MSUB Drops 81-74 Decision at Chadron State

Box Score

CHADRON, Neb. – A torrid second half rally wasn’t enough as Montana State Billings dropped an 81-74 decision Saturday afternoon at Chadron State.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 2-2 on the year while Chadron State improves to 3-1. 

“We didn’t start the game with the result we wanted to win on the road,” head coach George Pfeifer said.  “We had a lack of execution on the offensive end in the first half, but I was pleased with how we responded in the second half and battled back and took the lead with four minutes left.”

Brett Taylor led the Yellowjackets with a career-high 23 points on 8 of 14 from the field and 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.  Senior Travis Bunker tallied his third straight double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.  Derrick Wright chipped in 16 points as well. 

Tim McLaruin led all scorers with 26 points on 8 of 17 from the field and 7 of 9 from the line.  No other Eagle player had more than 13 points. 

Down 10 at halftime, the Yellowjackets outscored Chadron State 44-41 in the second half and shot 54 percent from the field in the half to get back into the contest.  It seemed as if the Yellowjackets would get down by 10 or so and rally back to tie or take the lead during the decisive half.

On four occasions in the second half, MSUB rallied and took the lead.  The last at the 4:23 mark on a hoop-and-harm foul on Derrick Wright.  A 3-pointer from McLaurin a minute later put the Eagles back up for good as they outscored the Yellowjackets 11-5 down the stretch. 

Taylor cut the deficit to one at the 2:22 mark, but the Eagles went 7 for 7 from that point on from the charity stripe seal the victory.  One of the major differences in the game was from the charity stripe as CSC was 20 of 26 while MSUB was 7 of 13.  In the second half alone, the Eagles were 13 of 17, while the ‘Jackets were 3 of 7.

“They made plays down the stretch to win the game and got some key rebounds as well,” Pfeifer added.  “I was really pleased with the play of Brett Taylor as he stepped up and made some big baskets.  Travis (Bunker) also had another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.”

Unlike the last three games where the Yellowjackets jumped out to the early lead, it was the Eagles who built the big lead early on.  CSC built a 23-10 advantage through the first 10 minutes of the half and held the Yellowjackets to 37 percent shooting from the floor.

The Yellowjackets will look to rebound from the loss Monday as they conclude the road trip at the University of Mary at 7 p.m. Central time.  The Yellowjackets downed the Marauders this past Wednesday 70-67 in overtime in Billings.