Crusaders March Past Yellowjackets (12/20/06)
Box Score
Game Photos

BILLINGS, MT – Northwest Nazarene used a 42-point second half to knock off Montana State-Billings 70-50 in men’s basketball action Wednesday at Alterowitz Gym.  The Crusaders outscored the Yellowjackets 42-19 in the second half, improving to 4-6.  The Jackets dropped their sixth-straight game to start the season.  NNU is 2-0 against MSU Billings this season, winning in Nampa, ID, on December 2.

“When you play young kids like we’re doing, you’re going to have nights like this,” said Yellowjacket head coach Craig Carse.  “Carl Johnson, as a sophomore, is playing almost the entire game.  Jeff Miner, a freshman who teams are keying on in that position, is asked to do a lot.  We’re asking Jonathan Wiley to play the point and do everything.  The guys are playing hard.  The big thing is keeping positive so our kids have an opportunity to compete.  We play the same team tomorrow night, so we’ll just keep working.”

The game started as a 3-point shootout.  The first 18 combined points came from behind the arc as the Crusaders shot their way to a 12-6 lead over the Jackets’ 2-3 zone.  NNU’s first 18 points of the game and 21 of their first 23 came on 3-pointers.  A Tim Ireland layup with 6:46 left in the first half gave NNU its largest lead of the half at 25-18.

Following Ireland’s bucket, the Yellowjackets outscored the Crusaders 13-3 to end the half and take a 31-28 lead into the break.  Johnson (Rapid City, SD) and Miner (Gresham, OR) combined for 11 of those 13 points, and a Cody Samuelson (Broadus, MT) tip-in at the buzzer provided the other two.

That run to end the first half turned out to be the final offensive push of the night for the Yellowjackets.  They built their lead to 35-30 in the first minute of the second half, then didn’t score again for two and a half minutes.  After a Johnson basket in the paint with 14:56 to play tied the game at 39, the Crusaders went on a 9-0 run during which MSUB didn’t scored for a span of 5:24.  The Jackets ended the game with a scoreless stretch of 4:43.

Miner finished the night with 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field.  He was 2-of-8 from 3-point and 3-of-4 from the line.  Ammar Harknell (Stockholm, Sweden) added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.  He was 2-of-2 from behind the arc, but the Jackets hit just 6-of-17 in the game.  Johnson pulled down seven rebounds, all seven coming at the offensive end.  He also scored eight points.  Wiley (Westlake Village, CA) added seven points and eight rebounds.  The Jackets shot 36 percent from the field.

The Crusaders had four players in double figures, led by Ireland’s 19 off the bench.  He was 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point.  Jason Simmons was an efficient 6-of-8 for 16 points.  Kendall Gielow had 13 points, and Justin Parnell added 12.  The Crusaders shot 48 percent from the floor and were 11-of-24 from behind the arc.

The same teams will meet on Thursday with tip off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym.  The game will be Toys for Tots Night sponsored by KULR 8 Television.  Fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped new toy, which will be collected by the U.S. Marines.  All stuffed toys will be thrown onto the floor at halftime in a teddy bear toss.