ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team hosts Montana State Billings as the hunt for the postseason continues.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, Feb. 6
Vs Montana State Billings
7:30 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion
Ellensburg, WA
 
QUOTABLE
"Montana State Billings has three of the top scorers in the conference in Howard, Green, and Richmond," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "They are very versatile and potent offensively."

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
The Yellowjackets are 9-11 overall and 4-8 in GNAC play.  They are currently in ninth place and three games out of the sixth and final GNAC Championship qualifying spot.  Billings still has to play seven of the top eight teams and have so far posted a record of 1-6 against the top side of the conference table.
 
Montana State Billings split its games last week.  The 'Jackets defeated Concordia, 80-70, but fell to Western Oregon University, 98-75, at home. Over their last four games, all at home, MSUB is 1-3.  They have the sixth ranked offense in the GNAC, averaging 77.1 points per game and are the eighth ranked defense at 79.9 points per game.  They are shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. 
 
Rebounding is a strong part of Mick Durham's 'Jackets' game.  They lead the GNAC with a team best 38.1 rebounds per game.  They are also third in blocked shots per game, knocking down 3.3 shots per game.
 
Leading the offense is the GNAC's second best scorer in Brendan Howard.  He is averaging 22 points per game, placing him 27^th in the nation. 
 
Tyler Green is seventh in the GNAC with 15.8 points per game. He is also fourth in the conference with 3.5 assists per game.  He has been near perfect at the charity stripe, knocking down 48-53 attempts (90.6 percent). 
 
Zach Richmond is averaging 19.0 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. Richmond has played in 60 percent of MSUB's games and to be ranked in the GNAC one must play in 66 percent of the total games. Where he to qualify, Richmond would be third in the GNAC in points per game and leading the league in rebounds per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington is currently on a three-game winning streak, knocking off Simon Fraser, Western Washington, and Northwest Nazarene.
 
Jeryn Lucas dropped 28 points against Northwest Nazarene as they picked up a 64-59 victory.
 
Things were slow to start for both squads as CWU led by just one, 6-5, in the first five minutes of play. Both teams had good looks in the early going but were unable to get a rhythm going by the first media timeout.
 
Missed shot opportunities plagued both squads as it was just a 13-13 tie with 9:03 to play in the first half. Both the Wildcats and Nighthawks looked to play at a high tempo pace, but they shot just a combined 12-33 in the first 11 minutes of action. CWU was 6-17 overall, while NNU was 6-16 from the floor.
 
The Nighthawks managed to grab a lead in the final five minutes of action. Not helping the Wildcats in the first half in any way was their three-point shooting. They were just 2-9 in the first half and went into halftime trailing by two, 30-28.
 
Helping NNU get into the locker room with the slim lead was late buckets in the final five minutes of play. CWU shot just 33.3% in the first half, while NNU was at 42.9% on 12-28 made shots. Both teams in nearly even in every major statistical category.
 
Lucas was the go-to man for the Wildcats in the first 20 minutes scoring 20 points off the bench. Despite the team struggling to make shots, he was 4-7 overall and 2-3 from three-point range.
 
The Nighthawks looked to keep some separation from the Wildcats in the start of the second half, but a persistent Wildcats team did not let that happen. A tough layup by Kevin Baker with just under 17 to play in the second tied the game at 34-34, setting up an exciting second half.
 
The game continued to go back-and-forth as time carried on. With just under eight minutes to play, CWU found itself in front 47-46. It extended to 50-46 at the 7:13 mark when Lucas in a contested three. The Nighthawks quickly answered with back-to-back shots in transition to tie the contest at 50-50.
 
Northwest Nazarene went on a 7-0 run, staking out a 57-52 lead after a pair of free throws from Lucas, with 3:29 left to play in regulation.  Undeterred, the Wildcats marched down the floor and found Lucas open for a mid-range jumper. A layup from Bezzant made it 59-54 in favor of the Nighthawks.  Davon Bolton knocked down a trey on the Wildcats' next possession, making it 59-57.  With 2:06 remaining, Lucas was sent to the line again.  He knocked down both of chances from the charity stripe, making it a brand-new game with just 126 seconds left. 
 
The Nighthawks took possession, but Poquette stole it away from Olamilekan Adetunji and ended up getting sent to the line.  He knocked down both of his free throws to put the Wildcats ahead 61-59.  Central added a trio of free throws over the last 30 seconds for the 64-59 victory. Northwest Nazarene failed to make a basket in the last 2:06.
 
Central Washington's reserves chipped in 35 points, 28 from Lucas.  The Wildcats scored 14 points in the paint, 11 points off turnovers, and had 10 second chance points. Poquette led Central in rebounding, hauling in seven boards.