Yellowjackets Use Long Ball to Down St. Martin’s (Dec. 20, 2003)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – Cameron Munoz made seven of the Yellowjackets’ fourteen 3-pointers, leading MSU Billings to a 93-86 win over St. Martin’s Saturday night.  Munoz netted a game-high 27 points, connecting on 7-of-11 from outside the arc.

The Saints jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 1:53 of the game behind four points from Brandon Hartley, including a layup just four seconds into the game after stealing the opening tip.  Hartley scored 24 points in the game. 

The Yellowjackets answered with a 9-0 run fueled by back-to-back-back 3-pointers from Trae Fortier, Munoz and Dave Carse.  The Jackets couldn’t shake the Saints, however, as each team answered the other’s run with a surge of its own.  Each team led by five at different points of the opening half, but there were 11 lead changes and five ties in the first 20 minutes.

Alex Galloway’s 3-pointer with time expiring in the half gave the Yellowjackets a 45-43 advantage at the break.  Galloway scored eight in the game and also had four assists.  Carse added eight points and dished out a game-high eight assists.

MSUB grabbed its largest lead of the game less than two minutes into the second half as a Munoz 3-pointer, Jerett Skrifvars jumper in the paint, and Bill Day free throw made the score 51-45 in favor of the Jackets.  Skrifvars finished with his third double-double of the season, dropping in 16 points to go with 11 rebounds.  He also handed out seven assists.

The Saints had two more runs in the game, but failed to tie the game again.  They cut the Yellowjackets’ lead to one at the 17:19 mark, making 3-of-4 free throws and a layup in a 37 second span.  Soloman Wyatt’s layup drew St. Martin’s to within 51-50.  Wyatt led all Saints scorers with 25 points. 

A pair of Fortier 3-pointers sparked a Yellowjacket run that put MSUB ahead 64-52 with 13:55 to play.  Fortier made three 3-pointers in the game and scored 22 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field.

Seven straight points from Hartley ignited the Saints’ final run of the game.  St. Martin’s cut the Yellowjackets’ lead to three on four different occasions in the final six minutes and to just two points with two minutes to play.  Niko Nunogawa’s layup at 2:03 made the score 82-80.  Nunogawa finished with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Four straight free throws from Skrifvars extended the lead to six and the Saints were forced to foul over the final 1:30.  Galloway was 5-of-6 from the line in the final 40 seconds as the Saints chose to foul him on three of the Jackets’ final four possessions.  Munoz sank a pair of foul shots on the other possession to help seal the win.

MSU Billings improved to 4-2 overall with the win while St. Martin’s dropped to 3-6.  The Yellowjackets will host second-ranked Humboldt State on December 29 and Western Oregon on January 3.