Yellowjackets Begin Six Game Home Stand Friday

The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team returns home after a tough road trip to begin a six-game home stand Friday versus Colorado Christian.  The Yellowjackets dropped two heartbreakers at Chadon State (81-74) and at Mary (83-72) this past week.

The Yellowjackets are led by senior Michael Hall who is averaging a team-best 21 points per game in four games.  He leads the team with 27 made field goals, 16 made 3-pointers and is 14 of 15 from the line.  Junior Derrick Wright is averaging 12 points game and pulling down four rebounds per game.  Senior Travis Bunker is averaging just under a double-double with 11.8 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game.  Junior Mario Burns is the fourth scorer in double figures for the ‘Jackets averaging 10.8 points per game.  He also leads the team with 34 assists for a 6.8 average per game.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are shooting 46 percent from the field on 123 of 268.  They are just under 40 percent from downtown and have drained 37 of 93 from beyond the arc.  MSUB is make two of every three free throws at 66 of 99.  The ‘Jackets are averaging 32.4 rebounds per game, 1.6 rebounds below their opponent.

Colorado Christian enters the week with a 2-2 record and have won two-straight.  The Cougars have not played sicne a 72-67 victory over Aquinas College Nov. 22, a 12-day layoff.  CCU did defeat one common Yellowjacket opponent in Dickinson State, 78-69 for its first win of the season.  The Yellowjackets defeated Dickinson State in an exhibition game earlier this season, 94-91.

Leading the way for the Cougars this season are four players in double figures led by Jordan Long who is averaging a team-high 13 points per game.  He leads the team with 16 made field goals, 11 made 3-pointers and is tied for second on the team with nine made free throws.  He also leads the team with 19 assists and five steals.  Justin Neuhaus leads the team in rebounds at a 6.8 clip and he is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points.

As a team, the Coguars are shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 67 percent from the line.  The Cougars  are averaging 32 rebounds per game and 65 points per contest. 

WINS OVER COLORADO CHRISTIAN WILL...
• Get the Yellowjackets back to .500 or better at 3-3
• Be the third or fourth home win of the season

INSIDE THE SERIES WITH CCU
The Yellowjackets own a 2-1 record in the series that dates back to Dec. 19, 1995.  The teams played last year in Nampa, Idaho, with CCU winning 103-69 to renew the series since Nov. 22, 1996.  MSUB won the first meeting in Lakewood and won the second in Marshall, Minn., at the Southwest Minnesota Tournament.  The teams have never met in Billings.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Yellowjackets dropped two tough decisions last week on the road.  MSUB dropped an 81-74 decision at Chadron State and lost 83-72 in the rematch at Mary.  Leading scorer, Michael Hall, missed the Chadron State game with an injury, but  sophomore Brett Taylor scored a career-high 23 points to lead MSUB.  Travis Bunker recorded his third double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.  In both games, the Yellowjackets battled back from double-digit deficits to either lead or be tied with five minutes to play.  Against Mary, the Yellowjackets shot a season-high 57 percent from the field, but were unable to get stops down the stretch in the losing effort.  Hall led the way with 23 points as he returned to the lineup.

GET YELLOWJACKET GEAR
Fans can now purchase their Yellowjacket apparel through the MSUB athletic website.  Please log on to www.msubillings.edu/athletics and click on the apparel icon.  MSUB and Cuda Apparel have teamed together to bring Yelllowjacket fans custom apparel.  Fans are still encouraged to continue their support of Jackets and Company, too.

BUNKER EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Travis Bunker earned honorable mention GNAC Player of the Week honors as he recorded his third double-double of the year last week at Chadron State and played his third consecutive 40-minute game. 

TAYLOR STEPS UP
Sophomore Brett Taylor stepped into the Yellowjacket starting lineup against Chadron State and had the game of his life.  He scored a career-high 23 points on 8 of 14 from the field, including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. 

THE UNPAVED ROAD
The road has not been kind to the Yellowjackets this season as they are 0-3.  However, MSUB has rallied in the last two road games this past week at Chadron State and at Mary, coming back from double-digit deficits to either tie or take the lead with five minutes to play. 

TOUGH ON THE GLASS
In a 70-67 overtime victory over Mary Nov. 26, the Yellowjackets dominated the glass, outrebounding the Marauders 35-26, including 14-7 on the offensive end.  All but one of the eight players who played for MSUB tallied a rebound.  It was the second consecutive game that the Jackets have won the battle of the boards, MSUB had a 40-38 advantage over Montana Western Nov. 22.

IRONMAN BUNKER
Senior Travis Bunker played all 40 minutes against Montana Western in the home opener Nov. 22 and followed that with a complete game performance against Mary on Nov. 26. In those two games, Bunker has played in 85 minutes and leads the team with 120 minutes in three games for an even 40.0 average.  From there, Bunker played all 40 minutes at Chadron State and went 39 minutes strong against Mary Monday.

