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Men's Basketball

2007-2008 Men's Basketball Weekly Release #3

"" Back to Headlines

This Week's Schedule

Thurs., Jan. 17 - at St. Martin's 7 p.m., Lacey, Wash.
Sat., Jan. 19 - at Western Oregon, 7 p.m., Monmouth, Ore.


Week in Review

The Yellowjackets showed great improvement this past week.  After dropping a 94-69 decision to Northwest Nazarene, MSUB responded with its best outing of the season in a 62-56 loss to Seattle Pacific on Saturday.  In that game against SPU, MSUB had its best defensive performance of the year and stymied the Falcons' leading scorer Marques Echols to no points in the first half and eight for the game-10 below his average.  ""

MSUB slowed down the tempo of the game from the outset against the Falcons, which in turn, helped the Yellowjackets to their first halftime lead of the season at 29-27.  In addition, seven first half 3-pointers also helped as the team shot 50 percent for the opening half on 8 of 16 from the field.  SPU was just 9 of 27 from the field for 33 percent and were 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.

In the second half the Falcons jumped out to a 12 point lead using a 16-4 run as Echols began the run with his first 3-pointer of the game.  Despite the deficit midway through the half, the young Yellowjackets hung tough and continued to chip away at the deficit and pulled within four points with just over a minute to play. 

Hoping to shake off what has become a winless season, the Yellowjackets hit the road for their first conference road series of the season.  MSUB has played one true road game this season, a 116-54 loss at Nebraska-Omaha (Nov. 24). 

Freshman Aaron Terry (Moreno Valley, Calif.) continues to lead MSUB averaging 14.9 points per game.  He is shooting 76 of 175 from the floor for 43 percent and has pulled down 3.9 boards per game.  In addition, he is handing out 2.33 assists and a team-leading one steal per game.  Freshmen Jeff Miner (Gresham, Ore.) and John Brooks (Perris, Calif.), also are averaging double-figures at 13.6 and 12.3 points per game, respectively.  Brooks, who is serving a two-game suspension for an altercation with Northwest Nazarene last week, will miss the St. Martin's game.  He is 49 of 139 from the field for 35 percent and is second on the Jackets from the perimeter knocking down 26 of 77 attempts for 34 percent.  Cameron Khoury (Fr., Alta Loma, Calif.) is tallying 7.1 points per game for the Jackets and is grabbing a team-leading 5.9 boards per game while swatting .067 blocks per game.

As a team the Jackets are shooting 37 percent from the field and 31 percent from the perimeter.  Just under half (60) of the Yellowjackets' 3-pointers have come in the last six games.  During that span, MSUB is averaging 10 treys a game.


From the GNAC

Division II Games: Alaska Anchorage 12-0, Seattle Pacific 10-2, Northwest Nazarene 6-2, Seattle 9-3, Central Washington 7-4, Western Washington 6-4, Saint Martin’s 5-6, Western Oregon 3-6, Alaska Fairbanks 1-5, MSU Billings 0-12.  

West Region Games: Alaska Anchorage 6-0, Seattle 7-2, Seattle Pacific 5-2, Northwest Nazarene 4-2, Central Washington 6-4, Western Washington 5-4, Saint Martin's 3-5, Alaska Fairbanks 1-3, Western Oregon 1-5, *MSUB 0-4 (*MSUB region record includes games against schools in states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Western New Mexico and Colorado).

LAST WEEK: Thursday – Western Oregon 79 at Central Washington 97; Northwest Nazarene 94 at MSU Billings 69; Saint Martin's 69 at Western Washington 66; Seattle Pacific 56 at Seattle 52. Saturday – Alaska Fairbanks 57 at Alaska Anchorage 77; Saint Martin's 71 at Central Washington 84; Seattle Pacific 62 at MSU Billings 56; Northwest Nazarene 58 at Seattle 76; Western Oregon 80 at Western Washington 84. 

THIS WEEK: Thursday – Central Washington at Alaska Anchorage, 7:30 p.m.; Western Washington at Alaska Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.; MSU Billings at Saint Martin's; Seattle at Western Oregon. Saturday – Western Washington at Alaska Anchorage; Central Washington at Alaska Fairbanks, 2 p.m.; MSU Billings at Western Oregon; Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene; Seattle at St. Martin's.

