Jackets Give Carse 200th MSUB Win (2/4/06)
Box Score         Game Photos

BILLINGS, MT – It was a battle, but the MSU Billings men’s basketball team defeated Lincoln University 99-85 on Saturday to give head coach Craig Carse his 200^th victory at the school.  Carse is 200-92 at MSU Billings and 283-134 as a collegiate head coach.

After the Yellowjackets blew them out on Friday, the Blue Tigers hung tough for most of the first 25 minutes of Saturday’s clash.  Both teams started slowly with the Yellowjackets leading just 8-4 after the first four minutes.  Lincoln eventually took leads of 14-13 and 18-17 in the early going, but the Yellowjackets answered with points in the paint.

A lay-up by Moritz Wohlers at the 11:32 mark put MSU Billings ahead 19-18 and the Yellowjackets never trailed again.  Wohlers scored eight of the Yellowjackets’ next dozen points, giving MSU Billings its largest lead of the half, 29-22, with 7:37 to play.  The Yellowjackets eventually settled for a 46-40 lead at the break.

Luther Glover made one of two free throws to start the second half for the Blue Tigers, trimming the Jackets’ lead to five.  The Yellowjackets responded with a 12-5 run in which five different players scored to extend their lead to double digits for the first time in the game at 58-46.  After the teams traded baskets, the Yellowjackets went on an 11-0 run to take a 20-point lead with just over 13 minutes remaining.  MSU Billings’ lead hovered around the 20-point mark for the rest of the second half until a pair of 3-pointers by the Blue Tigers in the final 50 seconds cut the final margin below 20.

Five players scored in double figures for the Yellowjackets, led by 31 from senior guard Cameron Munoz.  He was 8-of-15 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.  Munoz entered the game with 396 career 3-pointers, already an MSU Billings school record.  His eight triples made him just the sixth player in NCAA Division II history to make over 400 three-pointers in a career.  He is potentially within range of the NCAA II national record of 443 with eight games remaining in the regular season.

Wohlers scored 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor, many of them coming on lay-ups off passes over the top from point guard Carlin Hughes.  Hughes finished with his tenth double-double of the season and fifth in a row, scoring 17 points and handing out 15 assists. 

Lucas Walker also posted a double-double for the Yellowjackets, scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.  Buddy Windy Boy added 11 points and three of the Yellowjackets’ 15 three-pointers.

Lincoln was paced by 21 points from Taeshaud Jackson.  He was 8-of-16 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.  Brandon Jones had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Guard Kyle Wilde made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points.

The Yellowjackets, 15-3 overall and 7-0 in the Heartland Conference, travel to Austin, Tex., for a big two-game set against St. Edward’s University.  The Yellowjackets entered the weekend with just a one-game lead over St. Ed’s in the conference standings after beating the Hilltoppers 136-101 in Billings a week ago.  The potential of receiving the top seed in the conference playoffs could be on the line in Austin.