Yellowjackets Win Tenth in a Row by Downing Western New Mexico (February 22, 2003)

SILVER CITY, NM – The MSU Billings men’s basketball team extended its current winning streak to 10 games with an 83-73 win at Western New Mexico on Saturday.  The win improved MSUB to 16-6 overall.  The game did not count toward the Pacific West Conference standings.  The Jackets moved into second place in the PacWest with their win on Thursday combined with Hawaii-Hilo’s loss.  MSUB is 8-4 in conference play, while Hawaii-Hilo is 7-4.

MSU Billings pounded out a 34-33 halftime advantage even though it shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half.  The Yellowjackets made up for the poor shooting by making it to the free throw line 14 times, connecting on 10.  Six of their nine first-half field goals came from behind the arc, where they shot 43 percent in the first half and 40 percent in the game.

The second half was a different story as MSUB hit 20-of-29 from the field to outscore the Mustangs 49-40.  Kyle Stirmlinger led all scorers with 20 points and added 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double.  Justin Hassell connected on 6-of-9 from the field for 19 points.  Dan Thompson added 18 and Cameron Munoz made four three-pointers for 12 points.  Point guard Willy Davison handed out a career-high 13 assists and scored 12 points for a double-double.

The Mustangs were paced by 18 points from Malcolm Connor and 15 points from Joey Ramirez.  Ramirez also added nine assists against only two turnovers.

The Yellowjackets travel from New Mexico to Hawaii for their final three conference games of the season.  They will face BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday and Thursday next week and Hawaii Pacific on Saturday.  If they can manage two wins in those three games, they could still have a chance of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.