POLLS: NABC (Jan. 8) - 17. Seattle University, 19. Alaska Anchorage, 27. Seattle Pacific.  NCAA West Region – The first NCAA West Region weekly poll will be released Wednesday, Jan. 30. GNAC Coaches Pre-Season: 1. Alaska Anchorage (7) 104; 2. Seattle Pacific (1) 87; 3. Seattle (2) 84 ; 4. Western Washington and Central Washington 62; 6. Saint Martin's 52; 7. Northwest Nazarene 40; 8. Western Oregon 35; 9. Montana State Billings 18; 10. Alaska Fairbanks 16. Note: First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

DOUBLE DOUBLES: 4 – Carl Arts, UAA.  3 – Kevin Atkins, UAF, Rob Will, SPU, Jake Beitinger, CWU. 2 – Luke Cooper, UAA. 1 – 13 with.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS:  UAF Top of the World  (Nov. 15-18) –  Mladen Begojevic, UAF.   Central Washington (Nov. 16-17) – Jake Beitinger, CWU; Brandon Foote, CWU; Tyler Roberts, NNU; Adam Shildmyer, NNU.  Seattle Pacific (Nov. 16-17) – Rob Will, SPU; Ira Graham, WWU.  Western Washington (Nov. 23-24) – Ira Graham, WWU; Calin Schell, WWU; Rob Diederichs, SPU; Rob Will, SPU.  UAA Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 21-24) – Carl Arts, UAA.  Central Washington (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) – Jake Beitinger, CWU; Sam Kelly, WOU; Brad Krichevsky, WOU.  CSU Pueblo (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) – Bill Richardson, SMU.  WWU Great Western Shootout (Dec. 18-19 at Las Vegas) – Ira Graham, WWU; Calin Schell, WWU; Jake Beitinger, CWU.  Humboldt State (Dec. 21-22) – Michael Knight, Seattle; Ryan Coldren, Seattle.  Western Oregon (Dec. 28-29) – Mike McLaughlin, WOU; Travis Kuhns, WOU; Nate Jackson, CWU; Jake Beitinger, CWU.  Seattle Pacific (Dec. 28-29) – Marques Echols, SPU; Rob Diederichs, SPU; Michael Knight, SU.  Alaska Anchorage (Dec. 28-29) – Chris Bryant, UAA (MVP); McCade Olsen, UAA; Luke Cooper, UAA.

GNAC PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK: Jake Beitinger, Central Washington (F, 6-8, JR., Port Orchard, Wash.) and Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-0, Sr., Melbourne, Australia) . . . Beitinger, a transfer from Eastern Washington, scored 39 points and pulled down 21 rebounds as the Wildcats swept a pair of home games.  Beitinger had 17 rebounds against Saint Martin's, the most for a CWU player since 2001.  He also blocked three shots against the Saints. . . . Cooper tied his won GNAC single-game record with 16 assists increasing his GNAC career-record total to 704 as the Seawolves extended their winning streak to 10 with a 20-point win against Alaska Fairbanks.  Cooper, who had just one turnover in 40 minutes, also had three rebounds and made his only field goal attempt.

HONORABLE MENTION: Ira Graham, Western Washington (G, 6-1, Jr., Fontana, Calif.) scored 56 points, including 33 in a four-point win over Western Oregon to equal the GNAC 2007-08 single-game best scoring mark.  It was his 18th consecutive double-digit scoring game.  Graham made 18 of 33 shots as WWU split two games . . . Travis Kuhns, Western Oregon (F, 6-8, Jr., Salem, Ore.) scored 51 points, including 32 in a four-point road loss at Western Washington.  Kuhns made 17 of 24 shots, including six of eight three-pointers.  He was 11 of 12  from the foul line.

AROUND THE GNAC:   Cooper's 16 assists tied the GNAC single-game record first set by UAA's Bryson Vaughan against Western Oregon in 2002 and equaled by Cooper against Missouri-Kansas City in the 2006 Great Alaska Shootout . . . Saint Martin's Jake Linton made 12 of 13 free throws, extending his consecutive streak of made free throws to 34 before missing.  The equaled the third longest streak in conference history.  Earlier this season he made 28 in a row setting a GNAC record with 44 consecutive free throws, including his final 16 attempts last season.

