Box Score
Photo Gallery
LACEY, Wash. – Needing to make a statement in the West Region, the fifth-seeded Montana State University Billings men's basketball team came out firing on all cylinders, particularly in the second half, to upset the fourth-seeded Wolves of Western Oregon University 80-75 in the second men's quarterfinal game of the 2012 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Basketball Championships Wednesday night.
The Yellowjackets (16-11) went 2-1 against the Wolves (18-10) this season under the guidance of first-year head coach
Jamie Stevens to earn the opportunity to play in the semifinal round of the conference tournament. MSUB will face top-seeded and nationally-ranked Western Washington University at 2:15 p.m. on Friday.
The Vikings are also the top-ranked team in the West Region according to the final NCAA Division II region polls released earlier Wednesday.
“I am just really proud of the way we played in the second half,” said Stevens shortly after the win. “We came out hot and just jumped on them right out of the game. We were making shots and making some big plays there to start the second half, but then we kind of went into that lull. We didn't necessarily lose momentum, (Western Oregon) just started making their shots.
“The last couple minutes were great as we hit our free throws and Jaxon (Myaer) and Antoine (Proctor) really caught fire and did a fantastic job down the stretch for us. I am most proud tonight for our six seniors. They really wanted this win and showed that tonight by making a real statement”
Both teams opened the game shooting the ball extremely well from the field in the first half as both teams shot over 50%. MSUB ended the night shooting 50.8% (31-61) from the field after opening the game on a .516 clip while WOU ended the game shooting 47.5% (29-61) after opening the game with a 51.5% performance in the opening stanza.
The Yellowjackets were led by four players who ended the game in double figures led by senior forward
Robert Mayes. Mayes played a critical part in the Yellowjackets' success as he kick-started the second-half run with seven points in the opening two and a half minutes of play. He ended the night with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds as he went 9-15 from the field.
Antoine Proctor also caught fire late as he ended the game with 15 points after only tallying two points in the first half. Proctor was able to match Mayes in boards as he gained excellent position on Western Oregon's low-men despite being under-sized for the task.
Jaxon Myaer and
David Arnold were the final two Yellowjackets in double-digit points with 13 and 10 respectively. Myaer drained two of his critical three-pointers in the second half while Arnold connected on a pair in the opening stanza.
Likewise the Wolves ended the night with four players in double figures led by Blair Wheadon and James Gehring. Wheadon knocked down critical shots all-game-long to keep WOU ahead for most of the game. He ended the night with 18 points while Gehrings added in 14.
Kolton Nelson and Kris White were the final two players in double figures with 13 and 12 respectively.
The Wolves took a one-point, 40-39, lead into halftime despite the best efforts of Wheadon who attempted to beat the buzzer twice in the final seconds of the half to extend the lead out a bit more.
Despite their solid shooting performance in the opening half of play, MSUB wanted to make their statement loud and clear that they had come to play; and play they did.
In just the first two and a half minutes of play, Mayes scored seven points to give the Yellowjackets the lead while holding the Wolves at bay as Proctor gained defensive board after defensive board.
MSUB eventually went on a 14-2 run to open the half through the first 4:30 of the second stanza to go up 53-42 as the Yellowjackets showed more energy and desire than the Wolves.
The Wolves would eventually find a spark in the ensuing minutes to close within two (53-51) after White sank a short jumper from the left side and followed by Jamal Veal giving the Wolves the lead back with just over 11:30 remaining in the half off a three from the left side at 56-55.
With three minutes remaining and MSUB down 70-67, Proctor swiped an ill-placed pass away and drove to the other end of the court with 2:30 remaining hooking up with Arnold and Mayes below the basket. Off the feed from Protcot, Arnold drove baseline and fed Mayes the ball for an easy layup to cut the lead back down to one (70-69) with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
Another costly turnover by the Wolves gave the Yellowjackets the ball back with 1:45 registering on the game clock and Myaer capitalized with a critical three to give MSUB the two-point lead at 72-70.
After Kyle Long sank a pair of free throws to knot the game at 72-all, Proctor took the lead back for MSUB for good with a jumper from the left side.
MSUB would never trail again as Henning packed Gehring down low with Mayes there to clean up the rebound to give the 'Jackets the ball back.
Western Oregon would send Myaer, Arnold and finally Proctor to the line over the final 30 seconds, but the 'Jacket men were just too good from the charity stripe as they knocked down four of their five attempts to ice the score and hold on for the win.
The Yellowjackets will now take a day to prepare for the Vikings who they played just four days ago on Western Washington's home court. “We stayed with them for most of the game, but they gave it to us in the second half,” Stevens stated as he turned his attention to Friday's semifinal matchup. “We will have our hands full, we know that because they are an excellent team, the top team in the west region and one of the best teams in the nation. We will just have to go out and play hard and see what happens.”
