Jackets Run Up 128 to Stay Unbeaten in HLC (2/3/06)
Box Score                  Game Photos

BILLINGS, MT – Explosive first halves have been the key for the Montana State-Billings men the last two games.  The Yellowjackets rang up 65 first half points on Friday and cruised to a 128-82 Heartland Conference win over Lincoln University at Alterowitz Gymnasium. 

The win pushed the Yellowjackets’ overall record to 14-3 and kept them unbeaten in the Heartland Conference at 7-0.  It also gave head coach Craig Carse 199 career wins at MSU Billings.  The Yellowjackets will host Lincoln on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.  A win will make Carse just the second head coach at the school to reach 200 career wins, and the first since the Jackets moved from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.  Mike Harkins won 280 games from 1960 to 1976.

Carlin Hughes (So., Perth, Australia) found Buddy Windy Boy (Sr., Lodge Grass, MT) in the corner after taking the opening tip from Lucas Walker (So., Launceston, Australia), and Windy Boy started what would become a 3-point barrage with his first of six long balls just three seconds into the game.  The Yellowjackets made a season-high 20 three-pointers in the game and increased their nation-leading 3-point average to 13.5 per game.

The Blue Tigers responded to Windy Boy’s 3-pointer with back-to-back lay-ups from Luther Glover to take a brief 4-3 lead.  A lay-up on the other end by Moritz Wohlers (Sr., Wolfenbuttel, Germany) and another Windy Boy 3-pointer quickly erased what would turn out to be the Tigers’ only lead of the game. 

The Yellowjackets hit high gear, making 11-of-21 three-pointers in the half to blow open a 65-37 lead at the break.  Cameron Munoz (Sr., Chino, CA) knocked down one of his five 3-pointers as time expired.

The Yellowjacket offense didn’t miss a beat in the second half, scoring another 63 points.  MSU Billings shot well in all three offensive phases in the game, hitting 58 percent of their field goal attempts, 53 percent of their 3-point attempts, and 88 percent of their free throw tries.  Despite sending the Blue Tigers to the line seven more times, the Yellowjackets outscored Lincoln at the stripe 28-25.

Seven different Yellowjackets scored in double figures in the most balanced scoring effort of the season.  Jonathan Wiley (Jr., Westlake Village, CA) came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points.  He was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, all in the first half, and hit 16-of-18 from the free throw line.  No other Yellowjacket made it to the free throw line more than four times in the game.

“Jonathan had a wonderful game,” said Carse.  “All the kids came out of the blocks.  Carlin, Cameron, Buddy, Moritz, Lucas all did a great job.  What tonight does is secure a winning season by having 14 wins.  The other thing it does is put us at 7-0 in the conference.  All the guys are getting better.  We’re just doing the things to see how good we can be.”

Hughes finished the night with another double-double, scoring 21 points and handing out 10 assists.  The national leader in assists, Hughes has nine double-doubles for points and assists this season, including four in the last four games.  He is averaging 17.9 points and 10.2 assists per game.  Hughes moved up to No. 9 in school history for career assists with 310.

Windy Boy netted 18 points, all coming from 3-point range where he was 6-of-8.  He was also all over the defensive end of the floor, picking up four steals.  Those four steals give him 112 for his career, the fifth-most in Yellowjacket history.

Wohlers added 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field.  Walker finished with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.  Jay Jamieson (So., Big Sandy, MT) scored a career-high 11 points and made 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

Munoz had a quiet 19 points, connecting on 5-of-12 from 3-point range.  Those five 3-pointers pushed his career total to 396.  If he makes four 3-pointers in Saturday’s game he will become just the sixth player in NCAA Division II history to reach 400 for a career.  The NCAA II record for career 3-pointers is 443.

Lincoln was paced by 17 points from Brandon Jones off the bench.  He was 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-12 from the line.  All four of the Blue Tigers’ double figure scorers came off the bench as the starters combined for just 21 points.  James McCaskill added 14 points.