Box Score
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' men's basketball team used a late second-half run to defeat the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, 80-70, in a key Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Thursday.
Despite trailing for the majority of the game, including a 12-point deficit in the second half, the Yellowjackets (16-12, 9-8 GNAC) used a 24-7 run to close the game. MSUB held the Nanooks to one basket over a critical six-minute stretch late in the game.
With the victory, Montana State Billings moves one game behind UAF and Alaska-Anchorage in the conference standings. A Yellowjacket win Saturday, coupled with an Alaska-Fairbanks loss at No. 4 Seattle Pacific, and MSU Billings slides to fourth in the final conference standings. UAF would move to fifth and the teams would meet again in the quarterfinals of next week's GNAC Tournament. Fairbanks moves to third with a win at Seattle Pacific and an MSUB win. The Yellowjackets would then face Alaska-Anchorage in the quarterfinals.
Thursday, the Yellowjackets were led by
David Arnold and
Omar McDade. The senior duo combined for 34 points, with both scoring 17. Arnold made all of five of his 15 attempts from the field in the second half, while McDade was 6-for-9, including 4-of-5 from behind-the-arc.
Devon Wallace added 12, and
Jarrell Crayton had 10. Arnold grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, and
Kalob Hatcher threw a game-high seven assists. Crayton and Hatcher both had three steals.
Both teams took care of the ball, as Alaska-Fairbanks turned the ball over only nine times, compared to Montana State-Billings' six turnovers. The Yellowjackets turned UAF's errors into a 16-5 points off of turnovers advantage. Both teams finished with 22 points in the paint. MSUB outrebounded Fairbanks, 32-24.
The game featured five ties and four lead changes. MSU Billings led by four early, including 13-9 five minutes into the game. The Nanooks responded with a run and led for the rest of the first half. UAF's largest advantage in the opening stanza was 36-26 with 1:33 remaining in the half. Alaska-Fairbanks committed only two turnovers in the first half, while MSUB had four.
The Nanooks had its largest lead of the night, 45-33, a minute-and-a-half into the second half. A pair of Stefan Tica free-throws at the 11:33 mark of the half gave UAF an 11-point advantage. The Yellowjackets began their decisive run from there. A 14-2 MSUB run gave them their first lead of the second half.
Alaska-Fairbanks (15-10, 10-7) was led by Tica's 16 points. Dominique Brinson chipped in 14 points. Brinson and Pat Voeut both had four rebounds. Voeut, the conference-leader in assists, had four Thursday.
The Yellowjackets welcome Alaska-Anchorage (17-8, 10-7) Saturday on Senior Night in Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Seawolves won the first meeting this season in Anchorage, 75-69. Montana State Billings will honor seniors
David Arnold,
Jarrell Crayton,
Cameron Cusworth, and
Omar McDade. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com.
MSUB – ALASKA-FAIRBANKS POSTGAME NOTES
* Montana State Billings has won six of the last eight meetings with Alaska-Fairbanks.
* All six of those Yellowjacket wins were by double-digits.
* MSU Billings and UAF met for the 58th time, dating back to 1973.
* MSUB has now won 26 of the 29 all-time meetings in Billings.
* Alaska-Fairbanks' 24 rebounds matched a season-low for an MSUB opponent.
Alaska vs MSU Billings
02/28/13 7 p.m. at Billings, Mont. (Alterowitz Gymnasium)
At Billings, Mont. (Alterowitz Gymnasium)
MSU BILLINGS 80, ALASKA 70
ALASKA (15-10, 10-7 GNAC)
Tica,Stefan 5-7 2-2 16; Brinson,Dominique 4-8 5-8 14; Ngawaka,Zach 2-4 3-3
8; Voeut,Pat 4-11 0-2 8; Baker,Ronnie 2-6 3-6 8; Pucar,Sergej 4-8 0-0 8;
Bills,Dallen 1-3 2-2 4; Kelly,Andrew 2-2 0-0 4; Pierson,Cody 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 24-49 15-23 70.
MSU BILLINGS (16-12, 9-8 GNAC)
Arnold,David 5-15 6-6 17; McDade,Omar 6-9 1-1 17; Wallace,Devon 4-5 3-4 12;
Crayton,Jarrell 5-8 0-4 10; Johnson,Sam 4-10 0-1 9; Cusworth,Cameron 3-6 0-0
7; Trabing,Robby 2-4 2-2 6; Hatcher,Kalob 0-2 2-2 2; Desin,Danny 0-1 0-0 0;
Nelson,Tyler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 14-20 80.
Alaska........................ 40 30 - 70
MSU Billings.................. 31 49 - 80
3-point goals--Alaska 7-15 (Tica,Stefan 4-6; Brinson,Dominique 1-3;
Ngawaka,Zach 1-1; Baker,Ronnie 1-2; Pucar,Sergej 0-1; Voeut,Pat 0-2), MSU
Billings 8-19 (McDade,Omar 4-5; Cusworth,Cameron 1-4; Johnson,Sam 1-4;
Arnold,David 1-2; Wallace,Devon 1-2; Desin,Danny 0-1; Hatcher,Kalob 0-1).
Fouled out--Alaska-Baker,Ronnie, MSU Billings-None. Rebounds--Alaska 24
(Voeut,Pat 4; Brinson,Dominique 4), MSU Billings 32 (Arnold,David 7).
Assists--Alaska 11 (Voeut,Pat 4), MSU Billings 17 (Hatcher,Kalob 7). Total
fouls--Alaska 18, MSU Billings 18. Technical fouls--Alaska-None, MSU
Billings-McDade,Omar. A-376
