Munoz Nets 39, Yellowjacket Rally Falls Short (January 6, 2003)
HILO, HI – Cameron Munoz may have already shed his “potential to be good”
tag. The Yellowjackets’ true freshman shooting
guard poured in 39 points, including ten 3-pointers,
Monday night against the University of Hawaii-Hilo
as a Yellowjacket rally fell just short in a 101-91
loss.
MSU Billings shot just
31-percent from the field in the first half to
create a 51-30 halftime deficit that the Jackets
couldn’t overcome. The Jackets were a combined
4-of-22 from behind the arc in the opening 20
minutes (18.2%), but whatever Munoz did at halftime
changed that.
The freshman from Chino,
California erupted in the second half, connecting on
8-of-10 from long range to finish the game with ten
3-pointers, the fifth-best 3-point shooting
performance in school history. It marked only the
eighth time a Yellowjacket has made at least ten
3-pointers in a game. Markus Hallgrimson set the
school and NCAA Division-II record of 16 in 2000.
Munoz’s 39 points in also tied
for the 12th-highest single game point
output in school history. The school record is 54,
set by Reece Gliko in 1996.
Despite Munoz’s hot hand, the
Yellowjackets couldn’t erase the 21-point deficit.
They gave up 50 points in the second half as three
Vulcans finished with at least 20 points in the
game. Only two other Yellowjackets broke
double-digits, with freshman Buddy Windy Boy scoring 12 and Bill Day adding 11. Windy Boy also added five assists.
Hawaii-Hilo was paced by Ryan
Abrahams’s 24 points. Brady Hyde finished 23 points
and five assists as the Vulcans improved to 9-4, 1-0
in the PacWest. The Yellowjackets dropped their
fourth game in a row to fall to 6-4, 0-2.
The Jackets and Vulcans will square off again
Wednesday night in Hilo. Tip-off will be at 10:15
p.m. MST, and the game will be broadcast live on AM
970 KBUL in Billings.
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