Yellowjackets Fall in Upset Bid of No. 11 Seattle Pacific, 78-75

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BILLINGS, Mont. – No. 11 Seattle Pacific escaped with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Chris Banchero as Montana State Billings’ upset bid fell just short, 78-75 on Hall of Fame Night.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 12-9 on the year and 6-6 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  SPU improved to 20-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play.

Out of a timeout with six seconds left, Banchero received the ball at the top of the arc and nailed the dagger triple with 1.8 seconds left.  The Yellowjackets inbounded the ball and Chambers heaved a triple from ¾ court with the ball caroming off the front of the iron as time expired.

Despite the loss, the Yellowjackets were in familiar territory as they were down 71-66 with 1:09 left.  MSUB was down five with 97 seconds left on Thursday versus Northwest Nazarene and pulled off the win.  Just like Thursday, Chambers scored a triple with 37 seconds left cutting the deficit to 71-70. 

Brandon Larrieu scored two free throws moments later, but a driving layup by DaVell Jackson cut the deficit back to one at 73-72 with 16 seconds left.  Larrieu added two more free throws with 12 seconds left.

That’s when Mike McCrary hit his second 3-pointer of the game to tie the score at 75 with seven seconds to go.

Banchero led the game with 24 points on 9 of 15 from the field.  He was 1 of 2 from beyond the arc with the game winning 3-pointer.  He had a game-high 10 assists.  MSUB’s Derrick Wright led the way with 19 points on 8 of 12 from the field.  He also led the team with six rebounds, eight assists and was a perfect 3 of 3 from the line.

McCrary and Chambers each had 14 points, while Brad Hodge chipped in 13.  MSUB shot an even 50 percent from the field on 31 of 62 from the floor.  The Jackets struggled a bit from deep as they were just 5 of 18 from range, but were 8 of 10 from the line. 

SPU had a double-double from Ryan Sweet with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Larrieu also scored 18 points in the winning effort.  No other Falcon scored more than seven points.  The Falcons shot 58 percent for the game on 29 of 50.  They were 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and 16 of 27 from the charity stripe.  SPU led the battle of the boards, 34-29.

At halftime, the Yellowjackets honored the 2010 MSUB Hall of Fame and Distinction inductees, who were inducted into the MSUB Yellowjacket Athletic Hall of Fame and Distinction last night at the Hilton Garden Inn.  Margot Merrill-Johnson (soccer and tennis, 2001-2005), Natalie Visger (basketball, 2000-2003), Dominic Washington (basketball, 1984-1987) and Henry “Charlie” Williams (football, baseball, basketball and track, 1964-1967) became the 21st class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In addition, MSUB also celebrated its 1,000th men’s basketball victory as a number of former MSUB men’s basketball players returned to MSUB for the event.  MSUB won its 1,000th game Jan. 7, 2010, at Alaska Fairbanks.  MSUB now is 1005-896 in men’s basketball since 1927-28 and became the 68th NCAA Division II school to win 1,000 games.

The Yellowjackets opened the game with the first bucket as the teams traded the lead back-and-forth for much of the first 10 minutes.  A triple by Jeff Downs gave SPU a 17-13 lead with 12:29 left, but the Yellowjackets used a triple from Brett Taylor and a layup by Chambers to cut the deficit to one with 3:02 left. 

Freshman Andrew Hickman was a force down low in the final three minutes as he tied the game with a jumper at 34 with 1:56 left in the half.  Hickman scored six points off the bench in the opening half on 3 of 4 from the field and tallied two rebounds with one assist and one block.

Chambers hit a triple less than a minute into the second half to cut the deficit to one at 40-39 and Hodge nailed a jumper moments later to force the eighth tie, but MSUB was unable to get over the hump and regain the lead.

The Falcons kept the lead between 3-5 points for a majority of the half and held a seven-point lead on two occasions. 

From the 2:41 point and MSUB down seven (69-62), the Yellowjackets used an 8-2 run capped by Chambers’ triple with 37 seconds left.

The Yellowjackets continue their home stand Thursday with Western Oregon at 7 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium.  MSUB then concludes the home slate Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. against Alaska Anchorage on Senior Night.  MSUB will honor seven seniors who will be playing their final home game of their careers.