LAS VEGAS – Holding an NCAA Division II opponent to its lowest point total since the 1987-88 season on Saturday afternoon at South Point Arena, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team took down Rollins College 59-40 to close out the Holiday Hoops Classic.
MSUB dominated the glass 40-25, generated 15 turnovers, and committed just six fouls which resulted in four missed free throws in the comprehensive defensive effort. "This was a great effort by our guys heading into Christmas break with a win," said MSUB head coach
Mick Durham. "Our defense really was outstanding from the start, and we received enough scoring when we needed it in the second half. We have gotten better each week, and we are excited for the conference schedule after the break."
Carrington Wiggins led a trio of MSUB double-figure scorers, making 4 of 9 shots and finishing with 13 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Malik Brikat made 6 of 9 field goals for a dozen points, while hauling in seven boards as he contributed to the team's best rebounding margin of the season at plus-15.
Damen Thacker added 11 points and a season-high seven assists, and
Emmanuel Ajanaku was one off his personal best with 10 rebounds. The Yellowjackets improved to 5-7 on the season with the win.
Hutton Yenor scored 12 points and Dayton Gumm added 11 for Rollins (6-6), which failed to sustain any offensive momentum outside of the first five minutes of play. After making six of their first 10 shots, the Tars went just 10-for-40 the rest of the afternoon. Rollins shot 32.7 percent overall (16-for-49), while making 8 of 28 threes (28.6 percent) and receiving just five points from its bench.
The 'Jackets made eight of their first nine field goals, while Rollins went 6-for-10 to start the game. The hot start led MSUB to a 20-15 advantage after eight minutes of play. The next four minutes yielded a dry spell for both teams, as they combined to go scoreless on 0-for-12 shooting down to the 8-minute mark in the opening half.
Thacker swiped a steal and broke away for a clean dunk the length of the court with 2:10 to go in the first half, giving the Yellowjackets some breathing room up 29-20.
Rollins used an 8-0 run at the outset of the second half to pull within one, as a fastbreak layup by Kyle Marion cut the Yellowjackets' lead to 31-30 at the 17:10 mark. Rollins scored just 10 points the rest of the game however, as the Yellowjackets withstood the push, locked down on defense, and had a double-figure advantage established with 8:29 to go in the game.
MSUB was never in danger of yielding the lead, and Rollins went scoreless over the final 4:25 of play. Ajanaku just missed a double-double with nine points, while
Nicholas Sebastiao hauled in six rebounds and a pair of steals while also hitting a trey. MSUB shot 41.4 percent in the game (24-for-58), including a mark of 26.9 percent from long range (7-for-26). The 'Jackets made 4 of 8 free throws in a game that featured just 15 total fouls, and neither team reached the double-bonus at any point in the contest.
Sonoma State University is the only NCAA D2 opponent to score fewer than 40 points against a Yellowjacket team, when MSUB won 54-37 during the 1987-88 season. Since the Yellowjackets moved to NCAA Division II during the 1980-81 season, Saturday marked just the seventh time the program has held an opponent to 40 or fewer points.
Lowest Point Totals By Opponents (Since 1980-81 season – MSUB's first year of NCAA Division II)
| Opp. Score |
Opponent |
Date |
Final Score |
| 33 |
Yellowstone Christian |
Nov. 14, 2017 |
MSUB 112, Yellowstone Christian 33 |
| 37 |
Sonoma State* |
1987-88 |
MSUB 54, Sonoma State 37 |
| 38 |
Texas A&M |
1980-81 |
MSUB 39, Texas A&M 38 |
| 39 |
St. Mary's College |
1982-83 |
MSUB 74, St. Mary's 39 |
| 40 |
Montana Western |
1980-81 |
MSUB 53, Montana Western 40 |
| 40 |
Montana Western |
1983-84 |
MSUB 41, Montana Western 40 |
| 40 |
Rollins College* |
Dec. 18, 2021 |
MSUB 59, Rollins 40 |
*-NCAA Division II opponent
THE BUZZ: Brikat was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was the fewest fouls MSUB has committed in a game since being whistled for five fouls on Feb. 5, 2004 in a 132-54 win over then-University of Great Falls…MSUB is now 1-0 all-time against Rollins.
AHEAD: After a 12-day break, the Yellowjackets resume Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Dec. 30 at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The matchup against the Nanooks will kick off the 16-game race to the 2022 GNAC Championships, which run March 3-5 at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Wash. Live coverage for the remainder of MSUB's games will be
available online here.
