Yellowjackets Roll Past Overmatched Argos (Dec. 1, 2003)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – In a runaway that probably wasn’t as close as the lopsided score indicated, MSU Billings cruised to its twelfth straight home victory by dominating University of Great Falls, 108-63.  The Yellowjackets improved to 2-0 for the season and the Argonauts dropped to 3-6.

“I was really proud of the guys and how they followed the game plan,” said Yellowjacket coach Craig Carse.  “We haven’t played many games yet and it showed with our younger guys.  Great Falls has played nine games and we’ve only had two.  We just need to play games to get that experience.”

All five Yellowjacket starters reached double figures, led by 20 apiece from Jerett Skrifvars and Cameron Munoz.  Skrifvars was just one assist short of a triple double after grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.  The senior guard was 8-of-11 from the field to bolster the Yellowjackets’ 52-percent field goal percentage.  Munoz hit six 3-pointers, four in the first half, as MSUB made 12-of-30 from long range.

Dave Carse and Trae Fortier finished with 19 and 18 points respectively, combining for 12-of-20 shooting from the floor.  Carse hit five 3-pointers and Fortier grabbed seven rebounds.  Senior Bill Day added 13 points and four rebounds.

“I thought our veterans played well,” said Carse.  “We had some guys trying to do too much in the first half, but Jerett, Dave and Bill did some good things early in the game and that helped the younger guys.”

MSU Billings blew the game open in the early minutes, racing to a 21-4 advantage in the first 5:21.  The Yellowjackets were up by 21 by the 11 minute mark and didn’t allow the Argos to reach double-digits until the midpoint of the half when a James Edwards basket made the score 32-11. 

Four Jackets were in double figures before halftime as MSUB took a 64-26 lead into intermission.  The outgunned Argos seemed almost as surprised as the hometown crowd that had just witnessed the Lady Jackets’ overtime win over Rocky Mountain. 

The Yellowjackets shot a blistering 69-percent from the field and 62-percent from 3-point range in the first half, missing just ten field goal attempts in the half, five of which were 3-pointers.

Carse led all scorers through the first 20 minutes with 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range.  Munoz also had four 3-pointers by the break for 14 first half points as MSUB made 8-of-13 from behind the arc in the opening stanza.  Fortier and Skrifvars also notched double-digits by halftime and combined for nine assists in the half.

As hot as the Yellowjackets were from the field, Great Falls was equally as cold.  The Argos were just 8-of-38 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point range in the first half.  Edwards scored ten first half points for the Argos with six of them coming from the free throw line. 

Edwards finished the game as the only Great Falls player in double figures with 16 points.  He also pulled down 11 boards, but turned the ball over 10 times.  In all, Great Falls committed 24 turnovers and shot just 27-percent from the field, including 0-of-7 from 3-point range.

MSU Billings continues non-conference action on December 6 when the Yellowjackets host Chadron State at 7:00 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym.  They take to the road to face No. 1-ranked Humboldt State on December 13.

Click HERE to view photos of the Yellowjackets vs. Great Falls