Game 16 - BYU Hosts MSU-Billings Tuesday

BYU (5-10, 0-1 MWC) faces its final non-league opponent Tuesday before returning to MWC play when the Cougars host the Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets (8-4, 0-3 Pacific West Conference) at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game is not being televised. The radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 (KSL.com).

UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS

BYU takes its first MWC road trip to play Colorado State Saturday in Fort Collins in a 1 p.m. start (ESPN+, KJZZ-TV). BYU then faces Wyoming in Laramie Monday at 10 p.m. on ESPN.

STUDENT TICKET DISTRIBUTION FOR BYU-UTAH GAME TAKES PLACE TUESDAY AT 5 P.M.

Student-ticket distribution for this season's BYU vs. Utah men's basketball game will take place Tuesday, Jan. 11, prior to the BYU vs. Montana State-Billings game. Distribution begins at 5 p.m. at the northeast entrance of the Marriott Center. This year's BYU-Utah game is a nationally televised ESPN Big Monday contest starting at 10 p.m. on Jan. 31. Students may pick up one ticket with a BYU All-Sport Card and may carry up to two All-Sport Cards. Any remaining student tickets not distributed Tuesday will be available to All-Sport Card holders at the BYU Ticket Office during regular business hours while supplies last. Students will not be able to attend the BYU-Utah game without obtaining a ticket.

BYU GAME #16 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (5-10, 0-1 MWC) vs. MONTANA STATE-BILLINGS (8-4, 0-3 PACWEST)

TUESDAY, JAN. 11, 2005

MARRIOTT CENTER (22,700)

PROVO, UTAH 7:05 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (134-97 in eighth season; same overall)

MSUB, Craig Carse (174-85 in 10th season; 257-127 in 14th year overall)

Series: First meeting

TV: None

Radio:

KSL 1160, BYU Sports Network (Greg Wrubell calls play-by-play with Mark Durrant adding commentary)

Web:

Live audio and live stats are available at byucougars.com/basketball_m/ (select 2004-05 schedule)

COUGAR QUICK HITS

- The 10 BYU players averaging double-digit minutes this season include six sophomores, three seniors and one freshman. Of BYU's freshmen top-20 signing class, only F/C Chris Miles is currently playing (11.5 minutes). Both David Burgess (ankles) and Trent Plaisted (knees) are currently out while top guard prospect and Arizona Player of the Year Lee Cummard has not been with the Cougars this season after opting to serve an LDS Church mission. After returning early, he will join the Cougars next season.

- Senior guard Mike Hall leads BYU in scoring at (13.7 ppg). Sophomore guard Mike Rose adds 9.7 ppg and senior center Jared Jensen contributes 9.5 ppg. Sophomore swingman Keena Young leads BYU in rebounding (5.7 rpg) while sophomore center Derek Dawes and sophomore forward Garner Meads both add 5.1 rpg.

- BYU's tough schedule has included four Pac-10 opponents this season and two nationally ranked ACC teams (North Carolina and NC State). BYU's wins are over Chaminade (77-56), Boise State (90-77), Weber State (79-61), Southern Utah (77-52) and Santa Clara (87-74).

LOOKING AT MONTANA STATE-BILLINGS

The Division II Yellowjackets are currently 8-4 on the season, including a 1-3 mark on the road and a 90-58 loss to BYU opponent Chaminade. Senior forward Justin Hassell leads MSU-Billings in both points per game (17.4) and rebounds per game (7.8) after spending last season on the sidelines with a medical redshirt. Cameron Munoz, a 6-3 sophomore guard, also adds 17.4 points per game and has made a team-best 90 percent of his free throws on the year (36-40). Junior guard Buddy Windy Boy and freshman forward Lucas Walker contribute 15.8 and 14.1 points respectively. Walker is also second on the team in rebounding with 6.3 per game while 6-4 sophomore forward Cody Samuelson is third, pulling down 6.0 boards per outing. Freshman forward Jonathan Wiley leads the Yellowjackets in field goal percentage with a .553 (26-47) mark while Windy Boy is tops from three-point range with a 49.5 percent efficiency (47-95), which ranks fifth in the nation among Division II teams. As a team, MSU-Billings averages 88.1 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from field goal range, including 36.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Yellowjackets allow their opponents to score 84.7 points per game on 45.9 percent field goal shooting, 36.3 percent three-point shooting and 70.9 percent shooting from the line. Opponents out-rebound MSU-Billings 42.5 to 36.6 rebounds per game. Head coach Craig Carse is 176-85 in his tenth season with the Yellowjackets. Under Carse, MSU-Billings has won seven national Division II three-point titles and five national Division II scoring titles. As of the last national rankings (released Jan. 2), the Yellowjackets were ranked third in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (11.1) and fifth in scoring offense (94.8 points per game) among Division II teams.