NON-CONFERENCE RECORDS: GNAC teams finished their non-conference schedules with a 60-35 record, the third best record in league history.  The best non-conference record (65-27) came in 2005-06 when all 10 schools posted winning non-conference records and five qualified for the playoffs.  The GNAC ended up 20-13 against other West Region teams, including 15-10 against the CCAA, Cal State San Bernardino accounted for five of the CCAA's 10 victories.  Against all Division II team, GNAC squads posted a .631 winning percentage (41-24).


Upcoming Opponents

Saint Martin's Saints (webpage) - The Saints enter the week with a 7-6 record overall and a 2-2 mark in GNAC play.  Saint Martin's split a pair of road games this past week at Western Washington (69-66 win) and Central Washington (84-71 loss).  The Saints have dropped two of three after winning five straight.""

Leading the way for Saint Martin's is Jake Linton who is averaging at team-best 17.9 points per game.  He is second on the team in field goals (60) and leads the squad in 3-pointers (31), free throws (82 of 86), assists (44) and steals (18).  Bill Richardson is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points.  Richardson leads the team in field goals made with 67 and he averages a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.  Also in double figures is Brendan Campbell at 12.8 points.

As a team, the Saints are shooting 43 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc and 78 percent from the line.

Head coach Keith Cooper is in his fifth season at the helm of the Saints.  He is no stranger to the GNAC as he was Jeff Hironaka's top assistant at Seattle Pacific for two years.  He also was at Central Washington for two years as an assistant.

All-time Series:  MSU Billings leads the all-time series, 6-3.  Saint Martin's leads the series in Lacey, 3-2.
Last Meeting: MSUB won 93-86 in Lacey on De. 20, 2003.
Series Recap: MSUB has won five straight in the series.

Western Oregon Wolves (webpage) - Western Oregon enters the week with a 7-6 record overall and an 0-4 record in conference play.  Both MSUB and WOU are looking for their first conference win of the season.  The Wolves return to Monmouth after dropping a pair of decisions to Central Washington (97-79) and a tough 84-80 setback at Western Washington.
""
The Wolves are led by four players averaging double figures.  Travis Kuhns who leads the team averaging 15.9 points per game and leads the team in field goals (71), free throws (51), assists (39) and steals (25).  He was an honorable mention GNAC performer last week as he scored 51 points, including 32 in a four-point loss at WWU.  He was 17 of 24 from the field and drained six of eight treys.  Brad Krichevsky is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points, but leads the team with 30 made 3-pointers. Adonal Arrington who is averaging 10.9 points, leads the squad averaging 6.0 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Wolves are ranked nationally in two areas.  WOU is out-rebounding its opponents by a margin of 10.2 per game which is good for fifth nationally.  Also, the Wolves are 20th nationally in field goal percentage at .507.

Head coach Craig Stanger is in his third season at the helm of the WOU program.  He is 26-41 overall and was an assistant at WOU prior to being hired as head coach since 1995.  He was 9-18 overall and 4-9 in the GNAC in his first year.  He improved the team to 10-17 and 5-11 last year.     

All-time Series:  MSU Billings leads the all-time series 2-1, while WOU leads 1-0 in Monmouth.
Last Meeting: MSUB won in Billings 72-70 on Jan. 3, 2004.
Series Recap: MS
UB win the opener 111-87 on Jan. 23, 1999 in Billings.


