(MSUB Athletics release)
BILLINGS – Three Montana State University Billings basketball players earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors announced by the league office on Tuesday. Junior Tyler Green earned second team all-conference for the first time in his career while senior Zack Rollins and freshman Brendan Howard were both named all-conference honorable mentions. Howard was also tabbed GNAC freshman of the year after leading the Yellowjackets in scoring during the regular season.
“Tyler Green is very deserving of this all-conference honor as he’s been our catalyst from day one,” commented MSUB head coach Mick Durham. “He was really determined to have a good season and accomplished that goal. Zack and Brendan getting recognized also says a lot about our program. We gained a lot of respect this year with three guys being recognized and I am proud of all of them.”
Green finished sixth in the GNAC with 15.5 points per game and led the league in 3-point field goals with 93 (3.3 per game). Starting all 28 games for MSU Billings, Green was named GNAC player of the week two twice this season. He shot .434 from the field and .425 from three-point range, finishing the year with 435 points, 75 rebounds, 102 assists, and 29 steals. Green ranked 21st in free throw percentage, ninth in 3-point percentage, and sixth in minutes played.
Green is from Redding, California and previously attending Humboldt State University before joining the ‘Jackets for his sophomore season in 2017-18.
Rollins earned all-GNAC honorable mention for the second straight year after following up his strong junior campaign with another good offensive season. As a senior, Rollins averaged 14 points per game (third) and started all 28 regular season games. He was tabbed GNAC player of the week for the last week of November after posting a career high 30 points against Alaska Anchorage and 16 points against Alaska Fairbanks in the first week of conference play. The Pelham, New York native averaged 30 minutes per game and had 131 rebounds (third), 66 assists, and 30 steals during the regular season.
Rollins also shot a .408 field goal percentage and made 67 three-pointers which was sixth most in the conference. Rollins finished eighth in the GNAC for free throw percentage, 22nd in rebounding, eighth in scoring, 17th in steals, and sixth in 3-point field goals made. Rollins earned all-GNAC honorable mention last season after leading the Yellowjackets in scoring at 15 points per game.
Howard earned the distinctions of all-GNAC honorable mention and GNAC freshman of the year after becoming the team’s top scorer this season. Howard played 28 games (23 minutes per game) and collected 15.6 points per contest with 5.1 rebounds. Howard shot .532 from the floor and .310 from long-range with 22 made 3-pointers. Howard also made frequent trips to the free throw line and led the ‘Jackets with 60 made free throws and a percentage of .706.
In the conference, Howard ranked fifth in scoring, 19th in rebounding, 14th in field goal percentage, and ninth in offensive rebounds. Howard spent last season as a redshirt at Eastern Washington, then made an immediate impact for the Yellowjackets as the GNAC’s top freshman.
No. 5 seed Montana State Billings is slated to play No. 4 seed Western Oregon University Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Bellingham, Washington in the conference quarterfinals. The winner will earn a semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed Saint Martin’s University Friday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. MSUB is making its fourth appearance in the championships and its first since 2016-17.
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live on GNAC.tv with available live statistics. Other tournament information and schedules can be located at the Championship Central homepage on GNACSports.com
