Men's Basketball November 20, 2025 Claire Gay, UMW Sports Information

#24 Bulldogs Men’s Basketball Travels to Valley City State and Mayville State

DILLON, Mont. – The #24 Montana Western men's basketball program (5-1) opens Frontier Conference play on the road at new conference foes Valley City State (4-1, 0-1 FC) and Mayville State (5-1, 1-0 FC).

SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 21
@ Valley City State – 6 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats

Saturday, Nov. 22
@ Mayville State – 6 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
UMW split at the Montana Tech Tip-Off Classic Nov. 7-8. The Bulldogs fell to (RV) LC State 83-60 before defeating OUAZ 92-73.

Against the Warriors, the Bulldogs shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-21) from three, and 72.2 percent (13-18) from the free-throw line. Western registered 36 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals. Emanuel Steward led the team with a season-high 25 points. Billy Carlson pulled down a team-best six boards. Jacob Ankeny topped the team in both assists (two) and blocks (three). Three different players tallied one steal apiece.

Against the Spirit, UMW shot 49.1 percent (27-55) from the floor, 47.1 percent (8-17) from distance, and 83.3 percent (30-36) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs tallied 32 rebounds, nine assists, seven steals, and three blocks. Kyle Gruhler paced the team with 22 points, followed by David Young with a season-high 21. Carlson once again led the team on the glass with seven rebounds and also dished out a team-high three assists. Young snagged a team-best three steals. Three players swatted one block each.

BEHIND THE BARK
UMW is putting up 83.2 points, 38.8 rebounds, and 12.2 assists so far in 2025-26. The Bulldogs are shooting 45.0 percent from the floor, 36.4 percent from three, and 73.5 percent from the foul line. They are also earning 4.7 steals and 4.7 blocks per game.

Kyle Gruhler leads the team with 23.7 points per game, followed by Emanuel Steward at 18.0. Billy Carlson is grabbing a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game with Joshua Whiteside close behind at 4.2. Steward is handing out 2.2 assists per game while Kolter Merritt and David Young share the team lead in steals (0.8 apiece). Jacob Ankeny swats a team-high 1.7 blocks per game.

HOT START
Western has started the season 5-1 for the first time since the 2023-24 season.

LIGHT WORK
Western has beaten opponents by 15 or more points in each of its five wins on the year. Through six games the team has a scoring margin of +12.0 points.

FROM DOWNTOWN
UMW has hit at least eight threes in all but one contest this season and is averaging 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.

CRASH THE BOARDS
Western has pulled down 35 or more rebounds in five-of-six games on the campaign, including 40 or more on three occasions.

SHARING THE WEALTH
11 different Bulldogs have tallied an assist this season, with seven recording five or more. Additionally, 12 players have pulled down a rebound and nine have snagged a steal.

BUCKET GETTER
Kyle Gruhler has scored over 20 points in all but one contest thus far. He ranks fourth in the Frontier in scoring, averaging 22.0 points per game. Additionally, Gruhler sits fifth in conference in field-goal percentage (58.7) and sixth in both three-point percentage (51.5), and three-pointers per game (3.4).

SHARP SHOOTER
Emanuel Steward dropped a season-high 25 points against LC State. He ranks ninth in the FC in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. Moreover, he has reached double figures in all six outings for the Bulldogs.

GET THAT OUTTA HERE!
Jacob Ankeny leads the team with 10 blocks on the season. He swatted a career-high matching three blocks against LC State. Ankeny sits second in the Frontier in blocks.

1-2 PUNCH
Kyle Gruhler and Emanuel Steward rank first and second in the league in free throw percentage at 90.5 and 87.0 percent, respectively.

MEET THE OPPONENTS
Valley City State

The Vikings are 4-1 on the year, including 0-1 in league play.
They are posting 87.0 points, 37.0 rebounds, and 12.2 assists while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from three, and 74.3 percent from the line.
JR Cison averages 21.2 points per game, which puts him 34th in NAIA in scoring. He also leads the team in assists (2.4) and steals (1.8)
Kaleb Larson puts up 14.0 points per game and Logan Deal averages 10.4.
Deal is recording a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.

Mayville State

The Comets are 5-1 this season, including 1-0 in FC play.
They are averaging 100.8 points, 44.0 rebounds, and 18.4 assists per game.
Mayville State is shooting 53.9 percent from the field, 44.3 percent from three, and 63.5 percent from the foul line.
Christian Bowen-Webb leads the team with 22.3 points per game.
Malik Siggers (13.4), Darius Brant (12.0), Amon Moore (10.3), and Isaiah Smith (10.2) round out the top five scorers.
Mailk Siggers 4.2 assists per game
Smith leads the team in rebounds (7.6), steals (3.4), and blocks (1.2).
Siggers hands out 4.2 assists per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Western is 1-0 all-time against VCSU, earning the 75-58 win in the only contest between the two (11/25/06).

UMW is 0-1 all-time against the Comets, falling 80-78 on the road in the last meeting between the two sides (12/2/23).

LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend, the Bulldogs are back in action next week when they travel to Butte to face off against rival Montana Tech (11/28). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT.

For complete coverage of UMW Men's Basketball, be sure to follow us on social media at @umwesternbball (Instagram), @UMWesternBball (X), and @Montana Western Men's Basketball (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!

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Players Mentioned

#32 Jacob Ankeny: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#4 Billy Carlson: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

#23 Kyle Gruhler: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#21 Kolter Merritt: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#1 Emanuel Steward: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#5 Joshua Whiteside: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#12 David Young: G; 6' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#32 Jacob Ankeny
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#4 Billy Carlson
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#23 Kyle Gruhler
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#21 Kolter Merritt
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#1 Emanuel Steward
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#5 Joshua Whiteside
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#12 David Young
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G