MONMOUTH, Ore. – Brendan Howard scored 27 points and shot 12-for-15 but Montana State University Billings fell 97-65 to Western Oregon University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday night at New PE Building. Western Oregon shot 54-percent and carved up the MSU Billings defense for much of the night to keep a stranglehold on the scoreboard in Monmouth, where they have been nearly unbeatable over the past two seasons.
 
Kaleb Warner led the Wolves offense with 18 points (6-for-12) while Riley Hawken grabbed nine rebounds for WOU. Western Oregon took an early 12-6 advantage and never surrendered the lead. The Wolves shot 60-percent in the first half and 54-percent for the game. Meanwhile, MSU Billings struggled to generate offense and shot 46-percent in the first half and 44-percent in the game.
 
"Western Oregon just gave us an old fashioned whipping," quipped MSUB head coach Mick Durham. "I had a sense it was coming and we just had nothing in the tank tonight to be able to put up a fight. We need to get home and regroup for our last two home games of the year and I am sure we will. The only bright spot today was how Brendan played. He really gave us a good effort with 27 points and seven rebounds."
 
The 'Jackets received little help from their substitutions and WOU outscored MSUB 38-0 from the bench. The Yellowjackets also committed 18 turnovers compared to eight for the Wolves. Hawken caused turnovers at an alarming rate and had five steals for WOU. As a team, the Wolves had 13 steals and scored 27 points off turnovers.
 
The Yellowjackets were out-rebounded for the second straight game 36-31 and allowed eight fast break points while generating two. From long range, Western Oregon shot 46-percent and made 12 of 26 from beyond the arc. Warner and Jaylyn Richardson each had three made 3-pointers for the Wolves. MSU Billings made eight of 23 attempts from 3-point range (34.8-percent). Rollins and Green each made a pair from deep.
 
With forward Melvin Newbern Jr. out for the second straight game due to injury, all five MSUB starters logged heavy minutes. Zack Rollins played 37 minutes while Sven Jeuschede and Zharon Richmond each recorded 36 minutes. A timetable for Newbern Jr's return is not currently known. He had been leading the conference in rebounds heading into Thursday night's game.
 
The Yellowjackets (11-11, 6-8 GNAC) are in a close battle for a spot in the top six to gain entrance into the GNAC conference championships. MSUB will be back at home on Thursday, February 14 for a game against Simon Fraser University at 5:15p.m. SFU downed MSUB in Burnaby, British Columbia in triple overtime the first time the teams met this season. Saturday, February 16 is senior night against Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. and marks the final home game of the year.
 
Western Washington did not play Saturday night and moved ahead of the Yellowjackets for sixth place in the conference with a record of 6-7, 12-11 overall. Western Oregon maintained a tie for third place with the win over MSUB. The Wolves are 17-6 and 10-4 in the GNAC along with Seattle Pacific. The 'Jackets have seven games left in the regular season and will likely have to finish ahead of Western Washington to make the post-season.
 
THE BUZZ: Brendan Howard was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game for MSU Billing. Howard played 35 minutes in his sixth start this season. Coming into the weekend, Howard was the top bench scorer in the conference…The Yellowjackets went 0-2 against Western Oregon this season and moved down to 11-18 all-time against the defending GNAC Champions.  Since 1999, MSUB has defeated WOU just twice on the road…Next week's games will be available to stream with live video and play-by-play commentary through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal.