Yellowjackets Sink Marauders, 72-68

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BILLINGS, Mont. – A late tip-in by Brad Hodge and a free throw from DeAndre Chambers propelled the Montana State Billings men’s basketball team to a 72-68 victory over the University of Mary Saturday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium.  With the win, the Yellowjackets move to 2-0 on the year, while Mary falls to 1-2. 

“We found a way to win tonight,” head coach George Pfeifer said.  “We had different guys step up all night, Mike (McCrary) was big in the first half, while DeAndre (Chambers) was big in the second and Hodge (Brad) gave us an all around game tonight.”

Hodge paced the Yellowjackets with a team-high 19 points on 9 of 13 from the field.  He was led by three other players in double figures as Mike McCrary added 15 points, going a team-high 4 of 7 from downtown.  Chambers added 14 points off the bench, while DaVell Jackson scored 10 points with eight assists and seven steals.

“DaVell is the ‘glue guy’ on the team,” Pfeifer added.  “He makes the big plays when it counts.  Our issue right now is consistency and mentality, which was evident in our poor shooting from the line tonight.”

Mary was led by 19 points from Eric Erdmann on 5 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 from the charity stripe.  Anthony Moody added 17 points with a team-high six made field goals, while Jordan Wilhelm added 14 points courtesy of three 3-pointers.

The Yellowjackets out-rebounded the Marauders 31-28, while shooting 52.8 percent from the field.  The Jackets were 28 of 53 from the floor, 6 of 14 from downtown and really struggled at the free throw line shooting 43.5 percent on 10 of 23.  Mary went 23 of 49 from the floor, 6 of 14 from deep and 16 of 19 from the charity stripe.

The game saw nine ties and 19 lead changes.

Mary led by as many as three in the early going courtesy of a driving layup by Moody with 16:32 left for a 9-6 advantage.  McCrary followed with a jumper and a free throw by Derrick Wright tied the game early on.

Chambers hit a 3-pointer moments later to put the Yellowjackets up 12-9 with 15:12 left.  Jackson put MSUB up five with 11:24 left on a layup for a 21-16 advantage.  Later, McCrary tallied the first dunk for the Yellowjackets on the year for a six point cushion at 27-21. 

Mary fought back and took the lead on a layup from Moody with 4:09 left in the half.  The lead was short lived as Brett Taylor knocked down a triple putting the Yellowjackets back in front moments later.  MSUB held a 41-37 lead at intermission.

Both teams shot extremely well in the first half as MSUB was 16 of 27 from the field for a blazing 59 percent, while Mary was 13 of 23 from 56.5 percent.  Mary was helped out by poor free throw shooting by the Yellowjackets (5 of 11) while the Marauders shot 10 of 13 from the line in the opening half.

The Yellowjackets built an eight-point advantage with a layup from Hodge with 11:49 left for a 54-46 lead. 

The Marauders came all the way back and took a 63-62 lead with 5:11 left on a layup from Erdmann.  Mary used a 15-8 run to take the lead.  Chambers again had the answer with a triple to put MSUB back in the lead.

Wilhelm answered with a triple to put Mary back on top with 4:42 left.  A big layup by Wright give MSUB the lead back with 4:20 left at 67-66.

MSUB heads on the road for the first time this season on Tuesday at Augustana College (SD) and then travels to Dixie State for the Dixie State Tournament, Dec. 4-5 in St. George, UT.  MSUB returns home Dec. 11 versus Northern New Mexico College at 6:30 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium.