Yellowjackets Close Out Regular Season in Washington

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team is scheduled to close out the regular season this week at Central Washington and at Western Washington. The Jackets and CWU are slated to battle Thursday at 7 p.m., local time, while MSUB and WWU square-off Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Yellowjackets enter the week with a 14-9 record overall and an 8-6 mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  MSUB currently stands in fourth place in the league standings, one game out of third behind Central Washington.  MSUB can finish anywhere from third to a tie for sixth in the league standings depending on this week’s action.

Coming off a pair of impressive home wins, the Yellowjackets defeated Western Oregon for the season sweep with an 84-76 victory last Thursday.  In the game, MSUB had five players in double figures, led by 18 points from Derrick Wright and a double-double from Mike McCrary with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  The Jackets were hot offensively as they shot 52 percent for the game and 56 percent in the second half after leading 36-28 at intermission.

On Senior Night, the Yellowjackets avenged an early season loss to Alaska Anchorage with a hard-fought 65-60 victory sending out seven seniors with a win in their final home game.  Senior DaVell Jackson led the way with 16 points, while McCrary, also a senior, added 13 points.  The Yellowjackets held UAA’s offense in check, holding the Seawolves to 40 percent for the game, while MSUB shot an even 50 percent.

Leading the way for the Jackets this season is DeAndre Chambers who leads the team averaging 15.3 points per game.  He leads the team with 125 made field goals, 60 made 3-pointers and is third in rebounding at a 4.6 clip.  Second on the team in scoring is Jackson who is averaging 12.4 points per game.  He leads the team with 83 made free throws and 133 assists to just 62 turnovers.  His assists rank him 15th nationally and second in the league. 

Wright is third on the team in scoring at 12 points per game.  He leads the team in field goal average at a .539 clip and leads the team averaging 5.5 rebounds per contest.  Wright is second on the team in blocks with 11 and is 10th all-time in school history in blocks.  Seniors Lasha Parghalava and Brad Hodge are averaging 10.3 and 10.2 points, respectively.  Parghalava is second on the team in 3-pointers with 40, while Hodge is second in rebounding at a 5.3 average.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are shooting 47 percent from the field for the year.  They are shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc and 72 percent from the charity stripe.  MSUB is averaging 32.9 rebounds per game and scoring 74.6 points per contest.

Central Washington enters the week with a 15-9 record overall and a 9-5 record in conference play.  The Wildcats currently are ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II West Region Poll.  CWU is led this season by JC Cook who leads the team averaging 14.5 points per game.  Chris Sprinker is second in scoring at 13 points a game and he leads the team with 129 made field goals and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game.  Tyler Toussaint is third in scoring at 11.6 points, while Jon Clift (11.5 ppg.) leads the team with 83 assists.  Humberto Perez leads the team from range with 43 made triples.

As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 47 percent from the field, 33 percent from beyond the arc and 69 percent from the line.  CWU averages 39.2 rebounds per game and is scoring 85 points per contest.

The Wildcats won the opening meeting in Billings as MSUB had one of its poorest games of the season.  The Jackets shot just 29 percent for the game (15 of 51) in a 73-57 setback on Jan. 28.  Sprinker scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats, while MSUB was led by 15 points off the bench from Chambers.

Western Washington enters the week with a 24-5 record overall and an 11-4 mark in the GNAC placing it second in the league standings.  Leading the way for the Vikings this season is Derrick Webb who leads the team averaging 16.2 points.  He also leads the team with 154 made field goals and 111 made free throws for an 82.2 average.  Morris Anderson is second in scoring at 14.5 points.  He is second in made field goals with 135 and leads the team with 69 made 3-pointers.  Zach Bruce is averaging 10.5 points and leads the team with 181 rebounds and a 6.5 average. 

As a team, the Vikings are shooting 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 71 percent from the line.  WWU is pulling down 37.1 rebounds per game and averaging 79.8 points per contest.

The Vikings currently are second in the latest NCAA Division II West Region Poll.

WWU won 100-75 in the meeting in Billings Jan. 30, 2010.  Webb led the way with 33 points, while Anderson scored 25 in the victory.  The tandem combined for 58 points and 20 of 31 from the field, including 9 of 15 from beyond the arc and 9 of 11 from the line.  The Vikings shot a blazing 59 percent for the game on 36 of 61 from the field and drained 12 triples, too.  MSUB was led by 21 points from Wright and 19 from Chambers as MSUB was 28 of 64 from the field for 43 percent.