Yellowjackets Open Season with 96-91 Exhibition Victory Over Dickinson State

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BILLINGS, Mont. – 32 points by senior Michael Hall helped lead the Montana State Billings men’s basketball team to a 96-91 exhibition victory over visiting Dickinson State Tuesday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium. 

“Overall I was pleased with our rebounding effort tonight,” head coach George Pfeifer said.  “We had 12 missed shots in the first half and we had 10 offensive rebounds.”

Pfeifer, coaching his first game for the Yellowjackets since taking over the program in July, saw his team shoot over 50 percent in both halves and dominate the glass, 42-23, including 16-9 on the offensive end.
In addition, the Yellowjackets had four players in double figures and Travis Bunker had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  The team shot 57.7 percent for the game on 30 of 52 from the field and knocked down 8 of 18 from beyond the arc. 

Where MSUB struggled was at the free throw line as it was 28 of 45 for 62 percent.

“We shot almost 58 percent in both halves and we doink in 28 of 45 from the line,” Pfeifer added.  “We need to bear down and work on our free throws.” 

The Yellowjackets jumped out to a 13-5 lead through the first 4:30 of the game as the long ball was going down early.  The ‘Jackets hit three treys early on and jumped out to a 16-6 lead through the first 6:30 of the game.

It was the Michael Hall show through the first 8:08 as he was 5 of 6 from the field for 13 points helping the ‘Jackets to an 18-9 lead.  MSUB made 7 of its first 9 shots for 77.8 percent.  The Blue Hawks were just 2 of their first seven, but were 4 for 4 from the line. 

A 7-0 run by the Dickinson State cut the deficit to 24-17, but another bucket by Hall pushed the lead to 26-17.  DSU cut the deficit to 28-24 through the next three minutes.  Two free throws by Travis Bunker and a 3-pointer by Bunker pushed MSUB back up 33-24 with 5:33 to play. 

Through the last 3:58, the Blue Hawks cut the deficit to 39-35 on the back of a 10-2 run to close the half.
Hall led the Yellowjackets at half with 17 points on 7 of 13 from the field as the team shot 16 of 28 from the field for 57.1 percent.  Derrick Wright had eight points for the Jackets and Bunker led the team with six rebounds.  The Jackets were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc and were just 2 of 7 from the line.

After shooting poorly to begin the game, (2 of 7), the Blue Hawks heated up to 10 of 27 from the field and 3 of 8 from beyond the arc for 37 percent and 37.5 percent, respectively.  Where DSU made up ground was at the charity stripe as it was a perfect 12 of 12 for the half.

An alley-oop to being the second half cut the Yellowjacket lead to 39-37 which was the closest it has been since the opening moments of the game.  A bucket by Nathan Lebsock at the 17:35 mark tied the game at 43. Hall had the answer moment later with his fourth 3-pointer of the game for a 46-43 lead. 

A trey by Lebsock at the 12:48 mark gave Dickinson State its first lead of the game at 54-53.  Lebsock added another 3-pointer for a 61-56 lead with 10:35 left. 

“There was a moment in the second half where we were down four and we could have gone in a different direction,” Pfeifer said.  “We didn’t go in the wrong direction and I was very pleased with that.”

Two free throws by Wright tied the game at 64 with 9:35 left.  Wright then added one of two free throws and a 3-pointer by Hall gave MSUB a 68-64 lead with 8:45 left.

Out of a Blue Hawk time out with just over six minutes left, Hall knocked down a trey for his 30th point of the season and an 81-72 lead. 

With just over 35 seconds left, and the Blue Hawks down for, Bunker leaped into the lane and grabbed a crucial rebound and made one of two free throws to put the Jackets up 92-85.

“I was really impressed with Travis on the boards tonight,” Pfeifer said.  “We had three key, back-breaking offensive rebounds that went in our favor and Bunker had one late in the game.”

A trey by Dickinson State cut the deficit to 93-88 with 13 seconds left.   An intentional foul on DSU gave the Jackets two free throws as Burns hit one of them for a 94-88 lead with four seconds left. 

Lebsock came up with a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to cut the deficit to 94-91.  Wright got the inbound pass to Bunker who was fouled.  He knocked down both free throws to ice the game and the victory, 96-91.
Hall ended the game 13 of 23 from the field and 6 of 14 from beyond the arc.  Wright chipped in 19 points on 7 of 8 from the field, while Burns had added 14 points and Bunker had the double-double.

The Blue Hawks were led by 28 points from Lebsock on 8 of 17 from the field, 3 of 7 from beyond the arc and 9 of 10 from the line.  Tomaul Hakwins added 20 points, while Saajid Yazeed and Ryan Ernst chipped in 10 each.

After shooting just 37 percent in the opening half, DSU heated up to 58.3 percent in the second half (21 of 36) and 49 percent for the game on 31 of 63.  The Blue Hawks were 10 of 21 from downtown and 19 of 24 from the line.

The Yellowjackets open the regular season Saturday at 4 p.m. PST at No. 11 Gonzaga.  MSUB opens the home slate Sat., Nov. 22 against Montana-Western at Alterowitz Gymnasium at 7 p.m.