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BILLINGS, Mont. -- Catching fire late and using five players in double figures helped the Montana State Billings men's basketball team come away with an 82-66 victory over visiting Dickinson State University Friday evening inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The Yellowjackets improved to 6-4 on the season as they closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule, while Dickinson State used the contest as an exhibition match, holding their season record at 7-9.
 
“I was happy with our energy defensively as we forced 27 turnovers,” said first year head coach Jamie Stevens. “I was also pleased with our 27 made field goals and our 22 assists, as I thought we shared the basketball really well tonight. It was another good night and good effort for us. We still need to play smarter at times, but we're getting better and showing improvement.”
 
Senior Jaxon Myaer scored a team-high 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting, but sophomore Preston Richards had the big night for the Yellowjackets with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds. Cameron Cusworth dropped in 12 points, while Taylor Stevens had 11 and David Arnold had 10.
 
The Yellowjackets shot 44.3 percent (27-61) from the floor and were 44.4 percent (12-27) from the arc. They held a 40-33 advantage on the boards and converted 17 points off of 27 Blue Hawk turnovers. The Jackets also held a 34-12 margin in points off the bench and had 22 points in the paint.
 
The Blue Hawks were led by a game-high 15 points from John Hanstad, while Jarek Hansen dumped in 14 and a team-high five boards. Casper Hesseldal was also in double digits for the Blue Hawks as he scored 11 points and had four steals.
 
The Yellowjackets struggled through the first half, turning the ball over 14 times; allowing the Blue Hawks to hang around as they only managed a five point advantage through the first 12 minutes of the game.
 
Dickinson State took their first lead of the game at 22-21 with 6:04 remaining in the half on a three from Hansen. The Jackets quickly answered back as they ended the half on an 11-6 run, including four points and a blocked shot by Mayes.
 
As the second half got underway, DSU held a two point lead at 36-34 with 16:01 remaining before Mayes put the Jackets ahead for good at 37-36 when he connected on the backend of his two free throws.
 
The Jackets steadily built a double digit lead as they went on a 13-3 run over a three minute span to build 57-45 lead with 8:57 remaining. That lead would extend by as many as 20 points, 73-53, at the 5:08 mark, and the Jackets would go on to the comfortable 16-point victory.
 
The Yellowjackets are back on the court tomorrow for an exhibition game with a team full of talented alumni. Tip-off for that contest is at 2 p.m. inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.