BILLINGS, Mont. - The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team (11-4) took down the 7^th ranked team in the West Region (per the D2CSC Media Poll), the Western Washington Vikings (10-5) with a final score of 97-84.

triple-DUB-le

'Jackets take down Western Washington in an offensive shootout with a final score of 97-84❗️

Daniel Moody became the 8th player in GNAC history to record a triple-double and was unanimously named Intermountain Health Player of the Game❗️#msubsports | #msubmbb pic.twitter.com/dbufZYmJFj

— MSUB Men's Basketball (@MSUBMBB) January 12, 2024

The Yellowjackets leaned on team basketball to down the Vikings after posting 22 assists, their third highest total this season. The 'Jackets shared the ball well across the court and had six players with at least 8 points, and two of them with over 20 on the night. Daniel Moody led the way and made history after posting the 8^th triple double in GNAC history. Moody had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and led the 'Jackets to a huge conference win over the Vikings to maintain their lead atop the conference.
 
Moody opened the game by winning yet another tip-off and followed that with a three-pointer on their second possession of the game. The 'Jackets would use that to go on an early 9-3 run to take the lead, but the Vikings would follow that with a 12-2 run of their own by capitalizing on Yellowjacket missed shots and turnovers to retake the lead. Halfway through the first half the 'Jackets were able to cut the deficit to one, 25-24, in favor of the Vikings, after a pair of triples by Zharon Richmond. MSUB grabbed the momentum they needed, going on an 8-0 run to reclaim their lead. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth battle with MSUB heading into half with the 41-38 lead.
 
The Vikings came out firing in the second half, scoring on their first two possessions to quickly jump ahead with the lead. The 'Jackets were able to keep up with their efficient scoring behind Famous Lefthand who had five points to counter the Vikings surge to start the half. The game then slowed down on the offensive side of the ball for both teams with a combination of good defense, fouls and turnovers that had both teams scoreless for almost two minutes. Halfway through the second half the Yellowjackets had amassed a nine-point lead behind solid defense and a pair of fast break points. The game was physical with 30 combined fouls with seven minutes still left to play.
 
Jalen Tot hit an and-one from beyond the arch, hitting the free-throw and giving the 'Jackets an 11-point lead with 4:40 left in the game. The Yellowjackets took care of business from there, outlasting the Vikings and winning the game 97-84, to move to 11-4 on the season and a perfect 5-0 record in the GNAC.
 
KEY PERFORMANCES:
Zharon Richmond – 21 PTS (6-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 7-8 FT), 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK
Jalen Tot – 15 PTS (5-10 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-3 FT), 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
Emmanuel Ajanaku – 11 PTS (4-5 FG, 3-4 FT), 5 REB, 2 BLK, 3 STL
Famous Lefthand – 11 PTS, 3 AST, 1 REB, 1 STL
 
THE BUZZ: Daniel Moody was named Intermountain Health Player of the Day after posting 24 points (7-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 9-10 FT), 10 assists, 10 rebounds, and 1 block.
 
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team stays home for another conference matchup against the Simon Fraser Red Leaf's on January 13^th at 2:00 PM.