Yellowjackets Drop Second Straight at BYU-Hawaii (February 27, 2003)
LAIE, HI – The MSU Billings
men’s basketball team lost its second straight game
to No. 19 BYU-Hawaii
Thursday night, falling 103-89. The win combined
with a Hawaii-Hilo loss clinched the Pacific West
Conference title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth
for BYU-Hawaii. The Yellowjackets and Seasiders
tied for the PWC title last season.
MSU Billings was able to keep
pace with the Seasiders’ hot offensive performance
for the most part in the first half. The
Yellowjackets couldn’t find the defensive answer,
however, as the Seasiders shot 60 percent from the
field in the first half and 62 percent in the second
half. The Jackets trailed 50-43 at halftime.
The Yellowjackets suited up
seven players for the game after junior forward Bill Day tore his MCL in Tuesday’s game. Day
was the fourth Yellowjacket lost to a season-ending
injury this year. Dan Thompson, Cameron Munoz and Willy Davison each played 40 minutes in
Thursday’s game and Kyle Stirmlinger played 34. The Jackets played
the final 1:36 with four players because three of
the seven had fouled out.
Davison’s stellar play over the
past few weeks continued as he hit 5-of-7
three-pointers for 16 points, handed out six
assists, and notched a career-high five steals.
Thompson led the Jackets with 23 points, including
four three-pointers. Munoz also hit four threes for
16 points and Stirmlinger added 15 points and seven
rebounds.
The Yellowjackets didn’t have
an answer for Alexus Foyle, the PacWest’s leading
scorer. He netted a game-high 34 points on 14-of-22
shooting. Austin Smylie recorded a double-double
with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Point guard Shawn
Opunui had nine points and ten assists.
The loss dropped the
Yellowjackets to 16-7 overall and 8-6 in the
PacWest. They needed to win all three games in
Hawaii to have a shot at qualifying for the NCAA
Tournament. The Jackets will try to play the
spoiler role when they face Hawaii Pacific on
Saturday. HPU is still fighting for a tournament
berth, but cannot afford another loss. That game
will tip-off at 10:30 p.m. MST and can be heard live
on News Radio 970 AM. MSUB will close the season at
home on March 7 and 8 against Nova Southeastern. |
