Yellowjackets Open George Pfeifer Era at No. 11 Gonzaga

Complete Release

The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team begins the George Pfeifer era at No. 11 Gonzaga Saturday at 4 p.m. in the McCarthey Athletic Center on the campus of Gonzaga University.

The Yellowjackets are coming off a 1-28 year overall and a 1-17 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Gonzaga enters after finishing the2007-08 season 25-8 and 13-1 in the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs had a first round exit in the NCAA Tournament last season with an 82-76 loss
to Davidson.

MSUB returns six players from a year ago and have nine new faces, including two Divsion I transfers in Mike Hall and Travis Bunker. Hall comes to MSUB from Idaho where he played for Pfeifer last season.  Bunker transfers to the Yellowjackets after one year at Wyoming. Along with Hall and Bunker, Pfeifer added junior college players Derrick Wright and Mario Burns from Western Oklahoma State College as well as two transfers from Grays Harbor Community College in Lance Anderson and Brad Hodge.

Leading the returners are Brett Taylor, Kirk Blaine and Troy Ruff. Taylor leads the returners averaging 8.2 points per game. He had a team-high 62 made 3-pointers as a freshman last season. Blaine averaged 7.0 points and pulled down 3.9 rebounds per game and is second among returners with 113 rebounds from a year ago behind Tyler Hentzen who had 139 boards.

MSUB is 50-102 all-time against current Division I opponents. MSUB last played a Division I opponent during the 2004-05 season at BYU, Jan. 11, 2005. The Yellowjackets last beat a Division I opponent as they upset Oregon State in Corvallis, 79-75, Jan. 3, 1996.

The Yellowjackets last were on television when they faced BYU in a 110-70 loss on Jan. 11, 2005.

Gonzaga returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from a year ago.  Among the returners are Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytvelt, and Matt Bouldin.  Pargo is the reigning WCC Player of the Year, while Bouldin and Heytvelt have all-conference potential.