Yellowjackets Turn Out Lights with Threes (Feb. 24, 2005)
BILLINGS, MT – Montana State-Billings hit 17
three-pointers Thursday night to pull away from Montana
State-Northern, 94-69. Cameron Munoz and Carlin Hughes made six 3-pointers apiece to lift the
Yellowjackets to 17-8 on the season. Northern lost for the
seventh straight time to fall to 12-16.
The Lights used a quick start to build a 15-6
lead against a Yellowjackets team that was coming off a three game
trip to Hawaii. Antonio Jordan’s layup with 13:39 left in the
first half gave Northern its nine point lead.
Munoz (Jr., Chino, CA) and Hughes (Fr.,
Perth, Australia) combined for 11 points to cut the Lights’ lead
to 15-14 by the 12:14 mark. Hughes gave MSU Billings its first
lead of the night on a 3-pointer with 9:38 to go in the half.
MSU Billings built a seven point lead over
the next two minutes, but Northern answered with a 7-0 run capped
by a Cory Brothers layup with 4:44 left. Brothers gave the Lights
their final lead of the half, 31-30, on a layup a minute later. Drew
Arnold (Fr., Tempe, AZ) and Munoz made back-to-back 3-pointers
to close the half, giving the Jackets a 36-33 lead at the break.
The Yellowjackets opened the half with a
scoreless spell of almost two minutes. The Lights capitalized to
regain the lead with a Jordan Matthews 3-pointer and a Tim
Hutchins layup. MSU-Billing finally scored at 18:18 on a Justin Hassell (Sr., Brooklyn, NY) jumper in the paint, tying
the game at 38-38. Hassell was fouled and converted on the
3-point play, giving the Jackets the lead for good.
MSU Billings put together a 12-1 run over the
middle four minutes of the second half to break the game open. Buddy Windy Boy’s (Jr., Lodge Grass, MT) 3-pointer started the run with 12:03 to play, and Hassell’s
layup at 8:35 put the Jackets up 71-55. MSU Billings extended its
lead to as many as 28 down the stretch.
Munoz, who was 6-of-16 from beyond the arc,
moved into second place all-time on the Yellowjacket career
3-point list, passing Mark Hamilton’s 286. Munoz now has 291 and
trails only Marcus Halgrimson’s 371. Munoz’s 23 points on the
night also moved him past Fred Johnston for eleventh on the
all-time scoring list with 1,216 points.
Hughes finished with a career-high 29 points,
knocking down 6-of-15 from long range. He and Munoz combined for
25 first half points to help the Jackets overcome their sluggish
start. Hughes also handed out a game-high seven assists.
Four of the five Yellowjacket starters scored
in double figures. Hassell finished with 21 points, connecting on
9-of-11 from the free throw line. He also pulled down nine
rebounds, narrowly missing his tenth double-double of the year.
Windy Boy added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
The Jackets out rebounded the Lights 45-39,
including 15 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance
points. Munoz grabbed eight boards, and Cody Samuelson (So., Broadus, MT) and Arnold finished with
seven apiece. MSU Billings also forced 14 Lights turnovers that
led to 26 points.
The Lights were paced by Marcus Wilson’s 16
points. Brothers added 13 points, and Jordan finished with nine.
Landen Grant had eight points and eight rebounds.
MSU Billings plays its final home game on
Saturday against Johnson & Wales from Denver. The Wildcats are
14-14 and also feature a high scoring offense. Their last game
was a 124-118 win against Midland Lutheran College. Tip off is
set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday will also be “Senior Night” for
Hassell—the Yellowjackets’ only senior—who will be honored
following the game.
Click HERE for photos of the Yellowjackets vs. MSU-Northern. |
