Box Score

JAMIE STEVENS POSTGAME INTERVIEW                   KALOB HATCHER POSTGAME INTERVIEW

PHOTO GALLERY

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team cruised to an 89-50 regular-season opening victory over Black Hills State University Saturday.

The Yellowjackets (1-0) finished with five players scoring in double-digits led by Sam Johnson's 19 points. The junior recorded a double-double adding 11 rebounds. Omar McDade chipped in 16 points, David Arnold had 12, while Kalob Hatcher and Robby Trabing both finished with 11. Trabing had a game-high five assists and four steals, while Arnold and Hatcher both dished out four assists.

“I was very pleased with our performance tonight,” MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens said. “I thought we were consistent as we were in the exhibition games. We made 12 threes which was nice, I thought we missed some lay-ups we should have made, and we missed 10 free-throws, but all-in-all we had five guys in double figures and all 12 guys contributed.”

Montana State Billings controlled the defensive side of the ball, forcing 27 BHSU turnovers. Black Hills State's 50 points were the fewest allowed by MSUB under Stevens. The Yellowjackets held Black Hills State to 32 percent shooting from the field, and 4-of-12 shooting from behind the arc. MSUB finished with 12 steals, while committing 16 turnovers.

“I think our defense was the story tonight,” Stevens said. “Forcing 27 turnovers and holding them to 32 percent shooting is great. We did a nice job defensively tonight.”

MSU Billings had a 49-39 rebound advantage. MSUB shot 41 percent from the field, making 12 of its 28 three-point attempts. The Yellowjackets made 15 of their 25 free-throw attempts, while BHSU was 12-of-23 from the free-throw line. There was a total of 46 fouls called in the opening game of the season for both teams.

Black Hills State scored the first five points of the game, before MSUB answered with a 14-2 run. A Tanner Adler three-pointer closed the gap to 17-14 at the 8:20 mark of the first half. But, that would be as close as BHSU could get to MSU Billings.

The Yellowjackets built a 14-point lead after a 12-1 run capped by a Trabing lay-in with 3:33 remaining in the first half. Another Trabing lay-in with 38 seconds left in the half gave MSUB a 39-20 advantage, the largest margin in the first half. MSU Billings took a 39-22 lead into the halftime break.

Two minutes into the second half, Brian Ridgeway gave Montana State Billings a 23-point cushion with a three-pointer. The margin remained more than 20 points for the majority of the second half until an Arnold lay-in gave the Yellowjackets a 74-43 lead. A Johnson three-pointer with 57 seconds remaining in regulation gave MSUB its largest lead of the evening, 89-48.

Montana State Billings had a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint, along with a 44-12 lead in points off of the bench. It was the first meeting between the schools since a 66-59 MSUB win in 1977. The Yellowjackets have won nine of the 15 all-time meetings. Before Saturday's game, MSU Billings' last five regular season home openers have been decided by single digits, including the last four being decided by a combined 13 points.

Adler led Black Hills State (0-1) with 18 points. Austin Maag led the Yellow Jackets with seven rebounds and Brady Bisgaard had a team-high four assists.

Montana State Billings welcomes Dixie State (Utah) in its next game Friday. The Red Storm (2-0) received eight votes in the preseason national poll and fell to NCAA Div. 1 UNLV, 81-80, in an exhibition. Tipoff between DSC and the Yellowjackets is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com.

“Dixie is a perennial powerhouse,” Stevens said. “There a team that consistently gets into the NCAA tournament and you could expect them to make a run in the tournament this year. They thumped us last year at their place. They're just a really well coached team. They play different than us; they're a lot bigger and will pound the ball inside. It's going to be a big test for us, but we're looking forward to having them at our place.”

MSUB – BLACK HILLS STATE POSTGAME NOTES
- Montana State Billings leads the all-time series over Black Hills State, 9-6
- The Yellowjackets have won seven regular season contests over BHSU.
- It was the first meeting since MSUB's 66-59 win on Jan. 4, 1977, in Spearfish, S.D.
- The series began with a 43-37 BHSU win on Dec. 8, 1939.
- MSUB has won seven of the 11 all-time meetings with Black Hills State in Billings.
- It was the first regular season contests for both schools.
- Robby Trabing hit career-highs in points, assists, and steals in 23 minutes, a minute less than his career-high set last season at Chadron State.
- Black Hills State's 50 points were the fewest points allowed in a game under Jamie Stevens.