NAMPA, Idaho – Closing out the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team struggled taking care of the ball and making shots against the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks in a 76-41 road ­­­loss on Saturday night.
 
The Yellowjackets (13-14, 9-8 GNAC) struggled from the field against the Nighthawks' (12-8, 10-5 GNAC) defense, shooting only 24.6% from the floor and turning the ball over 15 times.
 
Nicholas Sebastiao led the Yellowjackets with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting, plus tied the team high with Damen Thacker with six rebounds. Carrington Wiggins was the only other Yellowjacket in double-figures with 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist.  
 
QUICK HITS

• MSUB took a 6-5 lead with 14:40 to go in the first half, but the Nighthawks led from that point forward.
• The Yellowjackets finished shooting 4-for-27 from three.
• Nicholas Sebastiao was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game for his 12 points and six rebounds.
• Tru Allen led the way for the Nighthawks with 19 points.

 
The Nighthawks out-shot MSUB from the jump. NNU connected on 50% of its shots in the first half – compared to MSUB's 27.6% – and the 'Jackets went 3-for-14 from three.
 
Both teams were locked in a low-scoring, high-turnover affair until Bilal Shabazz sparked a 5-0 MSUB run with a wide-open three. Nicholas Sebastiao then pulled up for a midrange jumper to give MSUB a 6-5 lead at the first media timeout. But a 9-0 run off four Yellowjacket turnovers put NNU in the driver's seat.
 
MSUB's offense went stagnant for almost four minutes until Jo Jones found Sam Elliott for a three to make the score 16-9, NNU. The Nighthawks would go on a 7-0 run – snapped by Sebastiao making a layup and getting fouled with 8:55 to go. Malik Brikat would track down the miss, giving MSUB an opportunity to cut into the lead, but the Yellowjackets turned it over and NNU would sink a three on the other end to take a 26-11 lead.
 
Sebastiao and Brikat would make layups to chip away at the deficit, then Damen Thacker hit a long three, but the Nighthawks responded to each MSUB basket and took a 33-18 lead with under four minutes to play. Carrington Wiggins' second-chance attempt under the basket made it a 33-20 game at the final media timeout, yet the Nighthawks went on a 10-0 lead to close the first half.
 
Six empty possessions from the Yellowjackets and an 8-0 run from the Nighthawks opened up the second half before Wiggins' made three at the 16:01 mark made it a 51-23 game. After two more Sebastiao free throws pulled the Yellowjackets within 25, Wiggins and Thacker helped carry the team late, scoring MSUB's next nine points to make the score 60-34, NNU with 9:52 remaining.
 
Yet the 'Jackets wouldn't score for seven minutes. The Nighthawks went on a 14-0 run and took a 42-point lead with 2:54 to go until two free throws from Sebastiao snapped the drought. Free throws from Emmanuel Akpan, then another jumper from Sebastiao and Tyler Neary's first point of his MSUB career capped off the scoring in the 76-41 loss.
 
KEY STATS

• MSUB shot 24.6% from the field compared to NNU's 46.8% mark.
• The Nighthawks out-rebounded the Yellowjackets by a 51-32 margin.
• NNU scored 20 points off 15 MSUB turnovers.

UP NEXT: MSUB's first-round opponent and seeding in the GNAC Men's Basketball Championship have not been determined as of press time. The first two rounds will take place at Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific on March 2-3, then the semifinal and final rounds will take place at Saint Martin's on March 4-5.­­