YELLOWJACKETS COMING OFF THREE LOSSES IN HAWAII

HILO, HAWAII -- The Montana State-Billings men's basketball team has probably never been as happy to say aloha to Hawaii as they were after Saturday's 106-85 loss at Hawaii-Hilo.ý The Yellowjackets dropped all three of their PacWest Conference games in Hawaii this week, falling to 8-4 overall and 0-3 in the PacWest.ý Twenty-fifth ranked Hawaii-Hilo improved to 15-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. MSU-Billings was outscored by an average of 22.7 points a game on the trip.ý Despite scoring 85 points on Saturday, the Jackets still managed to average just 68.0 points through the three games. They entered the week averaging a lofty 94.8 points. The result of Saturday's game wasn't in doubt by the ten minute mark of the first half.ý Hawaii-Hilo's Brian Graham hit one of his five 3-pointers at the 14:11 mark to give the Vulcans an 11 point lead.ý UH-Hilo stretched its lead to 21 with 9:03 to play in the half and built it to 64-39 by the break. The first 10 minutes of the second half didn't treat the Yellowjackets any kinder as the Vulcans increased their lead to 41 at 90-41 with 10:21 to play.ý UH-Hilo led by as many as 42 before the Yellowjackets cut into the deficit over the final six minutes.ý Six of the Jackets' 13 3-pointers came during that span. Justin Hassell (Sr., Brooklyn, NY) led the Yellowjackets with 19 points before fouling out with more than 10 minutes to play.ýCarlin Hughes (Fr., Perth, Western Australia) added 17 points and was 5-of-10 from behind the arc Buddy Windy Boy (Jr., Lodge Grass, MT) finished with 11 points and a team-high four assists. Cody Samuelson (So., Broadus, MT) came off the bench to net nine points for MSU-Billings. Jonathan Wiley (So., Westlake Village, CA) added eight points. Freshman Drew Arnold (Tempe, AZ) led the team with five rebounds and had six points. MSU-Billings was out rebounded 40-23. Five players scored in double figures for Hawaii-Hilo. Skip Esene led all players with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting.ýHe also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Brian Graham finished with 19 points, and Alex Graham added 12.ý Alex Cabagnot and Steven McMaryion each finished with 11 points.

MONTANA STATE-BILLINGS' POSSIBLE STARTERS

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 01 Hassell, Justin 6-5 Sr. 17.4 7.8

F 21 Wiley, Jonathan 6-6 Fr. 7.2 5.3

F 04 Walker, Lucas 6-8 Fr. 14.1 6.3

G 05 Windy Boy, Buddy 6-6 Jr. 15.8 2.9

G 23 Munoz, Cameron 6-3 So. 17.4 2.0

SERIES NOTES

Tuesday's game is the first meeting between the Cougars and Yellowjackets.

BYU's LAST OUTING - COUGARS FALL TO SDSU IN HEARTBREAKER

PROVO -- BYU's men's basketball team lost to the San Diego State Aztecs 59-57 on the final shot to open Mountain West Conference play Saturday in the Marriott Center. The Cougars started the game strong with a lot of energy, jumping on the Aztecs with a 10-0 run. Behind quick scoring from senior Mike Hall and aggressive play from freshman Chris Miles, BYU took control of the game early, leading 28-19 at the half. However, with turnovers plaguing the Cougars in the second half and almost no offense in critical situations, SDSU clawed their way back to take the lead 42-40 with 10:31 remaining in the game. "We didn't have a real good offense tonight," BYU head coach Steve Cleveland said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't score more." BYU closed the gap, but crucial mistakes resulting in turnovers by the Cougars in the waning moments allowed SDSU to capitalize. With one second left and the scored tied at 57, the Aztecs' Chris Walton hit the falling away game-winning shot. "The players are hurting and if you've never played the game, you won't understand," Cleveland said. Hall led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points, while Jared Jensen added 10. Five different Cougar players had six or more rebounds; Jensen (7), Hall (6), Mike Rose (6), Austin Ainge (6), and Garner Meads (6), contributing to a season-high total of 47. Until this game, BYU had been 5-0 when leading with five minutes remaining in the game. "What you'll remember from this game is the mistakes in the last minutes," Cleveland said. With the loss BYU falls to 5-10 on the season while the Aztecs move to 7-7. BYU next plays Montana State-Billings to finish out non-conference action January 11 at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.

FREE THROW STREAK

The Cougars set a school record by making 33 consecutive free throws until finally misfiring against San Diego State. BYU set a single-game record to start the streak by making 24 straight free throws against Santa Clara on Dec. 31. The 33 straight free throws spanned three games.

MODEL OF EFFICIENCY

Jared Jensen has made 19 straight free throws over the last six games. The BYU individual record for consecutive free throw made is 32 by Mike Smith in 1989. Jared Jensen has also made 26 of his last 37 field goal attempts (.703). On the season Jensen leads the team in both categories, shooting .588 from the floor and .875 from the line.

GOING TO THE BOARDS

Jared Jensen's seven rebounds against San Diego State gave him back-to-back season-high rebounding performances. He also had seven rebounds at Saint Mary's. In the first 12 games of the season, Jensen averaged 3.2 rebounds but over the last three games he is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Six BYU players had five or more rebounds against San Diego State, which contributed to BYU's season-high 47 rebounds.

CURRENT BYU WIN/LOSS STREAKS ...

At home 0-1

On the road 0-1

On a neutral floor 0-1

At home vs. Nonconference 2-0

At home vs. MWC 0-1

On the road vs. Nonconference 0-1

On the road vs. MWC 3-0

On a neutral floor vs. Nonconference 0-1

On a neutral floor vs. MWC 0-1

at regular season tournament 1-0

at MWC Tournament 0-1

at NCAA Tournament 0-5

at NIT 0-1