HUNTLEY, Mont. – Jumping out to an early lead at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational, the Montana State University Billings men's golf team shot a team score of 293 during the first round Thursday at Pryor Creek Golf Club.
 
"I felt our men played well today," commented MSUB head coach Shawn O'Brien. "A two-shot lead is very minimal in college golf, therefore we are going to need to come out tomorrow and play well if we want to stay ahead of North Idaho College. They have a great program and they will be gunning to catch us."
 
Close behind the Yellowjackets was NIC, which shot a 295 in the opening round of play.
 
Currently in third place individually is Michael Porter of MSUB, as he shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first of two rounds at the event. Porter had three birdies in the opening round, and tied for the second-most pars among the field with 13.
 
Following Porter's lead was fellow junior Connor Miele, who turned in a dozen pars and three birdies to finish the first round with an even-par 72.
 
"We have to give a lot of credit to Connor and Michael," O'Brien said. "They both put two good rounds together."
 
Currently tied for sixth place is sophomore Parker Bradbury, who shot a 2-over-par 74 on Thursday. Bradbury matched Miele's par total with a dozen, and he also had three birdies in the first round. Freshmen Braden Luper and Scott Larson rounded out the scoring field of five for the 'Jackets, and they currently sit in 11th and 13th place, respectively. Luper used 12 pars to contribute to his first-round score of 76, while Larson had 13 pars and shot a 77.
 
Competing as an individual at the event for the Yellowjackets, freshman Austin Walter is tied for 11th place after using three birdies to score a 76.
 
The overall leader after the first round is Sean Benson of Montana Tech, who shot a 4-under-par 68. Close behind is NIC's Jesse Lambert, who shot a 2-under-par 70 on Day 1 of the event. As a team Montana Tech is currently in third place after shooting a 302 on Day 1.
 
Carroll College (307), South Dakota School of Mines (325), and Miles Community College (363) are also competing in the event.
 
Porter earned St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day honors for the 'Jackets for notching his team's lowest score of the day.
 
"I would like to thank Pryor Creek Golf Club for allowing us to play here this week," O'Brien said. "The greens are in unbelievably great shape, along with the course. We could not have asked for a better day and course to play on. I also want to give a big thank you to All Color Embroidery Services and Sun Mountain Sports for their sponsorships in our fall golf tournament."
 
The second and final round of the event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday with a shotgun start on the par-72, 6,981-yard Elmer Links Course at Pryor Creek.