Nampa, Idaho – The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team saw off a tough challenge from the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks, squeaking out a 60-58 win on the road as they cross the halfway mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
Coming off their first defeat in league play, the Yellowjackets (15-5, 9-1 GNAC) were looking to respond with a win. And in the second of three straight road games, they were pushed to the brink by the Nighthawks (7-11, 4-6 GNAC). The 'Jackets were trailing late in the game before Jalen Tot hit some big free throws to give MSUB the lead, and Northwest Nazarene's last second attempts were no good, giving the 'Jackets their first victorysince Seattle Pacific snapped their six-game winning streak.
 
MSUB outshot NNU from the field 43.5% to 35.7%, and were 40% from three compared to 33.3% from the Nighthawks. What kept the game close was rebounds, where Northwest Nazarene had 32, including 12 offense rebounds, and turnovers. MSUB played sloppy at times, turning the ball over 17 times in the game. Those errors gave NNU extra opportunities, which nearlyled them to victory.
 
Steven Richardson led MSUB in scoring with 16. Bilal Shabazz scored 15, while collecting 11 rebounds. Carrington Wiggins added 12 points, with two steals. Tot scored 12, with a team high three assists. Both Tot and Wiggins were a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
 
Neither team was able to hold the lead for long in the first half. There were eight lead changes across the opening 20 minutes as both teams would make small runs, before letting the other respond. Little separated the two teams: The 'Jackets shot 36% from the field in the first, while the Nighthawks shot 35.7%. MSUB made four threes, NNU made three. The only major separation was in turnovers, where the Yellowjackets had three more than the hosts. Those turnovers led to Northwest Nazarene scoring 16 points off turnovers, helping them take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
 
With the Yellowjackets needing some players to step up, it would be the ever steady Richardson and Shabazz who would propel the 'Jackets forward. After opening the second half with a Shabazz layup, Richardson quickly hit back-to-back three pointers. Shabazz then went on a tear, hitting a three and finishing multiple times with heavy contact around the basket. He scored 12 points in the second half to help push the 'Jackets ahead 52-47 with 8:35 remaining. But the 'Jackets went cold, and NNU would rush back into the game with a flurry of baskets. The Nighthawks would close the gap once again with just over two and a half minutes to go, commencing a nervy ending to the game where it felt like whatever team made the last basket would win the game.
 
Luckily for the 'Jackets, that team would be them. Down one with time dwindling, Jalen Tot would be fouled while driving to the basket. Tot made both free throws, unbothered by the timeout NNU called to ice him. Next possession down, a basket saving block by Emmanuel Ajanaku, followed by another pair of Tot free throws would put the 'Jackets up three. The Nighthawks had multiple chances late after the 'Jackets missed two free throws with just seconds remaining. But a three by Tru Allen and putback attempt by Aaron Murphy would be no good, and the 'Jackets would escape with the win.
 
Allen scored 12 points for the Nighthawks, with four rebounds an assist. Yaru Harvey led the team in scoring with 14. Aaron, along with his brother Gabriel Murphy each collected nine rebounds for NNU, Aaron scoring seven and Gabriel scoring 11 points.
 
THE BUZZ: Jalen Tot was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game… Wiggins improved his free throw percentage on the season to 93.7%, the top mark in the GNAC… The MSUB record for best free throw percentage in a season is 93.5, set by Jay Harrie during the 1993-1994 season… The 'Jackets lowered their points allowed per game to 65.8, the lowest in the GNAC… MSUB swept the regular season series against Northwest Nazarene, doing so for the first time since 2012-2013.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets finish their road trip with a game against Central Washington University. Tip off is scheduled for Saturday, January 28 at 6:15 PM. Live video will be available here and live statistics will be available here.