The Stats

Click HERE for current MSU Billings 2007 season statistics


The Standings

""2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Standings (Through games of Jan. 15, 2008)

 

Conference

Overall

  W L Pct W L Pct
Alaska Anchorage 3 0 1.000 12 3 .800
Seattle Pacific 3 1 .750 11 2 .846
Central Washington 3 1 .750 9 4 .692
Seattle University 2 1 .667 9 3 .750
Northwest Nazarene 2 2 .500 10 3 .769
Western Washington 2 2 .500 9 4 .692
Saint Martin's 2 2 .500 7 6 .538
Alaska Fairbanks 1 2 .333 4 8 .333
Montana State Billings 0 3 .000 0 14 .000
Western Oregon 0 4 .000 7 6 .538

The Polls

NCAA West Region (first poll released in February)


The GNAC Leaders

Click HERE for 2007 GNAC stats leaders


The Players

#1 Kyle Palmer (Fr., G, Baton Rouge, LA) #23 Troy Ruff (So., F, Custer, MT)
#2 Brett Taylor (Fr., G, Billings, MT) #25 Mike Barton (So., F, Havre, MT)
#3 Aaron Terry (Fr., G, Moreno Valley, CA) #32 John Brooks (Fr., G, Perris, CA)
#5 Kirk Blaine (Fr., F, Gillette, WY) #33 Tyler Hentzen (So., F, Brea, CA)
#10 Jeff Miner (So. G, Gresham, OR)  
#21 Cameron Khoury (Fr., F, Alta Loma, CA)  

The Last Time in Yellowjacket Basketball

A player scored at least 50 points— Feb. 12, 2000 (Markus Hallgrimson, 50 vs. Western New Mexico)
A player scored at least 40 points— Jan. 28, 2006 (Carlin Hughes, 45 vs. St. Edward's)
A player scored at least 30 points — Dec. 21, 2006 (Jonathan Wiley, 30 vs. Northwest Nazarene)
A player made at least 20 field goals — Dec. 15, 1972 (Roy McPipe, 20 vs. Dickinson State)
A player made at least 15 field goals — Feb. 16, 2001 (Dan Carter, 17 vs. Alaska Anchorage)
A player made at least 15 3-pointers — Feb. 12, 2000 (Markus Hallgrimson, 16 vs. Western New Mexico)
A player made at least 10 3-pointers — Nov. 21, 2005 (Cameron Munoz, 11 vs. Johnson & Wales)
A player made at least 5 3-pointers — Dec. 23, 2007 (John Brooks, 5 vs. Nebraska-Omaha)
A player made at least 20 free throws — Nov. 14, 1998 (Titus Warmsley, 22 vs. Queens)
A player made at least 15 free throws — Feb. 3, 2006 (Jonathan Wiley, 16 vs. Lincoln)
A player made at least 10 free throws — Feb. 19, 2007 (Jonathan Wiley, 13 vs. Dallas Baptist)
A player had at least 25 rebounds — Jan. 28, 1978 (Bill Mummert, 28 vs. Northern Montana)
A player had at least 20 rebounds — Feb. 10, 1981 (Russell Murrey, 21 vs. Rocky Mountain)
A player had at least 15 rebounds — Feb. 10, 2005 (Justin Hassell, 18 vs. Chaminade)
A player had at least 15 assists — Feb. 4, 2006 (Carlin Hughes, 15 vs. Lincoln)
A player had at least 10 assists — Jan. 20, 2007 (Eric Cunningham, 12 vs. Lincoln)
A player had a least 5 blocked shots — Feb. 19, 2004 (Bill Day, 5 vs. Chaminade)
A player had at least 10 steals — Feb. 5, 2004 (Jerett Skrifvars, 11 vs. Great Falls)
A player had at least 5 steals — Feb. 10, 2007 (Eric Cunningham, 5 vs. Incarnate Word)
A player had a triple-double — Feb. 26, 2005 (Carlin Hughes, 20p, 10r, 16a vs. Johnson & Wales


