Northwest Nazarene Pulls Away from MSUB in Second Half, 90-77

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NAMPA, Idaho – After one of its worse shooting performances of the season, the Montana State Billings men’s basketball team rebounded and showed a lot of character in a 90-77 loss at Northwest Nazarene Saturday evening.  MSUB falls to 1-21 on the year and 1-10 in the GNAC.  NNU improves to 15-5 and 7-4 in conference play.

The Yellowjackets had five players in double figures led by a team-high 20 points from freshman Kyle Palmer.  He was 7 of 14 from the field, 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 3 of 4 from the line.  Fellow freshman John Brooks chipped in 18 points, while freshman Brett Taylor added 11.  Freshman Cameron Khoury and sophomore Tyler Hentzen each had 10. 

The Crusaders were led by a game-high 26 points from Justin Parnell.  He was 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.  Joel Ryman added 20 points off the bench and Jason Simmons added 17.   

The first half started as both teams went back-and-forth at a frantic pace.  MSUB opened a seven-point advantage with 12:20 left in the half courtesy of a Taylor trey for a 23-16 score.  The Crusaders came right back and erased the deficit moments later, using a 10-3 run. 

The Yellowjackets built the lead back to five points, but NNU had the answer over the last four minutes of the half, using a 19-10 run (4:44) to close the half for a 56-52 lead at intermission.

NNU came out of the gates in the second half and built the lead to as many as 12 points in the first five minutes.  The Crusaders controlled the tempo for much of the half as it was not the high-scoring affair like the first.  NNU held an 81-70 lead with 7:51 to play before both teams went ice cold, missing their next 12 shots combined. 

A jumper by Parnell ended the drought at the 4:14 mark, giving NNU an 83-70 lead.  MSUB tallied just three field goals during the final 4:14 as the Crusaders went on for a 90-77 victory.

For the game, the Jackets were 27 of 60 from the field, 13 of 32 from beyond the arc and 10 of 11 from the line.  NNU was 30 of 61 from the field, 12 of 27 from beyond the arc and a perfect 18 of 18 from the line.   

The Jackets will be back at Alterowitz Gym, Thurs., Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., against Western Oregon.  Live video streaming, free live stats, and free internet broadcast can be found on the Yellowjackets web site.