OVERTIME YELLOWJACKETS
The Yellowjackets needed an extra period to down the Mary Marauders Nov. 26, 70-67.  It was the first overtime game for MSUB since a 90-89 overtime loss on Dec. 21, 2006, against Northwest Nazarene at Alterowitz Gym. It was the first overtime victory since a 113-106 victory over Saint Leo on Dec. 21, 2004.

QUICK OUT OF THE GATES
The Yellowjackets have started quick out of the gates at home this season.  Against Dickinson State (Nov. 11) MSUB raced to a 16-5 and a 24-10 lead.  Then, on Saturday, the Jackets raced to a 16-6 lead through the first seven minutes against Montana Western.  On Nov. 26, the Jackets continued that trend with a 21-11 lead through the first nine minutes against Mary.

BUNKER DOUBLE-DOUBLE X3
Three straight games this season Travis Bunker has recorded double-doubles. The Yellowjackets had two double-doubles all of last season.  Against Montana Western, Bunker recorded his first double-double and followed against Mary Nov. 26 and at Chadron State last week with 14 points and 12 rebounds.  Bunker leads the team with 9.6 rebounds per game through five games.

SNAP THE SKID
With an 81-76 victory over Montana Western Nov. 22, the Yellowjackets snapped a 13-game skid dating back to last season.  The Jackets defeated Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 24, 2008 to snap an 18-game skid to that point.  This is the first time MSUB has been .500 or better since the final game of the 2005-06 season.

STOUT DEFENSE
MSUB held Montana Western to under 40 percent shooting in both halves Nov. 22.  For the game, the Bulldogs were 28 of 71 from the field for 39.4 percent. 

GETTIN’ TO THE LINE
The Yellowjackets got to the free throw line 25 times against Montana Western Nov. 22 and followed with getting to the line 24 times against Mary on Wednesday.  MSUB knocked down 19 free throws, including 9 of 10 in the final five minutes preserve the victory against UWM.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The Yellowjackets have just five road games between the beginning of the season at Feb. 5.  MSUB started the year at No. 10 Gonzaga and played at Mary and Chadron State this past week.  From there, the Jackets have six-straight home games in December and early January prior to the beginning of conference play.    For the season, the Jackets only have 11 road games and 16 home games. 

BURNS DOES THE DISHES
Junior Mario Burns leads the team with 21 assists this season for a 7.0 average.  He had eight assists and five steals, against Montana Western earlier in the season.  He then followed with a nine assist outing against Mary on Wednesday and just missed a double-double by one assist.

PAINTING THE PAINT
The Yellowjackets dominated the points in the paint against Montana Western Nov. 22.  MSUB scored 34 points in the paint compared to 18 for the Bulldogs and followed with a 22-18 points in the paint advantage over Mary on Wednesday for a 56-36 lead in the Jackets’ two wins this season.

HALL NAMED CO-GNAC POW
Senior Michael Hall earned co-GNAC Player of the Week honors for his 24-point outing against No. 10 Gonzaga in the season opener Nov. 15. Hall scored a game-high in points and was 8 of 17 from the field and 5 of 12 from beyond the arc.  He scored the final 14 points of the first half to bring the Yellowjackets within five at intermission.  Hall shares the first GNAC Player of the Week honor since MSUB joined the league last year with Blake Poole of Saint Martin’s.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Last season, the Yellowjackets didn’t have a senior on the team, in fact, MSUB had probably one of the youngest teams in the country with six freshmen and four sophomores.  This season, two senior transfers and six junior transfers highlight the team.

FRESH FACES
As the 2007-08 roster featured six freshmen, the 2008-09 roster features nine new players, including two Division I senior transfers, six transfer juniors and one freshman. 

JUCO INFUSION
MSUB has a number of junior college transfers this season.  In fact, five of the nine new players all came from junior college.  Derrick Wright and Mario Burns came from Western Oklahoma State College, while Lance Anderson and Brad Hodge transferred from Grays Harbor College and Adam Weisz came to MSUB from Dawson County Community College.

JACKETS PICKED EIGHTH
The Yellowjackets were picked preseason eighth by the conference coaches.  The Jackets tallied 22 points, three ahead of ninth-place Alaska Fairbanks.

LISTEN TO PFEIFER
Fans can listen to the weekly Coach Pfeifer Show on the internet each Tuesday.  Log on to www.msubillings.edu/athletics to listen to Pfeifer’s thoughts on the previous week and the coming weeks throughout the season.

WATCH/LISTEN TO HOME GAMES
Fans can listen to all MSUB men’s basketball home games by logging on to www.musbillings.edu/athletics and click on live broadcasts.  Ken Adelblue provides the play-by-play for each home game.