Box Score

JAMIE STEVENS POSTGAME          PHOTO GALLERY

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team cruised to a 92-74 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory over Simon Fraser University (B.C.) Thursday.

Five Yellowjackets (8-6, 1-2 GNAC) finished in double-digit scoring led by Jarrell Crayton's 16 points. The senior made eight of his nine shots from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. David Arnold added 15 points. Omar McDade and Robby Trabing both scored 11 points, and Devon Wallace chipped in a season-high 10. Trabing also had eight rebounds. Kalob Hatcher finished with seven assists, while McDade dished out six. Wallace matched a team season-high four steals.

Montana State Billings shot 51 percent from the field, and threw 27 assists on the 33 made field goals. It marks the most assists in a single-game under Head Coach Jamie Stevens. It was the most assists since MSUB recorded 25 against Simon Fraser on Dec. 3, 2011. The Yellowjackets made eight of their 26 three-point attempts, and 18-of-26 from the free-throw line.

“That was a hard game,” Stevens said. “It looked like Simon Fraser had a few guys not make the trip and we had prepared all week for their full roster. They were missing their leading scorer and point guard, so it was different after preparing for their whole team. I thought our guys reacted well. We played well against their zone, getting some inside touches; we did miss a ton of open threes. Overall I was pleased. We got 27 assists on 33 field goals which is a great stat to have.”

The Clan opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers and a 6-0 lead, its largest lead of the night. The next 10 minutes included three ties, and SFU held a 24-20 advantage with 7:08 remaining in the first half. MSU Billings went on an 11-2 run and never lost the lead again. A pair of Arnold free-throws closed the half and gave the Yellowjackets a 36-31 lead at halftime. Montana State Billings outscored SFU, 20-12, in the paint in the first half, and 12-0 off of the bench.

A lay-in from Trabing six minutes into the second half gave MSUB its first double-digit lead, 47-37. Simon Fraser cut the lead to single digits on five occasions, but the Yellowjackets held a double-digit lead for the final 11 minutes. The final margin of 18 points was the largest of the game.

Taylor Dunn scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Clan. He made eight of his 17 shots from the field. Elijah Matthews scored 19 points, making three of his seven attempts from behind-the-arc. Anto Olah added 16 points. Olah, Dunn, and Ibrahim Appiah each finished with seven rebounds. Matt Staudacher threw four assists.

Simon Fraser (5-5, 0-2) finished 42 percent from the field. The Clan made six of their 16 shots from behind the perimeter and 12-of-17 from the free-throw line. SFU committed 15 turnovers and threw 11 assists. MSUB had 10 steals and 12 turnovers. Montana State Billings had a slim 33-32 rebound advantage.

The Yellowjackets play the fifth game of a five-game home-stand Saturday against No. 5 Western Washington. The defending national champion Vikings (11-0, 2-0) won a top-10 matchup at No. 7 Seattle Pacific, 66-56, Thursday. WWU's 17-game win streak is the longest in NCAA Div. II. The Vikings' last loss came to Montana State Billings in the GNAC Tournament semifinals last season.

“They're really good,” Stevens said of Western Washington. “They might be better than they were last year. We're going to have our hands full. I think they are the No. 1 team in the country. They won the national title last year, and haven't lost yet, so I think they're No. 1. We're going to have to play really well to compete with them.”

All children sixth-grade or under receive free admission to all Montana State Billings' home contests. Saturday's tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com. 

MSUB – SIMON FRASER POSTGAME NOTES
• The Yellowjackets improve to 5-1 all-time versus Simon Fraser.
• Montana State Billings has four straight in the series.
• MSUB is 4-0 against the Clan in Billings.
• The Yellowjackets are 7-0 this season when leading with five minutes left in regulation.
• Montana State Billings is 20-1 under Stevens when it shoots better than its opponent.
• MSU Billings is 11-0 under Stevens when it shoots 50 percent or better.
• Stevens is 3-0 against Simon Fraser.
• The Yellowjackets are 6-4 in their last 10 GNAC home openers.
• The 27 assists are the most in a single-game under Stevens, and the most assists since MSUB recorded 25 against Simon Fraser on Dec. 3, 2011.

Simon Fraser vs MSU Billings
01/03/13 7:00 PM at Billings, Mont.
At Billings, Mont.
MSU BILLINGS 92, SIMON FRASER 74
SIMON FRASER (5-5, 0-2 GNAC)
Dunn,Taylor 8-17 4-4 21; Matthews,Elijah 6-16 4-4 19; Olah,Anto 7-12 2-4 16;
Staudacher,Matt 3-12 1-2 8; Bantock,John 2-4 0-0 5; Appiah,Ibrahim 1-4 1-3
3; Hamilton,Dillon 1-1 0-0 2; Dunlop,Keegan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 12-17
74.
MSU BILLINGS (8-6, 1-2 GNAC)
Crayton,Jarrell 8-9 0-1 16; Arnold,David 4-9 5-6 15; Trabing,Robby 4-6 2-3
11; McDade,Omar 4-6 1-3 11; Wallace,Devon 5-10 0-1 10; Johnson,Sam 2-5 5-6
9; Cusworth,Cameron 3-6 3-4 9; Ridgeway,Brian 2-6 2-2 8; Hatcher,Kalob 1-3
0-0 3; Desin,Danny 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 18-26 92.
Simon Fraser..................   31   43  -   74
MSU Billings..................   37   55  -   92
3-point goals--Simon Fraser 6-16 (Matthews,Elijah 3-7; Staudacher,Matt 1-5;
Dunn,Taylor 1-2; Bantock,John 1-2), MSU Billings 8-26 (Arnold,David 2-6;
McDade,Omar 2-3; Ridgeway,Brian 2-5; Hatcher,Kalob 1-3; Trabing,Robby 1-1;
Desin,Danny 0-4; Johnson,Sam 0-1; Wallace,Devon 0-3). Fouled out--Simon
Fraser-None, MSU Billings-None. Rebounds--Simon Fraser 32 (Appiah,Ibrahim 7;
Olah,Anto 7; Dunn,Taylor 7), MSU Billings 33 (Trabing,Robby 8;
Crayton,Jarrell 8). Assists--Simon Fraser 11 (Staudacher,Matt 4), MSU
Billings 27 (Hatcher,Kalob 7). Total fouls--Simon Fraser 20, MSU Billings
15. Technical fouls--Simon Fraser-TEAM, MSU Billings-None. A-200