Yellowjackets Nip Nanooks in Double-Overtime Thriller, 118-112

Box Score

Photo Gallery

BILLINGS, Mont. –   A combined 230 points, 31 3-pointers and 47 made free throws and three players scoring 30 or more points capped an exciting 118-112 double overtime Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball game Saturday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium as Montana State Billings nipped Alaska Fairbanks. 

“We dug in and found a way to win,” head coach George Pfeifer said.  “We missed free throws and gave up offensive rebounds, but our kids fought hard and found a way to get it done.  Give a lot of credit to Alaska Fairbanks, they shot the ball very well and had two guys with eight 3-pointers each.”

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets (7-8, 2-2 GNAC) was a 36-point outing by Michael Hall.  He was 11 of 23 from the field and was 7 of 15 from deep and 7 of 9 from the line.  Travis Bunker had 27 points and nine rebounds as he played all 50 minutes and Derrick Wright had 21 points and eight rebounds.

In addition, Mario Burns tallied a career-high 13 assists on the night, as MSUB had a season-high 28 assists for the game. 

Emmanuel Jenkins led all-scorers with 27 points on 12 of 28 from the field and 8 of 16 from deep.  Jon Moe also knocked down eight treys as he was 8 of 15 and 12 of 24 from the field for 34 points.  Colin Matteson chipped in 15 points for the Nanooks (4-9, 1-3 GNAC) as well.

The 118 points is the most by a Yellowjacket team since MSUB scored 136 against Saint Edward’s (136-101) Jan. 28, 2006.  It also is the second GNAC victory in a season since MSUB joined the conference last year. 

It was the first double overtime game for MSUB since Jan. 19, 1991 versus Carroll College.

Two free throws by Travis Bunker with 2:28 left in regulation tied the game at 89 as both teams traded buckets since the five minute mark.  Off the 13th Nanook miscue, Bunker hit a huge 3-pointer with 90 seconds left in regulation for a 92-89 lead. 

In a thrilling 40 minutes of basketball, nothing was able to be decided in regulation, but the final minute saw UAF’s Jon Moe knocked down his sixth 3-pointer of the game to tie it at 92 with under a minute left. A missed 3-pointer gave the ball back to UAF for the last shot.  Emmanuel Jenkins took the ball to the goal but the shot went high and wide sending the game to overtime.     

Two free throw misses by Evan Matteson gave the Yellowjackets one last chance down one with 24.5 seconds left in the first overtime.  Mario Burns was fouled driving to the lane with 11.6 seconds left and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 102. 

The Nanooks had their second last possession opportunity with 10.8 seconds left and were unable to get a shot off sending the game to a second overtime.

A tip-in by Brad Hodge followed by Hall being fouled on a 3-point shot gave the Yellowjackets a 108-104 lead with 2:16 left.  Back-to-back turnovers by Jenkins gave the ball back to MSUB with a four-point advantage.  Hall hit a 3-pointer for a 111-104 lead.  A 3-pointer by Jenkins and a put back under the bucket trimmed the Yellowjacket lead to 111-109 with 1:07 left.

The Nanooks would go away quietly as MSUB built a 115-109 lead, but a big rebound and two free throws by Bunker swelled the lead to 117-112 and went on for a 118-112 victory.

The Yellowjackets picked up where they left off on Thursday in the early going with as Derrick Wright scored six of the first eight points of the game as MSUB opened with an 8-0 run in the early going.  A long 3-pointer by Aaron Jones ended the run and got the Nanooks on the board, 8-3 with 17 minutes left in the first half.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Travis Bunker put the Yellowjackets up 17-10 with 15 minutes left in the half.  MSUB opened the game making five of its first eight shots, while UAF opened 4 of 6, with two 3-pointers.  Two big 3-pointers by Jon Moe tied the game at 27 8:19 left in the first half.  One of two free throws by Moe put the Nanooks up for the first time, 28-27 with 7:35 left in the first half.

Kyle Palmer scored on an “and one” the ended a 6-0 run by the Nanooks and cut the Alaska Fairbanks lead to 33-29 with 5:17 left in the half.  With the shot clock winding down, Michael Hall hit a deep 3-pointer as MSUB cut the deficit to 35-32 with just over four minutes left.  Hall followed with another 3-pointer to tie the game, moments later.  Mario Burns was fouled in transition and made one of two free throws to tie the game again. 

The game went back-and-forth the rest of the half and Emmanuel Jenkins was fouled on a desperation 3-pointer just before the buzzer and made three free throws for a 46-42 lead.

For the half, the Yeloowjackets were led by 10 points from Wright and Hall, while Jenkins led all scorers in the half with 16 points, including three, three-pointers.  As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 47.2 percent on 17 of 36 from the floor and were 4 of 14 from long range.  MSUB was just 4 of 10 from the line in the half.

Conversely, UAF shot 54.8 percent from the field on 17 of 31.  The Nanooks were helped by shooting 8 of 11 from downtown for 72.7 percent.  UAF was 4 of 8 from the line as well.  MSUB held a slim 20-18 lead in rebounds, including 11-7 on the offensive end. 

A field goal by Kirk Blaine with 17:40 left ended a field goal drought by the Yellowjackets since the 2:17 mark in the first half and cut the Nanook lead to 54-45.  UAF opened the second half, outscoring MSUB 8-3 through the first three minutes of the second half.

MSUB opened the second half making just 1 of its first seven shots, until Hall knocked down a fade away jumper with 14:30 left to pull the Jackets within 56-49.  Bunker followed off an offensive rebound with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four.

A 3-pointer by Hall, his sixth of the game, gave the Yellowjackets a 66-65 lead with 9:30 left in the game.  It was the first lead for the Yellowjackets since the first half.  Moments later, a big 3-pointer from Travis Bunker pushed the MSUB lead to 71-67 with 8:20 left and a timeout from UAF.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Nanooks out of the timeout gave the lead back to the visitors at 73-71.