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BILLINGS, Mont. – An extremely athletic and aggressive defense made the difference Saturday night as the Montana State University Billings wore down the Saints of Saint Martin's University en route to a 82-74 win inside Alterowitz Gymnasium in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
 
With their third straight win, the Yellowjackets improve to 12-7 overall after having won five of their last six games and are now 7-4 in the league while the Saints fell further behind, moving to 8-12 and 4-7 in conference action.
 
“I am proud of our guys for the way they have played over the last eight days,” head coach Jamie Stevens said. “We took care of business at home and have put ourselves in a position to make a run over our last seven games. Tonight, we had a little bit of a letdown, but we still made enough plays to get the win.”
 
For the second time this season, MSUB as a team were balanced across the 40 minutes of play, making the same number of shots as well as attempting the exact same number in both the first and second stanzas. The Yellowjackets ended the night shooting a stout 51.7% (30-58) from the field that included going 10-21 (.476) from three-point range as four different players hit at least one three-pointer.
 
Four players also scored in double-digit points for Coach Stevens and staff, led by the high-flying Antoine Proctor. The Washington, D.C. native recorded a game-high 25 points as he went 8-15 from the field and was perfect (6-6) from the charity stripe. Proctor just missed out on a double-double performance as he brought down a team-leading eight rebounds, six in the first half alone.
 
Behind the senior guard, senior Robert Mayes and junior David Arnold each ended the night with 13 points after both had just five scores in the first half. Mayes went 4-9 from the field and hit five of his six attempts at the free throw line while Arnold was 5-6 from the field and drained three of his four three-point looks.
 
Jaxon Myaer was the final player for MSUB to end with double-digit points as he had 10. The Salt Lake City, Utah native had another solid night leading the offense as he dished out a game-high seven assists in the winning effort.
 
SMU ended the contest shooting 41.2% (28-68) from the field as a team, but only hit on 27.3% (6-22) of their three-point attempts.
 
Roger O'Neill led the way for the Saints with 21 points, going 8-19 from the field to lead a trio of players who took at least 10 shots at the goal. Brok Pendleton, who finished with the lone double-double of the night was next in line with 18 points (7-13) and a game-high 11 rebounds and Jeremy Green finished with 15 points (5-18).
 
Saint Martin's was able to get an early lead as Pendleton had four of SMU's first six points to put the Saints up early, but eventually the Yellowjackets' fast-paced offense and high-pressure defense broke through when Taylor Stevens hit his lone trey of the game just five minutes into the game.
 
The two teams swapped the lead back and forth over the next seven minutes, but a Mayes finger roll to put MSUB up by three established the 'Jackets' lead for good. MSUB would eventually enter halftime with an 11-point (35-24) lead.
 
Out of the break, Pendleton and O'Neill were able to cut the MSUB lead back to single-digits off three made free throws, but the minute victory would not last for long as just two minutes later, senior Chase Richards drained a fade-away jumper to extend the lead back out to 11-points with 17:20 remaining.
 
Proctor was able to give the Yellowjackets a brief 21-point (56-35) lead six minutes later. Down but not out, SMU was able to find a last bit of motivation to lessen the gap down the stretch to make the final tally closer than the first half of the second stanza had been, but could were not able to push through the final few minutes.
 
MSUB received 35 of their final points from the bench, out-scoring SMU 35-9 in the category.
 
Prior to tipoff, MSUB unveiled its new Corridor of Champions in the lobby of the PE Building. The project, which has been two years in the making, pays tribute to Yellowjackets of the past while also offering new space for future achievements to be added.
 
Half time festivities saw the 23^rd class of MSUB's Hall of Fame and Distinction sponsored by Hilton Garden Inn of Billings being recognized for their impressive achievement. The quartet of former MSUB student-athletes included softball pioneer Jeff Aumend, former football player Gary Monahan, former men's basketball player Cameron Munoz and former women's basketball player Michelle (Lieber) Rodgers.
 
From here, the Yellowjackets will turn their focus to a pair of road games up in Alaska. Stevens and cast will first head to Fairbanks to challenge the Nanooks of the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Feb. 4 before traveling to current No. 25 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Feb. 6.