Yellowjackets Fall at Home to Central Washington, 73-57

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BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men’s basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season as Central Washington downed the Yellowjackets 73-57 Thursday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  CWU improved to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

The Wildcats held MSUB to its worst shooting performance for the season at 29.4 percent for the game on 15 of 51 from the field.  CWU shot an even 50 percent for the game on 28 of 56.  MSUB was led by 15 points off the bench from DeAndre Chambers as he was 4 of 12 from the field, 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and pulled down seven rebounds.  DaVell Jackson chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.

CWU’s Chris Spinker was 9 of 11 from the field with nine rebounds and 20 points to lead all scorers.  Jon Clift had 13 points, while Humberto Perez and JC Cook each chipped in 11.

MSUB’s lone lead of the game came at the 18:29 mark as Mike McCrary nailed the first of six triples for the Yellowjackets to give them a 3-2 lead.  CWU quickly regained the lead and built leads of five and six points on three separate occasions in the first half, but MSUB would charge back but couldn’t get over the hump each time. 

A pair of free throws by Jackson cut the deficit to 25-23 with 5:38 left in the first half.  The Wildcats had the answer again as they used a pair of Spinker charity tosses and a layup by Coby Gibler to go back up six.  MSUB cut the deficit to four points twice in the final two minutes and settled for a 34-30 halftime deficit as Chambers drained a triple as the buzzer sounded.

CWU should have had a more commanding lead in the first half as MSUB was just 8 of 26 from the field for 30 percent and just 3 of 10 from distance.  Credit the Yellowjackets, who continued to fight and made 11 of 16 free throws in the first half to stay in the game.  The Wildcats shot 13 of 29 from the field for 44.8 percent and were just 2 of 9 from deep and 6 of 7 from the line.

The Wildcats came out of the gates in the second half on fire as Sprinker scored a layup followed by a quick triple from Jon Clift and a dunk from Sprinker for a 7-0 run to start the half and a 41-30 lead.  MSUB cut the deficit back to six on a charity toss from Jackson with 16 minutes left.

The deficit swelled back to double digits and CWU built the lead to as many as 17 on a Clift triple with 2:49 left and settled for a 73-57 victory.
MSUB entered the game ranked seventh in the initial West Region Poll while the Wildcats were ninth.  The top eight teams in the region receive a bid to the NCAA West Region tournament in March.

For the game MSUB struggled from the field shooting 29 percent for the game and finished 6 of 19 from beyond the arc.  The Jackets shot 21 of 32 from the free throw line for 65.6 percent.  CWU shot 50 percent from the floor and went 5 of 13 from deep and 12 of 16 from the line.

The big differences in the game came in the paint as the Wildcats dominated to a tune of 34-12 and CWU held a 42-33 advantage in rebounds and a 30-19 advantage on the defensive end.

MSUB returns to action Saturday at 7:30 p.m. versus No. 21 Western Washington in the second game of a doubleheader with the women.  The women’s game begins at 5:15 p.m.  Ken Adelblue, the voice of the Yellowjackets, will have the call for both games via the internet beginning at 5 p.m.