Jacket Men Notch First Win (12/30/06)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – Four players scored in double figures to lead Montana State-Billings to its first victory of the season Saturday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium.  The Yellowjackets pulled away from a four-point halftime lead to down Oklahoma Panhandle State University 65-54 in the Heartland Conference opener for both teams.

The win improved the Yellowjackets to 1-7 overall, but they moved atop the Heartland Conference standings at 1-0.  The Aggies dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-1 in the conference.  In the only other conference game this far this season, defending HLC champion St. Edward’s defeated Dallas Baptist 88-83 on Saturday to join the Yellowjackets at 1-0 in the league.

The opening minutes of the contest offered a sign of the defensive struggle to come.  It took over two and a half minutes for the first point to be scored and over three minutes for the first field goal to be made.  MSU Billings held just three leads in the first 13:44, but never trailed by more than seven.

“I thought we played a little frustrated tonight,” said Yellowjacket head coach Craig Carse.  “We were trying so hard because we needed a win.  We came out and had those first three open looks, but we just couldn’t knock them down.  I’m very proud of the kids’ attitude, their work ethic, and their perseverance.  We’re 1-0 in the Heartland Conference; it’s a great way to start the New Year.”

A Jeff Miner (Gresham, OR) 3-pointer with 6:16 to play in the first half gave the Yellowjackets a 28-27 lead.  They extended that lead to as many as six before settling for a 36-32 halftime lead.  The Jackets never trailed following Miner’s 3-pointer, leading wire-to-wire in the second half.  MSUB’s largest lead of the game came with 1:13 to play following a pair of Jonathan Wiley (Westlake Village, CA) free throws.

“Tonight we did some good things defensively,” said Carse.  “We got beat on the boards by one, and they got a lot of second shots.  But I think the difference was we didn’t turn the ball over.  It’s only the second time this year we’ve had more assists than turnovers.”

Wiley led four Jackets in double figures with 16 points.  He was 5-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.  Miner finished with 14 points, knocking down 2-of-6 from behind the arc.  Wiley and Miner each had five assists, and Wiley pulled down seven rebounds.

Carl Johnson (Rapid City, SD) had an efficient 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.  He also blocked two shots and grabbed six rebounds.  Cody Samuelson (Broadus, MT) added 10 points and matched Wiley’s seven rebounds for team-high honors.  Tom D’Amore (Tucson, AZ) netted eight points, all coming in the second half.  He hit both of his 3-pointers in a span of 1:40 midway through the second half to spark the Yellowjackets to their first double-digit lead of the game.

The Aggies were led by Fred Durr’s double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Durr was 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range.  Thirteen of his points and all three 3-pointers came in the first half, and he was limited to just one field goal in the second half.  Luke Ogden had 14 points and two blocked shots.  LaChawn Anderson added a dozen points.

The Yellowjackets play five games between January 4 and January 13.  The stretch kicks off with a non-conference game at home against Texas A&M-International on the 4th.  The Dustdevils are a provisional member of the Heartland Conference, but count as a non-conference game this season.  TAMIU beat the Jackets by one in Laredo in early December.  MSUB resumes Heartland Conference play on January 6, hosting league favorite St. Edward’s.