The team scored at least 140 points — Feb. 1, 2003 (146 vs. Western New Mexico)
The team scored at least 130 points — Jan. 28, 2006 (136 vs. St. Edward's)
The team scored at least 120 points — Feb. 3, 2006 (128 vs. Lincoln)
The team scored at least 110 points — Feb. 19, 2007 (111 vs. Texas-Permian Basin)
The team scored at least 100 points — Feb. 10, 2006 (107 vs. St. Mary's Texas)
The team allowed at least 100 points — Dec. 1, 2007 (103 vs. Colorado Christian)
The team made at least 50 field goals — Feb. 1, 2003 (51 vs. Western New Mexico)
The team made at least 40 field goals — Feb. 3, 2006 (40 vs. Lincoln)
The team shot over 70% from the field — Jan. 24, 1987 (71.7% vs. Alaska Anchorage)
The team shot over 60% from the field — Jan. 17, 2004 (61.3% vs. Green Mountain)
The team shot over 50% from the field — Jan. 20, 2007 (54.5% vs. Lincoln)
The team made at least 25 3-pointers — Feb. 18, 1999 (26 vs. Western New Mexico)
The team made at least 20 3-pointers — Feb. 3, 2006 (20 vs. Lincoln)
The team made at least 15 3-pointers — Feb. 17, 2007 (19 vs. Texas-Permian Basin)
The team made at least 45 free throws — Jan. 28, 2006 (46 vs. St. Edward's)
The team made at least 40 free throws — Feb. 8, 2005 (41 vs. Hawaii-Hilo)
The team made at least 30 free throws — Dec. 19, 2005 (33 vs. Emporia State)
The team had at least 50 rebounds — Jan. 4, 2006 (50 vs. Western New Mexico)
The team had at least 40 assists — Jan. 16, 2004 (40 vs. Green Mountain)
The team had at least 30 assists — Feb. 26, 2005 (30 vs. Johnson & Wales)
The team had at least 25 assists — Jan. 20, 2007 (26 vs. Lincoln)
The team had at least 10 blocked shots — Jan. 12, 2002 (10 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle)
The team had at least 5 blocked shots — Dec. 16, 2006 (6 vs. West Liberty State)
The team had at least 20 steals — Feb. 5, 2004 (28 vs. Great Falls)
The team had at least 15 steals — Feb. 19 2007 (12 vs. Dallas Baptist)


The School Records (records that include 2007-2008 in bold)

Points
Game - 1. Reece Gliko (54)
Season – 1. Roy McPipe (850)
Career – 1. Roy McPipe (1,883)

Field Goals

Game - 1. Roy McPipe (20/35)
Season – 1. Roy McPipe (346)
Career – 1. Roy McPipe (742)

Field Goal Percentage
Game - 1. Jerett Skrifvars (10-10), 100%) 1. James Washington (10-10, 100%)
Season – 1. Harvey Munford (65.2)
Career – 1. Jaysun Mims (62.66)

3-Pointers

Game - 1. Markus Hallgrimson (16/28) vs. Western New Mexico (NCAA Div. II Record)
Season – 1. Markus Hallgrimson (160)
Career – 1. Cameron Munoz (451)

3-Point Percentage
Game - 1. Mike McDowell (5-5, 100%) 1. Mitch Cole (5-5, 100%)
Season – 1. Lance Vaccarelli (50.00)
Career – 1. Pryor Orser (45.33)

Free Throws
Game - 1. Titus Warmsley (22/24)
Season – 1. Dan Retzer (291)
Career – 1. Le Heins (482)

Free Throw Percentage
Game - 1. Jerett Skrifvars (19/19, 100%)
Season – 1. Jay Harrie (93.47)
Career – 1. Tony Harmon (86.5)

Rebounds
Game - 1. Bill Mummert (28)
Season – 1. Jim Soft (480)
Career – 1. Jim Soft (1,338)

Assists
Game - 1. Carlin Hughes (16) 1. Jamie Stevens (16)
Season – 1. Carlin Hughes (269)
Career – 1. Jamie Stevens (805)

Blocked Shots
Game - 1. Mark Brewer (8)
Season – 1. Chris Herriford (55)
Career – 1. Chris Herriford (97)

Steals
Game - 1. Jerett Skrifvars (11)
Season – 1. Dominic Washington (90)
Career – 1. Jamie Stevens (167)


