Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After leading by only three points at halftime, the No. 2 Western Washington University men's basketball team outscored Montana State University Billings 27-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half, to pull away with an 86-69 victory.

The Vikings (19-0, 10-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) won their 25th straight contest. The streak is the longest active in NCAA Div. II and in GNAC history. WWU also matched a 41-year-old school record for the longest win streak at home, winning its 20th consecutive game in Sam Carver Gymnasium. Western Washington won 20 games in a row at home from 1970 to 1972.

Western Washington, two wins shy of a school record start set in 1971-72, was led by Paul Jones' 19 points. The senior was 9-of-12 from the field. Chris Mitchell added 18 points. Jones and Mitchell both grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. John Allen and Richard Woodworth scored 15 and 12 points respectively. Rico Wilkins and Allen both threw five assists. Austin Bragg and Mitchell both finished with five blocks. Cameron Severson had a game-high five steals.

The Vikings shot 58 percent from the field, and made six of their eight shots from behind the arc. WWU also hit 10 of its 14 free-throw attempts. It had an 18-4 fast-break points advantage. Western Washington outrebounded MSUB, 34-29.

The first half featured 11 lead changes and nine ties, with no lead greater than five points. MSUB shot 59 percent from the field in the opening half, while Western Washington made 55 percent of its shots. The Yellowjackets had the early advantage, leading 16-11 at the 13:17 mark of the first half. A 6-0 run gave WWU the lead back. The Vikings took a 42-39 lead into halftime.

A Jarrell Crayton jumper opened the second half, and cut the lead to one point. Western Washington then scored 14 unanswered points, and cruised from there. A Wilkins' lay-in with 9:58 remaining in regulation gave the Vikings their largest lead of the game, 69-48. WWU outshot Montana State Billings, 61 percent to 30 percent in the second half.

“I was proud how our guys fought tonight,” MSU Billings' Head Coach Jamie Stevens said. “We talked before the game about not turning the ball over, not sending them to the free-throw line and matching them on the offensive end. We did that in the first half, but not the second half. They went on 14-0 run and that was the game. They are a great team, one of the best I have seen at this level. Hopefully, we build from this.”

The Yellowjackets (11-10, 4-6 GNAC) are now 0-7 all-time at Western Washington. Crayton scored 24 points to lead MSUB. The senior made 10 of his 15 attempts from the field. Sam Johnson had his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Crayton and Johnson combined for 26 points in the first half. Omar McDade had 10 points and three assists.

After making four of its eight three-point attempts in the first half, MSU Billings missed all 13 shots from behind the perimeter in the second half. MSUB made 86 percent of its free-throws, 13-of-15, a new season-high. The Yellowjackets committed 15 turnovers, and WWU had 12 steals.

Western Washington welcomes No. 4 Seattle Pacific (16-2, 9-1) in a top-five battle Saturday, while Montana State Billings crosses the border to face Simon Fraser (B.C.). The Yellowjackets eased to a 92-74 win in Billings earlier this season over SFU (6-12, 1-9). MSUB has won four straight over the Clan, and five of the six all-time meetings. Saturday's tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time with live video and stats on MSUBSports.com.

MSUB – WESTERN WASHINGTON POSTGAME NOTES
* Thursday was the 19th all-time meeting between Montana State Billings and WWU.
* The Vikings hold a 16-3 all-time advantage over MSUB.
* Western Washington has the longest active win streak, 25 games, in NCAA Div. II and the longest in GNAC history.
* The last team to beat the Vikings was MSUB in the GNAC Tournament semifinals last season.
* MSU Billings has lost all seven meetings against the Vikings in Bellingham all-time.
* Fifteen of WWU's wins this season have been by 10 or more points.
* WWU matched a 41-year-old school record for the longest win streak at home, winning its 20th consecutive game in Sam Carver Gymnasium.
* The Yellowjackets shot a season-best 86 percent from the free-throw line.
* Western Washington's 75 percent from behind the arc and nine blocks were both season-highs for an MSUB opponent.
* Sam Johnson and Jarrell Crayton were a combined 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Newspaper Box Score
MSU Billings vs Western Washington
01/31/13 7:30 PM at Carver Gym - Bellingham, WA
At Carver Gym - Bellingham, WA
WESTERN WASHINGTON 86, MSU BILLINGS 69
MSU BILLINGS (11-10, 4-6 GNAC)
Crayton,Jarrell 10-15 4-4 24; Johnson,Sam 6-12 5-5 19; McDade,Omar 4-16 1-2
10; Wallace,Devon 3-6 2-2 9; Trabing,Robby 2-2 1-2 5; Cusworth,Cameron 1-4
0-0 2; Arnold,David 0-0 0-0 0; Hatcher,Kalob 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 13-15
69.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (19-0, 10-0 GNAC)
Jones,Paul 9-12 1-2 19; Mitchell,Chris 7-9 2-2 18; Allen,John 7-13 0-0 15;
Woodworth,Richard 5-9 0-0 12; Wilkins,Rico 3-5 0-0 7; Bragg,Austin 2-5 3-3
7; Severson,Cameron 1-5 3-4 5; Turner,Anye 1-2 1-3 3; Thorpe,Dane 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 35-60 10-14 86.
MSU Billings..................   39   30  -   69
Western Washington............   42   44  -   86
3-point goals--MSU Billings 4-21 (Johnson,Sam 2-4; McDade,Omar 1-8;
Wallace,Devon 1-2; Hatcher,Kalob 0-3; Cusworth,Cameron 0-3; Crayton,Jarrell
0-1), Western Washington 6-8 (Mitchell,Chris 2-2; Woodworth,Richard 2-3;
Wilkins,Rico 1-1; Allen,John 1-2). Fouled out--MSU Billings-None, Western
Washington-None. Rebounds--MSU Billings 29 (Johnson,Sam 10), Western
Washington 34 (Jones,Paul 7; Mitchell,Chris 7). Assists--MSU Billings 10
(McDade,Omar 3), Western Washington 19 (Allen,John 5; Wilkins,Rico 5). Total
fouls--MSU Billings 13, Western Washington 13. Technical fouls--MSU
Billings-None, Western Washington-None. A-892
Western Washington ranked #2 nationally