BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Rising to the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with an 80-76 victory on Thursday night at Sam Carver Gym, Montana State University Billings knocked off host Western Washington University to stay perfect in league play.
 
The Yellowjackets (11-4, 5-0 GNAC) won their third straight game and nudged past Saint Martin's, which is 4-0 in league play after a bye on Thursday. Five different players reached double figures in scoring in the balanced effort on Thursday, as the 'Jackets won for just the fourth time ever at Western Washington. The team continued its best-ever start to a conference slate. "We had some guys make big plays late," said MSUB head coach Mick Durham after the narrow victory. "I thought we set a good tempo and pace in the first half, and then the game slowed down in the second. We gave ourselves a chance to win by staying close with less than four minutes to go."
 
While the 'Jackets led by as much as 10 points, up 53-43 early in the second half, the game tightened down the stretch. WWU's Kai Johnson converted a 3-point play with 10:40 to go to tie the game at 59-59, and it stayed within two possessions for the rest of the night.
 
Back-to-back layups by D'Angelo Minnis gave WWU its largest lead of the night, as the Vikings threatened to swipe the game away up 69-63 with 4:45 left. Emmanuel Ajanaku responded with a jumper on the next possession, and Abdul Bah made four straight free throws to even the score and complete a 6-0 run. The Yellowjackets then made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 90 seconds of play to emerge with the victory. "Ajanaku was great for us all night, and we had good balance scoring with five guys in double figures," Durham said. "This is a tough place to win at. Credit our guys for being ready to go from the start tonight."
 
Ajanaku made 6 of 7 shots and 4 of 5 free throws for 16 points, while Wiggins led the way with 18 points. Steven Richardson scored 13 points while adding five rebounds, Bah finished with a dozen points, and Bilal Shabazz notched an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. Jajuan Tot had eight points and five assists as well.
 
Jonathan Ned led the Vikings with 16 points, with BJ Kolly adding 15, Johnson 14, and Minnis 13 for the hosts. Kolly also had 11 rebounds to complete a double-double, and four different Vikings had multiple assists in the game.
 
MSUB shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61), while making 6 of 24 threes (25.0 percent) and 20 of 22 free throws (90.9 percent). WWU by comparison shot 42.6 percent (29-for-68), while making 8 of 28 threes (28.6 percent) and 10 of 11 free throws (90.9 percent). WWU held a notable 43-31 advantage in rebounding, but the Vikings coughed up 16 turnovers while the Yellowjackets limited themselves to just eight.
 
THE BUZZ: Shabazz, who had a team-high six assists to go along with his double-double, was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 11-25 against WWU and is 4-14 in games played at Carver Gym…After winning 91-64 on Feb. 14, 2022, Thursday made it the first time in program history that MSUB has won consecutive road games against the Vikings.
 
AHEAD: MSUB faces Simon Fraser University on Saturday night with another 7 p.m. PST/8 p.m. MTN tipoff. Live coverage will be available online here.