Schedule & Results

Day Date Opponent Time Location Results
Fri. 11/2 vs. Metro State^ 5 p.m. Anaheim, CA L, 72-55
Sat. 11/3 vs. Cal State San Bernardino^ 12 p.m. Anaheim, CA L, 84-52
Sun. 11/4 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan^ 4 p.m. Anaheim, CA L, 87-67
Fri. 11/23 vs. St. Cloud State 3 p.m. Omaha, NE L, 89-68
Sat. 11/17 at Nebraska-Omaha 8 p.m. Omaha, NE L, 113-56
Fri. 11/30 vs. Colorado School of Mines 5 p.m. Nampa, ID L, 114-70
Sat. 12/1 vs. Colorado Christian 3:30 p.m. Nampa, ID L, 103-69
Mon. 12/17 Rocky Mountain 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 88-79
Sat. 12/22 Nebraska-Omaha 1 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 88-77
Sun. 12/23 Nebraska-Omaha 1 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 98-85
Mon. 12/31 Montana Western 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 77-57
Sat. 1/5 Seattle* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 120-81
Thu. 1/10 Northwest Nazarene* 7:30 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 94-69
Sat. 1/12 Seattle Pacific* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym L, 62-56
Thu. 1/17 at Saint Martin's* 7 p.m. Lacey, WA  
Sat. 1/19 at Western Oregon* 7 p.m. Monmouth, OR  
Thu. 1/24 Alaska Fairbanks* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Sat. 1/26 Alaska Anchorage* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Thu. 1/31 at Western Washington* 7:30 p.m. Bellingham, WA  
Sat. 2/2 at Central Washington* 7 p.m. Ellensburg, WA  
Thu. 2/7 at Seattle Pacific* 7 p.m. Seattle, WA  
Sat. 2/9 at Northwest Nazarene* 7 p.m. Nampa, ID  
Thu. 2/14 Western Oregon* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Sat. 2/16 Saint Martin's* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Thu. 2/21 at Alaska Anchorage* 7 p.m. Anchorage, AK  
Sat. 2/23 at Alaska Fairbanks* 7 p.m. Fairbanks, AK  
Thu. 2/28 Central Washington* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Sat. 3/1 Western Washington* 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gym  
Sat. 3/8 at Seattle* 7 p.m. Seattle, WA  
Fri.-Mon. 3/14-17 NCAA West Regional TBA TBA  

The Coaches

Craig CarseCraig Carse, Head Coach
The 2007-2008 basketball season is head coach Craig Carse’s 13th at MSU Billings, making him the second-longest tenured coach in the history of a program that began in 1927.  In over 30 seasons as a collegiate coach, Carse has to his credit championships in the Presidents Athletic Conference, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Southeastern Conference, the Pacific West Conference, and the Heartland Conference.

The Yellowjackets have posted winning seasons in 10 of Carse’s 12 seasons for an overall record of 210-119.  Those 210 victories also rank Carse second in school history for career wins, trailing only Hall of Fame coach Mike Harkins who spent 16 years as the Jackets’ head coach. 

Carse’s success in Billings continues a pattern that has followed him across the country throughout his 30-year college career.  He has coached and taught the game of basketball from coast to coast as well as overseas.  Sixteen of those years have been as a head coach during which time Carse has built a 289-162 overall record, including a 210-119 record at MSU Billings.  At Alterowitz Gym, Carse's record is 163-19, one of the best home winning percentages in the nation at any level.

After a seven year run as an assistant at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in 1994 Carse went to work as Executive Vice-President of the United States Basketball Academy.  During that year, Carse developed an innovative style and system of play that features the strengths of individual players.  Incorporated in this were an up tempo attack, pressure defense, three pointers and substitutions galore.  That system has now turned the Yellowjackets into one of the top offensive teams in college basketball, leading the nation in scoring and 3-point shooting since 1995.

In 1995, Carse re-entered the world of collegiate coaching and took over a Yellowjacket program that had gone 5-21 the year before and had only one winning season in the previous four.  On the court he implemented the system that he had worked feverishly on the year before.  Off the court discipline was the new rule.  His players have since subscribed to rigorous direction designed to maintain excellence and high academic standards.  Carse's 12 MSU Billings seasons have seen over a 3.00 team grade point average.

This new philosophy changed the Yellowjackets’ fortunes almost immediately.  In Carse’s first season, MSU Billings advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years and won 20 games for only the second time in the 1990s.  Despite a limited roster, that first team in 1996 managed to lead the nation in three pointers and ranked third in scoring.

