January 10, 2008
 

Northwest Nazarene Hands Yellowjackets 94-69 Setback
   Box Score
   Season Stats

BILLINGS, Mont. – Northwest Nazarene University handed Montana State Billings a 94-69 loss on Thursday evening at Alterowitz Gym.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 0-13 overall and 0-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  The Crusaders improve to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

MSUB had four players in double figures led by a game-high 15 points from freshman Aaron Terry (Baton Rouge, La.)  Joel Ryman and Louie Beech led NNU with 13 points each off the bench. 

The game opened as NNU raced out to an early 13-4 lead with 16:07 left in the half.  MSUB roared back as it went on an 8-0 run over the next two-plus minutes cutting the deficit to 13-12 with 13:43 left.  Sophomore Jeff Miner (Gresham, Ore.) capped the run with his first of three 3-pointers on the night. 

Later in the half, MSUB cut the deficit back to one point on a trey by sophomore Troy Ruff (Custer, Mont.), but the Crusaders had the answer outscoring the Yellowjackets 26-16 during the final seven minutes of the half.

Despite being down 49-38 at halftime and outrebounded 34-14, the Yellowjackets had seven 3-pointers (7 of 13) and were 15 of 33 from the field for 45.5 percent in the opening half to keep the deficit at 11 points.  NNU was 18 of 43 from the field and were just 3 of 13 from beyond the arc.  The other difference in the half was at the charity stripe as the Crusaders were 10 of 15, while MSUB was just 1 of 7. 

The Crusaders opened the second half on an 18-5 run over the first seven minutes for a 67-43 lead with 13:10 left.  NNU built the lead to as many as 32 with 3:19 to play.

For the game, MSUB shot 40 percent from the field on 27 of 67.  After making seven treys in the first half, the Yellowjackets made just one in the second for a total of 8 of 29.  NNU went 35 of 77 from the field for 46 percent and were 7 of 18 from beyond the arc.  As in the first half, NNU got to the charity stripe frequently and finished the game 17 of 25, while the Jackets were 7 of 18 from the line.   

The Jackets will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. against Seattle Pacific to conclude a seven game home stand.  Live video streaming, free live stats, and free internet broadcast can be accessed by visiting http://www.msubillings.edu/athletics/broadcasts.htm.