Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – On his 21st birthday, Marc Matthews knocked down five of a season-high 10 3-pointers for the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team as the Yellowjackets pulled away in the second half in a 79-61 win over Black Hills State University Saturday afternoon at Alterowitz Gym.
 
Leading by just three points at the intermission, MSUB outscored BHSU 46-31 and shot 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the field in the second half. "It truly was a team effort, and we shot seventy two percent from the field in the second half," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "I'm happy for our guys because, and every game we have played has been close. The guys are putting in a lot of hard work and their effort has been great."
 
Also scoring in double-digits for MSUB were Momir Gataric (14) and Antoine Hosley (10), and redshirt freshman Jordan Perry had a game-high eight rebounds. "Jordan was huge for us," Stevens said. "When he went in he really changed the game completely, he had great energy, rebounded the ball, and was very steady."
 
A trio of players scored in double-digits for BHSU, which fell to 2-4 on the season with the loss. Yoshio Allen led his team with 16 points and also had a team-best six rebounds. Riley Ryan contributed a dozen points and six boards, and Myles Henry also had 12 points for the Yellow Jackets.
 
On the game MSUB (1-5) outrebounded BHSU 29-23 and shot 60.0 percent from the field compared to 43.4 percent by BHSU. Freshman Kendall Denham turned in a game high four assists, and senior Austin Hudson had eight points and five rebounds for MSUB.
 
Both teams started slow offensively, as BHSU moved to a 6-4 lead six minutes into the game on four points by Allen.
 
Back-to-back threes by Matthews and Antoine Hosley jump-started the MSUB offense, as the score moved even at 10-10 midway through the first. The teams remained close as time wound down in the first, and Matthews's third 3-pointer of the half gave MSUB a 25-23 lead.
 
A three from Gataric with less than three minutes until half time sparked a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 33-27.
 
Hudson opened the second frame with a layup, and Matthews hit a jumper and another three to give MSUB a six-point lead at 40-34.
 
Following a missed 3-pointer with an offensive rebound, Perry finished a layup to make it a 10-point lead for MSUB. On the next play, the redshirt freshman came up with a steal, and passed the ball to Hosley for a short jumper to make the score 49-37.
 
The 6-0 MSUB run was halted on a three by Tate Hilgenkamp, but the 'Jackets maintained the double-digit advantage moving into the later part of the second half.
 
Matthews knocked down a wide-open shot from long range with five minutes left, opening up a 68-52 edge as MSUB stormed to a secure lead.
 
BHSU never threatened to cut into the deficit through the final four minutes, and MSUB closed out its first win of the season.
 
"It's an exciting week because it is a fresh start for us," Stevens said regarding conference play beginning next week. "GNAC play is really where you want to perform well, and coming off of a game like this helps us. It's a tough road trip, and we are playing two good, well-coached teams."
 
AHEAD: Kicking off Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next weekend, the Yellowjackets will hit the road to take on Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. MSUB faces the Wildcats on Dec. 4 with an 8:30 p.m. Moutain time tipoff, and against the Crusaders on Dec. 6 the start time will be 7:30 Mountain.