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BILLINGS, Mont. – Tyler Barnes had a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds, while senior DeAndre Chambers finished just two boards shy of a triple-double, as the Montana State Billings men's basketball team easily cruised to a 90-69 victory over visiting Simon Fraser Tuesday night at Alterowitz.

 

“Tonight's game was very critical for us as the season winds down,” said head coach George Pfeifer. “I thought we did a much better job of finding the open man and taking better shots tonight. We had a terrific effort from a lot of our guys, including Tyler Barnes and DeAndre Chambers. Emery (Henning) and Robert (Mayes) both had tremendous games I thought and really showed some toughness down underneath tonight. Now we have to focus on our next game and keep putting things together as we finish off our regular season and hopefully look toward the tournament.”

 

The Yellowjackets have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season and improve their record to 7-17 overall and 5-12 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. With the win, MSUB stays in the playoff hunt and could be tied for the coveted eighth spot with Alaska Fairbanks by night's end depending on the outcome of the Nanooks contest with Alaska Anchorage.

 

Five players finished in double-figures for the Jackets, including Barnes' 18 points. Chambers and Robert Mayes each went for 15 points, while Emery Henning and Raason Young scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

 

As a team the Yellowjackets shot 46.5 percent from the field and were 42.9 percent beyond the arc. They also shot 60.0 percent from the free throw line, visiting the charity strip 25 times throughout the evening. The defense forced the Clan to shoot just 39.3 percent from the field and just 31.0 percent from the arc on 29 attempts.

 

MSUB out-worked the Clan on the boards, collecting 45 rebounds to SFU's 35. The Jackets also dominated the paint 34-22 and turned 18 turnovers into 20 points, turning the ball over just eight times themselves. Barnes' effort off the bench ignited a 27-point effort by the MSUB bench as the Clan had two points from their bench.

 

Simon Fraser started off the game with a quick 3-pointer by Ricky Berry, who exploded in the two squad's last meeting in Canada. From there, it was all MSUB as they took the lead for the final time on a Jaxon Myaer trey at the 18:19 mark to make the score 8-5.

 

That trifecta also led to a 20-6 run over the next five plus minutes for the Yellowjackets, stretching their lead to 25-11 with 13:06 remaining in the half.

 

Leading 39-24 with 3:55 to go in the first, Young hit a three-spot to begin a 12-6 run to end the first half. MSUB would take a 22 point lead into the break, 52-30.

 

The second half produced much of the same theatrics by the Yellowjackets, posting their largest lead of the game at 34 points with 12:35 remaining.

 

Toward the end of the game, Coach Pfeifer decided to insert Kenneth Anderson and Jordan Knows Gun into the game. Anderson finished the night with four trips to the free throw line, converting one opportunity, and Knows Gun took two shots from the field.

 

The Clan was led by dominant 28 points by Justin Brown who also led the team in rebounds (7) and assists (5). Kene Obi finished his night with 15 points and six rebounds, while Berry had 14 points and four assists.