSUB has dropped a season-high seven straight and is looking for its first win since Jan. 28. 

Leading the way for MSUB this season is Michael Hall who is averaging 16.7 points per game.  He leads the team in 3-pointers with 74 and is second on the team in made field goals with 138.  Hall is third on the team in made free throws with 50.  Derrick Wright leads the way with 141 made field goals and is shooting a team-best .518 from the field.  Wright also leads the team with 118 made free throws.  He is second on the team in scoring (16.0) and rebounding (5.9). 

Travis Bunker is the only Yellowjacket to have played and started every game this season.  He leads the team and the GNAC in minutes played with 979 for a 39.2 average.  Bunker is third on the team in scoring at 13.8 points and leads the squad in rebounding at 8.4 which is third-best in the league as well.  Bunker is second on the team in 3-pointers with 67.  Mario Burns is fourth in scoring at 10.6 points per game, but leads the team and league in assists with 159.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are shooting 45 percent from the field for the year and 37 percent from long range.  MSUB is at a .681 clip from the charity stripe and is out-rebounding its opponents 34.2 to 33.9 and 290-259 on the offensive end.

Central Washington enters the week with a 17-5 record and an 11-3 mark in conference play.  CWU has won three straight and 10 of 12 entering Thursday’s contest.  The Wildcats are led by Matt Penoncello who leads the team with a 14.4 scoring average.  He also leads the team with 112 made field goals, 32 made 3-pointers and is second in made free throws with 61.  Penoncello also leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 per game.  Jake Beitinger is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 and just behind Penoncello at 5.9 rebounds per game. 

As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.  CWU is at a .754 clip from the charity strip and is pulling down 37.4 rebounds, compared to just 30.5 by its opponents.  In addition, CWU is averaging 85.1 points per game, while allowing just 71.8.
In the first meeting between the two teams, the Yellowjackets gave CWU all it could handle as the visitors pulled out a hard-fought, 70-65 victory, Jan. 21.  The Yellowjackets shot 65 percent in the second half after a poor shooting half in the first.  MSUB was within three in the final 10 second after being down double-digits much of the second half.

Northwest Nazarene enters the week with a 14-12 record overall and a 5-10 mark in conference play.  The Crusaders started the season hot, winning nine of their first 11 games, but went through a 1-10 stretch, but have won four straight since. 

NNU is led by Kendall Gielow who leads the team averaging 14.5 points per game.  He also leads the team with 138 made field goals and is tied for the team lead in free throws with 77.  Brian Barkdoll is second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points and leads the team averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.  Barkdoll also has 77 made free throws.  Louie Beech is third in scoring at 11.3 points and is second in made 3-pointers with 44.  Beech leads the team in free throw percentage at a .884 clip.  Joel Ryman leads the team from distance with 64 made triples.

As a team, the Crusaders are shooting 48 percent from the field and just under 40 percent from deep.  NNU also is a good free throw shooting team at a .796 average.   The Crusaders are pulling down 33.7 rebounds per game, and allowing just 29.5 rebounds.  NNU is averaging 78.2 points per game compared to 77.0 by the opponents.

In the first meeting this season, MSUB played one of its best games of the season as it routed NNU, 81-51, Jan. 24.  The Yellowjackets shot a season-high 70 percent in the second half en route to the victory.  MSUB also outscored NNU 52-21 in the second half.  Hall had a team-high 20 points and 19 in the decisive half.