BILLINGS, Mont. – The Rocky Mountain College men's basketball team will open the 2017-18 season this week with a pair of home games. The Battlin' Bears welcome Yellowstone Christian College to the Fortin Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. They then host Salish Kootenai College on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Both games will have live video available on the Rocky You Tube page at YouTube.com/battlinbears. Live audio will also be available on MTSportsCast.com. Links for all live features will be available on the day of the game by following @battlinbears on Twitter.
 
Rocky has played Yellowstone Christian four times over the past two seasons, winning all four times. They are 2-0 against the Centurions in the Fortin Center, including an 83-75 win at home last season. The teams will meet again on November 7 at Shrine Auditorium.
 
The Battlin' Bears have gone 1-0 all-time against Salish Kootenai. That was a 102-50 win in the Fortin Center on October 28, 2016. The two teams will also play on November 4 in Pablo.
 
Rocky starts a new season after going 16-15 last year for a fifth straight season with a winning record. They finished tied for fourth in the Frontier Conference with a 9-9 mark in conference games. They went out in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament with a loss to MSU-Northern. Rocky last made the NAIA National Championship in 2015.
 
Last season's team averaged 77.6 points per game and shot 45.2 percent from the field. They ranked fifth in the NAIA by making 75.1 percent at the foul line and 12th at 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. Rocky dished out 14.6 assists per game with a 1.11 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Defensively, the Battlin' Bears held opponents to 71.9 points per game and just 41.6 percent shooting. They grabbed 37.8 rebounds per game with a 2.45 rebounding margin. Rocky ended with a 0.39 turnover margin.
 
This year's squad returns seven players that have played in a game for Rocky. The top returner is Chad Kananen after his 10.9 points per game last season. In his career, Kananen has played in 85 games and scored 824 points. He shoots 42.0 percent form the field and from three while making 2.25 triples per game. Kananen has scored in double figures 36 times in his career with 20-plus points in a game 10 times.
 
Craig Wilmore returns after playing in 28 games and scoring 5.9 points per game last season. He shot 48.0 percent from the floor and collected 5.4 rebounds per game. Wilmore scored in double figures six times with two double-doubles.
 
Danny Betcher is back after playing in 30 games in each of the past two seasons. He scored 132 points at 4.4 points per game last season while shooting 55.3 percent from the field. He grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game and twice had 10-plus boards in a game.
 
Rocky welcomes Jared Samuelson this season after the sophomore spent last season playing at the University of Montana. With the Grizzlies, Samuelson scored 5.1 points per game and shot 57.0 percent from the field.
 
Other newcomers include junior college transfers Latrelle Franklin, Satchel McDonald and Austin Payne. Colin May joins from Mayville State and they also add freshman Joe'l Towers.
 
Rocky was picked to finish fifth in the Frontier Conference by the league's coaches. They earned 16 points in the poll. Montana Western was chosen as the favorite to win the league.
 
Next week the Battlin' Bears will host crosstown rival MSU Billings in the Fortin Center on November 1 at 7 p.m. They will then travel to Salish Kootenai on November 4 at 4 p.m.