SAN DIEGO – Struggling to get the offense rolling in the second half, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team lost to Fresno Pacific University Saturday in the PacWest crossover tournament at Golden Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets led by as many as 11 in the first half but made just 1-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half as Fresno Pacific countered with 46 second half points on 55-percent shooting.
 
"I was very disappointed in how we played," head coach Mick Durham said on Saturday. "We had a chance early in the game to grab a good lead and extend it but we failed to do so. Fresno Pacific gained confidence at the end of the first half and carried it into the second. We had no response. We'll be glad to be at home finally next week but we need to re-group."
 
MSU Billings (0-2, 0-0 GNAC) shot 35.8 percent for the game, 25.9 percent from three-point range (7-for-27) and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (10-for-14). Meanwhile, the Sunbirds shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-for-55), 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-18) and 70.8 percent from the free throw line (17-for-24).
 
On defense, the 'Jackets pulled in 26 defensive rebounds, totaling 38 rebounds against the Sunbirds. MSUB also added six blocks, eight steals, and 11 assists. The Sunbirds outscored the Yellowjackets in the paint 36-to-30.
 
Melvin Newbern Jr. led MSUB in scoring on Saturday and posted 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting and 4-for-5 on free throw attempts.
 
Tyler Green followed Newbern Jr. in the box score shooting 5-for-13 for 12 points. Green went 2-for-8 from three-point range and added four assists and three rebounds.
 
Similar to Friday, Zack Rollins started out with a quick three points for MSUB. Rollins ended the night 3-of-9 from the field with nine points, five rebounds, and one assist. Zharon Richmond and Brendan Howard made it to double figure points with 10 apiece.
 
Fresno Pacific was led by Aamondae Coleman, who posted a game high 19 points against the Yellowjackets. Aamondae was 7-for-11 from the field and chipped in eight rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
FPU's Toby Chrstiensen matched Coleman with eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end. The Sunbirds had three players with double-digit point totals including Coleman, Nate Kendricks (16), and Adrian Antunez (10).
 
NEXT UP: Montana State Billings (0-2, 0-0 GNAC) returns to Billings for its' home opener Wednesday, November 14 as they play the University of Mary at 7 p.m. It will begin a string of eleven straight games in Billings with one away game mixed in on November 19 at in city rival Rocky Mountain College. Fans are encouraged to wear gold to the home opener to support the team. Live statistics and live video will be available online through msubsports.com for the game on November 14.
 
THE BUZZ: Melvin Newbern Jr. was selected as St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game…Since Saturday was the first ever meeting with Fresno Pacific the Yellowjackets are now 0-1 all-time against the Sunbirds…Green and Melvin Newbern Jr. led the Yellowjackets with four assists each Saturday night…The Yellowjackets were outscored off the bench 13-to-12…There was only one lead change in the game. The tide turned in FPU's favor when Kendrick made a layup to put the Sunbirds in front 36-35 with 17:32 to go in the second half…MSU Billings led by 11 point at 10:18 of the first half while Fresno Pacific's largest margin was 17 points with 4:31 remaining in the second half.