Wednesday, January 17, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – The best game of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season to date is scheduled for Thursday night at Marcus Pavilion, when two-time reigning champion No. 3 Saint Martin’s (14-1, 4-1 GNAC) plays host to first-place Montana State Billings (12-4, 6-0) at 7 p.m. (Pacific).

It will be the first meeting of the season between the conference’s top two teams, with the rematch scheduled for Feb. 15 at Alterowitz Gym in Billings. The Yellowjackets, who finished as the GNAC runner-up in 2022-23, are off to a perfect start in their league schedule as they pursue their first-ever GNAC regular-season title. “We are looking forward to another great GNAC matchup on Thursday,” said first-year Yellowjacket head coach Luke Fennelly on Thursday’s clash with the Saints. “These are the type of games you want to play in. Saint Martin’s is well-coached and their roster is extremely talented and experienced. It will certainly be a great test.”

The Saints meanwhile, are carving their path towards becoming just the second team since the conference was founded in 2001-02 to win three consecutive regular-season crowns (former member Humboldt State won a share of the league’s first two titles from 2001-03 and claimed the 2003-04 crown outright). “MSUB hasn’t lost any GNAC games, so they’re the best team in the GNAC right now,” said fourth-year SMU head coach Aaron Landon. “They’re tough, experienced and well-coached. All of us want to be where they are, and Thursday is our opportunity to get there.”

The Yellowjackets won 72-61 at home last season on Jan. 12, 2023, but the Saints got an important revenge victory 84-61 in Lacey on Feb. 11, 2023 on their way to edging the ‘Jackets by one game for last year’s championship. The Saints lead the all-time series between the teams 21-18, are 12-8 in games played at Marcus Pavilion and over the last decade hold an 11-7 upper hand in head-to-head matchups. Four of those losses have come in the last three seasons however, as the Yellowjackets are 4-2 against the conference champions dating back to the 2019-20 campaign.

GREELEY NAMED TO BEVO FRANCIS TOP-100 WATCH LIST: The initial Bevo Francis Award top-100 list featured the name of Saint Martin’s senior guard Kyle Greeley, who has led his team to a 14-1 start to the season. Greeley earned his way on to the list for the award, which honors the top player within small college basketball annually, by averaging 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through the first half of the 2023-24 season. The third-year Saint has reached double figures in scoring in every game this season, and is coming off a season-high 31 points in his team’s win over Western Washington on Jan. 6 after which he was named the GNAC Player of the Week.

Along with Greeley, who ranks third in the GNAC in scoring and fourth in rebounding, the Saints have relied on the veteran leadership of Jaden Nielsen-Skinner and Tyke Thompson thus far. Thompson ranks ninth in the conference with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Nielsen-Skinner is second in the league with 4.5 assists per game. The Saints have one of the deepest teams in all of Division II basketball, entering the week ranking seventh in the country in bench points per game with 41.07.

CAN DEFENSIVE-MINDED ‘JACKETS SLOW DOWN HIGH-SCORING SAINTS? Last week Montana State Billings had to find a way to beat the fifth-leading offense in Division II, and came through with flying colors in a 97-84 win over Western Washington (93.6 ppg). The Yellowjackets will face a similar test Thursday as the Saints enter the week second in the GNAC and 19th in Division II with 87.6 points per game. The Yellowjackets hold the conference’s second-leading defense allowing just 68.3 points per game, but the Saints have a GNAC-best scoring margin of plus-17.8 which ranks them sixth nationally. The Saints also rank seventh nationally in rebounding margin at plus-8.7, lead the GNAC in field-goal percentage defense at 38.6 percent and lead the conference in perimeter shooting at 38.9 percent.

At the center of MSUB’s success against the Vikings and in their 73-61 win over Simon Fraser (2-14, 0-5) was reigning GNAC Player of the Week Daniel Moody. The GNAC Newcomer of the Year candidate posted just the eighth triple-double in conference history and the second this season, scoring 24 points while adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the win over the Vikings. In his first season after transferring from UT Permian Basin, Moody leads the GNAC in rebounding with 8.4 boards per game, while ranking seventh in scoring with 13.8 points per game.

The Yellowjackets have also relied on a breakout campaign from Jalen Tot, who ranks ninth in the league in scoring with 13.3 points per game, and the resurgence of seventh-year senior Zharon Richmond who is 16th in the league with 12.8 points per game.

