Box Score

MONMOUTH, Ore. -- A 16 for 52 shooting performance helped sink the Montana State Billings men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the New PE Building in Monmouth as MSUB fell 71-60 to conference-leading Western Oregon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Yellowjackets fell to 7-5 on the season and are now level in the conference with a 2-2 record. Western Oregon improved to 11-2 on the season and remained perfect in the GNAC with a 4-0 record to begin the conference season.
 
“We had a tough night shooting the ball again,” first-year head coach Jamie Stevens said. “I thought we missed some shots that we normally make, but I also thought Western Oregon punched us in the mouth in the first half and really took us out of what we wanted to do on the offensive end. Unfortunately for us, the game was really played at their pace. In fact, that might be the first time all year that a team got more field goal attempts than us. All credit goes to Western, they out-coached and out-played us.
 
The Yellowjackets were led by a 16-point performance from Jaxon Myaer and also received 14 points from Robert Mayes and 13 from Taylor Stevens, who also had eight boards. Western Oregon kept MSUB leading scorer Antoine Proctor under 10 points for just the second time this season as he had nine with 11 rebounds.
 
MSUB looked strong in the early going as they took the lead at the 13:29 mark on a lay-in by Mayes and then a three by Myaer. The Jackets led by as many as seven, 21-14, when Cameron Cusworth connected on a free throw at the 8:12 mark.
 
Western Oregon then went on a 9-0 run that was sparked by a lay-in from Kolton Nelson to re-take the lead for good. The run was capped by a three-pointer from Blair Wheadon, who scored a game-high 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting.
 
The Wolves eventually built a nine point lead as the two teams went into the half with WOU leading 32-23.
 
Western Oregon stayed in control throughout the second half as they saw their lead increase to 17 points (47-30) on a Jordan Freelander layup with 11:10 remaining in the game. The Jackets responded by getting back within eight when Myaer hit a triple with 6:33 to go, but WOU remained in control and went on to the 11 point victory.
 
Joining Wheadon with an 18 point night was Kyle Long who also had seven rebounds during the afternoon. Nelson scored 11 points during the contest and Jamaal Veal swiped eight balls off the glass to lead the Wolves in rebounds.
 
Western Oregon controlled the rebounding war with a 41-36 advantage and also dominated the paint area, outscoring the Jackets 38-14. WOU also converted 20 MSUB turnovers into 30 points, while the Jackets got 16 points off of 16 turnovers.
 
The Yellowjackets will begin the New Year when they host conference-favorite Alaska Anchorage next Thursday night inside Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Jackets also host Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night as both games are slated to begin at 7 p.m.