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Yellowjackets Look to Get Back on Winning Track Thursday
The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team continues its six game home stand this week with Montana Tech visiting Thursday evening. It is Native American Night and Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program night as well. Prior to the men’s game, there will be a basketball game featuring Little Big Horn College and a Native American team playing at 5 p.m, followed by MSUB versus Montana Tech. At halftime of the MSUB game, the Blackhawk Junior Native American Drum Group will be performing as well.
The Yellowjackets enter the week with a 3-4 record and looking to even their record this week against Montana Tech. MSUB is led by senior Michael Hall who is averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game. He also leads the team with 37 field goals made, 22 made 3-pointers and is third on the team with 14 made free throws. Senior Travis Bunker is averaging 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. His 9.3 rebounds lead the team and is third-best in the league. Junior Derrick Wright is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. He is second on the team in made field goals with 33 and second in free throws with 19. Mario Burns is the fourth Yellowjacket in double figures with 11.3 points. Burns leads the team with 49 assists through seven games.
As a team the Yellowjackets are shooting just south of 46 percent from the field. They are 51 of 134 from beyond the arc and 77 of 132 from the line for 63 percent. MSUB is pulling down 32.1 rebounds per game.
Montana Tech enters the game with a 5-5 record and is coming off an impressive 91-73 dismantling of Lewis-Clark State Sunday. It was just the Orediggers’ second win in their last six games after starting the season 3-1. The Orediggers are led by three players in double figures as Josh Monagle leads the team with a 15.6 average. He also leads the team in field goals made with 70 and is third with 16 made free throws. Monagle is second on the team in rebounds at a 5.5 clip. Dirk Anderson is second in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He leads the team with a 6.7 rebounding average. Tony Trudnowski is third at 11.3 points and the deadly from deep as he leads the team with 24 made 3-pointers on 50 attempts. He also leads the team with 21 assists and 11 steals.
As a team the Orediggers are very good shooters as they are .510 from the field on 318 of 623. They have 85 made 3-pointers and are just 61 percent from the line on 99 of 162. The team also is solid on the boards averaging 38 rebounds per game to just 31.3 for their opponents. Offensively they average 382 points a game and give up 76.9 points per contest.
A WIN OVER MONTANA TECH WILL...
• Get the Yellowjackets back to .500 at 4-4
• Be the fourth home win of the season for MSUB, a first since 2006-07
• Snap a two game losing skid in the series and four of seven
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH MOTNANA TECH
The Yellowjackets own a 70-43 record in the series that dates back to 1928. The Yellowjackets boast a 40-16 record in Billings and a 29-27 mark in Butte. The teams have played one neutral site game with MSUB winning that contest. Montana Tech began the series winning 29 in a row and 34 of 35. Since then, the Yellowjackets have gone 69-9. At one point, MSUB won 39 in a row and 49 of 50 from Jan. 12, 1954 to Jan. 8, 1977. The teams have not played since Montana Tech posted its first win in Billings since Jan. 13, 1949 with a 90-72 victory on Jan. 8, 1996.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Yellowjackets split two tough games that came down to the wire with Colorado Christian this past week. MSUB rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half in the first game against CCU and won 62-59, while the Cougars won the second game 76-71 as they went 13 of 16 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes to secure the victory. Prior to that, CCU was just 1 for 1 at the line. Travis Bunker tallied his fourth double-double of the season against CCU in the first game with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Wright had a team-high 17 points in the 62-59 victory. It snapped a two game losing skid. In the second game, the Yellowjackets were led by 15-point performances from Bunker, Wright and Michael Hall. MSUB was just 4 of 7 from the line, while CCU was 14 of 17 which proved to be a major difference in the outcome.
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 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 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.
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