LACEY, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team opened their 2022-23 season with a 70-65 victory over Holy Names University Hawks in the Saint Martin's Crossover Tournament on Friday afternoon at Marcus Pavilion.
Carrington Wiggins led the way for MSUB with 16 points, and the Yellowjackets had command leading by as much as 20 in the game. A late push by Holy Names would turn the last minutes into a stressful affair, but ultimately the Yellowjackets were able to hold onto a lead they held since the 17:05 mark in the first half.
"We played great for 23 minutes and built a 20-point lead, and then we had to hold on at the end," said MSUB head coach Mick Durham. "We went 12-for-24 from the free-throw line in the second half and that definitely hurt us while trying to maintain a lead. Facing a lot of late-game situations this early in the season will really help. We found a way to hang on at the end and we will take it."
A member of last year's all-GNAC first team, Wiggins picked up right where he left off last season, adding six rebounds and two assists in the game. Newcomer Steven Richardson finished his first game as a Yellowjacket with 14 points and five boards. Bilal Shabazz had four blocks for MSUB and seven rebounds in a dominant defensive performance, and was no slouch on the other end collecting 13 points. It was a complete team showing for MSUB, with eight of its 10 players who featured getting at least one basket.
It was a torrid start for the 'Jackets who, after breaking a 4-4 tie on a Jajuan Tot 3-pointer, proceeded to go on a 20-5 run for the rest of the first 10 minutes. That strong start would buoy the Yellowjackets early, whose lead didn't fall below double digits for the rest of the first half. MSUB shot 14 percent better than Holy Names in the half and limited the Hawks to just one 3-point field goal in the half.
The second half would prove to be more challenging for the Yellowjackets when the Hawks broke through offensively. Travis Patrick finished with a team high 16 points for the Hawks who, after trailing by 20 in the second were able to bring the game back to within one with just under three minutes remaining in the final half. But MSUB would find a way to finish them off, with the 'Jackets going 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final three minutes and only giving up four points the rest of the way.
Overall in the game MSUB shot 50.0 percent (24-for-48), starting the season by achieving a shooting percentage it reached just four times in all of 2021-22. The 'Jackets made just 4 of 18 threes (22.2 percent), and 18 of 33 free throws (54.5 percent), but managed to out-rebound the Hawks 33-32. Jajuan Tot finished with nine points and a team-high four assists in his MSUB debut, while Abdul Bah added six points and Jalen Tot scored five in their first regular-season game as Yellowjackets.
Holy Names meanwhile shot 42.1 percent overall (24-for-57), while making 7 of 19 threes (36.8 percent) and 10 of 13 free throws (76.9 percent).
THE BUZZ: The Yellowjackets are now 3-0 all-time against Holy Names, with a win last season coming with an almost identical score line to today's game (71-65).
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets play again Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Saint Martin's Crossover Tournament against Cal State San Marcos, with a live stream available here and live stats available here.