Read More: ‘Jackets Win 6th Game In A Row (MSUB Recap)

TEAM OF THE WEEK LOOKS TO KEEP ROLLING: Alaska Anchorage (13-3, 3-2) earned the GNAC Team of the Week nod after hard-fought home victories against Central Washington (75-61 last Thursday) and Northwest Nazarene (71-68 last Saturday). UAA has won four in-a-row heading into Thursday’s tie against Western Washington at Sam Carver Gym in Bellingham. It’s one of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend as it pits the No. 2 scoring defense in all of Division II basketball (UAA, 60.5 ppg allowed) against the league’s top scoring offense in WWU which ranks fifth nationally with 93.6 points per game. In particular the arc will be a point of contention on Thursday evening, as the Seawolves lead the country in 3-point field-goal percentage defense at 25.9 percent while WWU ranks third in the conference from the arc at 38.7 percent.

While Western Washington (10-6, 2-3) is in the midst of its longest skid of the season at three, the Vikings have maintained that they can keep pace offensively with any opponent they face. WWU is set for a bounce-back week against the Seawolves and then against Alaska (3-10, 1-4) on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Kai Johnson continues to lead the conference in scoring with 21.4 points per game, a figure that ranks him 15th last year. Will Wilson is chipping in 15.9 points per game and Nic Welp is sixth in the conference in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game.

NIGHTHAWKS, WILDCATS SQUARE OFF SATURDAY: A pair of teams seeking to keep themselves in the upper half of the GNAC standings are set to square off on Saturday night at Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg, as Central Washington (10-5, 3-3) plays host to Northwest Nazarene (8-6, 4-2). Both teams are coming off a split last week in the Last Frontier, with NNU gutting out a 96-93, double-overtime win in Fairbanks and the Wildcats claiming a similarly-narrow 69-65 triumph over the Nanooks.

Read More: Wildcats Take Down Nanooks 69-65 (CWU Recap)

Gabriel Murphy leads NNU in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg), ranking third in the GNAC in the latter category. His battle on the glass against CWU’s Samaad Hector, who ranks second in the conference with 7.9 rebounds per game, will be of central focus in the teams’ lone game on the calendar this week.

Read More: Nighthawks Outlast Nanooks In Double Overtime (NNU Recap)

ANDERSON LEADS SURGING FALCONS INTO WEST COAST CLASHES: Seattle Pacific (10-9, 3-3) looks to ride the momentum of back-to-back wins into a short weekend trip down the I5 corridor, as the Falcons take on Western Oregon (4-9, 1-4) on Thursday night in Monmouth before facing the Saints in Lacey on Saturday. Shaw Anderson, who is second in the GNAC and 32nd nationally with 20.3 points per game, put up 17 points and a season-high nine rebounds in SPU’s 83-63 win over Simon Fraser last week. WWU was able to limit the scoring threat to just 11 points last Saturday, but the Falcons used a balanced attack of five double-figure scorers including a game-high 18 from Trace Evans to beat the Vikings 89-74 at Brougham Pavilion.

Read More: Falcons Travel South To Play Wolves And Saints (SPU Preview)

Dillon Barrientos, Alaska Anchorage

Look for Barrientos, a junior guard from Santa Clarita, Calif., to play an integral role in Thursday’s game against the Vikings. Reaching his stride at the midway point of the season, Barrientos has had three of his five top scoring performances in his last three games, while shooting a red-hot 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from beyond the arc in that span. Barrientos also had a season-high eight rebounds in last week’s 75-61 win over Central Washington, and approached triple-double territory with 15 points and eight assists in the game. Barrientos ranks third in the GNAC this season with 3.9 assists per game, while averaging 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists. The College of the Canyons transfer could be a player in the GNAC Newcomer of the Year conversation over the next two months.

Read More: UAA Men Bound For Border Battles At WWU, SFU (UAA Preview)

The Saints extended their winning streak to seven games, rising to the highest ranking of any GNAC team this season at No. 3 in the latest NABC top-25 poll. The Yellowjackets soared to No. 6 in the newest D2CSC regional rankings, marking their highest spot of the season and up four spots from being No. 10 last week. Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage were the other GNAC teams to receive votes in the latest regional poll, compiled by a voting cast of Division II media relations professionals.

With non-conference play having concluded for the 2023-24 season, the GNAC realized notable success among the three NCAA Division II west region conferences. GNAC schools went 29-23 (.558) against CCAA and PacWest opposition during early season competition. Saint Martin’s led the way going 5-0 against the PacWest and 2-0 against the CCAA, while Central Washington went 4-2 against regional foes.

Read More: GNAC Post Winning Marks Against CCAA, PacWest Hoops Opposition (GNAC Commissioner’s Corner)

Through games Jan. 15.