The next six years produced more of the same:  three more NCAA berths, three PacWest Conference Championships, a number of national, conference, and school records and Coach of the Year awards.  During that time, the Yellowjackets have led the nation in three pointers made per game in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006.  They were also the nation's leading scoring team in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002 with second place rankings in 1999, 2003 and 2006. 

Of Carse’s many recruits over the years, several have advanced to professional careers.  While at LSU, Carse was the primary recruiter of Chris Jackson, Stanley Roberts, Shaquille O'Neal, Gerrt Hammink and Ronnie Henderson.  All were NBA draft picks with O'Neal being the #1 and Jackson a #3 selection.  At small West Virginia State, Carse also produced NBA selections.  Both Ron Moore and Ronnie Legette were drafted a few months after playing in the NAIA National Championship game.  From MSU Billings, the Yellowjackets’ All-American Titus Warmsley has been invited to the camp of the Boston Celtics and other players have played overseas.

Carse took over the program at West Virginia State in 1983-84.  In just his second season, Carse's team went 17-11 in 1984-85.  In his final two seasons at the school, the Yellow Jackets went 57-8 with conference, tournament, and district championships.  Carse guided West Virginia State to the NAIA national title game in 1987 and left the school with a 79-43 record.

After playing LSU in a Hawaii tournament that year, longtime mentor Dale Brown offered Carse a position as an assistant on his staff.  Carse was to become LSU's primary recruiter and Brown's top aide.   During Carse's time as assistant coach, the Tigers were one of the most successful teams in the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA.  The Tigers advanced to six-straight NCAA Tournaments and were ranked as high as #1 nationally.

Carse has coached and participated in National Championship Tournaments at every stop and at the NAIA, NCAA I, NCAA II, and NCAA III levels.   His first position as an assistant at Bethany College, West Virginia, in 1977-1978 produced a Presidents Conference Championship and trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.  At Salem in West Virginia, from 1978 through 1983, he helped guide the program to a West Virginia Conference power with conference championships and an NAIA tournament berth.  Bethany, Salem, West Virginia State, and Montana State Billings all had suffered losing campaigns before Carse's arrival.

Carse is a noted speaker and clinician.  He has lectured and taught the game of basketball nationally and internationally, including a trip to Australia with the Yellowjackets.  Carse has represented the United States in Europe where he lectured at the Super Cup.  He has also instructed the Chinese National Teams.

A native of Sistersville, West Virginia, Carse is completing his 33rd year in college basketball, 30 as a coach and three as a player.  He and his wife of 30 years have two children, David (27) and Lindsey (23).  Carse earned undergraduate degrees from Bethany College in West Virginia and a masters degree from the West Virginia University.

Mike McShaneMike McShane, Assistant Coach
Mike McShane enters his first year at the assistant men's basketball coach at MSU Billings after playing point guard for the Yellowjackets during the 1999-2000 season.

Raised in Oregon, McShane in the son of John and Jane and is one of six children.  McShane's love for basketball began at an early age and stemmed from family roots in the game.  His uncle played at Oregon State during the glory years of the "Orange Express" under coach Ralph Miller, and his older sister Anne was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon while playing high school basketball at Oregon City High.

In high school, McShane assisted his team in winning the state title and three league championships.   He also received first team all-state honors.  McShane played for Barry Adams who had over 600 wins, the most in Oregon history.

In college, McShane played three seasons at the University of Oregon before transferring to MSU Billings as a senior.  As a Yellowjacket he averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game.  McShane made his mark in the record books and still ranks 11th for single season field goal percentage (59.10), 4th for assists (214) and assists per game (8.2), and 4th for steals (63).  He also ranks second in school history for steals in a single game (7).

Following his time on the collegiate basketball court, McShane played professional basketball in China for one season before playing three seasons in Australia for the Rockhampton Rockets.  He also served as head coach of the women's professional team in Australia for one season.

McShane graduated with his degree in Health and Human Performance in 2001 from MSUB and will pursue his masters in Sport Management while coaching the Yellowjackets.

McShane is married to his high school sweetheart Alisha, who is a certified Ayurveda, Yoga, and meditation instructor in Encinitas, Calif..  Together they have a 16 month old daughter named Stella.

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