Jacket Men Set to Host Battlin’ Bears

BILLINGS, Mont. –  The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team will play host to cross-town rival Rocky Mountain College on Monday, December 17th.  The 7:00 p.m. game will be the only meeting of the season between the Yellowjackets and Bears.

The Bears, currently 8-3 overall and ranked 24th in the national NAIA poll, are led by Billings’ local Chase Sukut’s 19.6 points per game.  Sukut is shooting 53 percent from the floor and leads RMC from the perimeter knocking down 23 three-pointers.  Senior Elijah Swan has been steady from all facets averaging 16.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.  Swan has grabbed a team-leading 1.9 steals per game.  Devin Uskoski has pulled down a team-leading 7.4 boards per game and has chipped in an average 14.6 points per game.  In all, five Bears are averaging more than 10 points per game.

As a team RMC is 54 percent from the field and has drilled 83 three-pointers on 182 attempts for 46 percent efficiency.  The Bears are shooting 73 percent from the charity stripe and have out-rebounded their opponents 34-30.  The team is holding a 12-point margin of victory over their opponents this season.

The Yellowjackets, fielding a team comprised mostly of freshmen talent, have seen their share of struggles early in the season as they find themselves still searching for their first win.  The Yellowjackets’ Kyle Palmer (Baton Rouge, Louis.) will return to the line up after missing the last five games due to a hand injury.  Aaron Terry (Moreno Valley, Calif.) leads the team in scoring averaging 13.6 points per game, while his teammate John Brooks (Perris, Calif.) is chipping in 11.6 points per game.  Tyler Hentzen (Brea, Calif.) has pulled down a team-leading 6.3 boards per game with Brett Taylor (Billings) leading the perimeter attack with 14 three-pointers.

MSUB is 36 percent from the field and has connected on 55-of-200 attempts from behind the arc for 28 percent.  The Jackets are 62 percent from the free throw line and have been out-rebounded 46-33 by their opponents.

Following Monday’s game against Rocky, the Yellowjackets will host Nebraska-Omaha in a pair of game December 22 and 23.  Tip off is slated for 1:00 p.m. for both games.  Free live stats, free internet broadcast, and live video streaming will be provided for all games and can be found on the Yellowjackets web site.