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BILLINGS, Mont. – Robert Mayes recorded a double-double to lead the Montana State Billings men's basketball squad to a convincing 80-64 victory over visiting Western Washington on senior night Thursday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

 

The victory capped off the regular season for the Yellowjackets who improved to 8-17 on the year and 6-12 in the conference. MSUB will enter the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament as the eight seed and will play the number one seed, Central Washington, Monday night at 7 p.m. in Ellensburg.

 

“Tonight was a great win for us and great way to finish the regular season,” said head coach George Pfeifer. “I'm proud of our guys and the way they've fought all season long and especially down the stretch, winning our final three games. I'm also proud of our seniors and was glad to get the win tonight to help send them off with a victory at home. Now we have to prepare for a very tough Central Washington team on Monday and gear up for the tournament.”

 

Mayes was dominant inside and out throughout the entire game as the junior went off for 21 points and 11 rebounds. His post play was complimented by a big night from Emery Henning as he shot 5-of-6 from the field and was 7-for-11 from the line to rack up 17 points and four boards.

 

The Jackets also had solid performances from seniors DeAndre Chambers and Raason Young. Chambers scored 15 points, while Young scored 10 and pulled down five rebounds. Jaxon Myaer was also in on the action, nearly tallying a double-double himself, scoring nine points and dishing out nine assists.

 

The Yellowjackets were thorough from the field as they shot 52.8 percent in the game, including a first half performance that saw them shoot 57.1 percent. The Jackets were also very strong from the line as they shot 74.1 percent (20-27) from the charity stripe.

 

Western Washington was led by Michael Duty's 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Vikings also got 18 points and nine boards from Rory Blanche.

 

WWU shot just 44.1 percent from the field and struggled from beyond the arc, going 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) on the night. The Vikings were 66.7 percent from the charity stripe as they went to the line just nine times during the game.

 

MSUB won the boards battle 34-31 and forced 16 Viking turnovers, which led to 22 points. The Jackets were impressive inside as they outscored WWU 36-36 in the paint. There were no ties in the game and the lead changed three times throughout the contest.

 

The first half didn't provide a lot of action as both teams took a while to get started. The Vikings led 5-4 with 15:47 remaining in the first half as that would prove to be the final lead for WWU in the game. The Jackets took the lead on an easy lay-in by Henning to go up 6-5.

 

Both sides continued to play a close game as the first half unfolded; MSUB never leading by more than eight. The Jackets carried some momentum into the locker room when Mayes threw down a dunk off a pass by Henning to put the Jackets up 33-25.

 

The Yellowjackets maintained their lead in the second half, and began to build double-digit leads with just fewer than 10 minutes to go. Chambers had a jumper in the paint with 9:49 remaining to make the score 53-43.

 

With the Vikings still lingering around and just 2:59 left in the game, Chambers rolled off a screen on the right wing and let a high-arching three rain down to give MSUB a 70-57 lead. Western Washington then started to foul, but the Jackets held their ground and knocked down clutch free throws down the stretch.

 

Those free throws by Myaer, Henning and Chambers iced the game and a three-game winning streak to end the season for the Jackets. The win marked the first for MSUB over the Vikings since an 86-85 home win on Nov. 30, 1979. The Jackets and Vikings played sparingly for years until MSUB joined the GNAC, as the win also snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Vikings.