BILLINGS, Mont. - The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team (12-4) took down the Simon Fraser Red Leaf's (2-14) with a final score of 73-61 to win their sixth game in a row and stay undefeated in conference play.
"Great weekend of basketball taking care of two home games and proud of the resilience we showed throughout both games," said head coach
Luke Fennelly. "Western Washington and Simon Fraser through a lot at us and our guys continued to adjust and respond the right way.
The 'Jackets took care of business at home, finding a way to win their sixth conference game in a row, this time behind
Jalen Tot who scored 23 points, and
Daniel Moody who had 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Yellowjackets shot under their season average from the field and beyond the arch but picked up the slack on defense, leading their opponent in rebounds, steals, and forced 17 turnovers.
"Moody had a fantastic week of basketball and Zharon's leadership really carried us over the course of the last two games," said coach Fennelly. "Again, super proud of the team but especially those two seniors for stepping into their role and leading the way."
The Yellowjackets opened the game like any other game,
Daniel Moody winning the tip and
Zharon Richmond scoring the first points of the game. The early portion of the half was a back-and-forth battle for the most part until
Jalen Tot hit a three-pointer and the 'Jackets scored on the following two possessions. This gave MSUB their largest lead of the afternoon with a score of 14-9. The Yellowjackets then followed this with a 10-2 run lead by
Ky Kouba and
Emmanuel Ajanaku to extend their lead to 10 points. The Yellowjacket defense was showing out again, outrebounding the Red Leaf's 16-14, leading in steals six to three, and had forced nine turnovers at this point in the game. The Red Leaf's would go on a late 4-0 run but the 'Jackets would head into the half with the 33-25 lead.
The start of the second half got off to a slow start for both teams trading punches on the few points that were scored. There also was an abundance of fouls early in the half with 10 combined fouls just in the first six minutes. At this point in the game the Yellowjacket offense had slowed down with their production and the Red Leaf's had gained the momentum. Simon Fraser had gone on an 8-2 run to bring their deficit to two points. The game was back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes until
Daniel Moody did what he does best. Moody get to the rim on back-to-back possessions, drawing a foul, and making both free-throws to give the 'Jackets a nine-point lead with just over two minutes of play. This was all they needed as they ran down the clock and took home the win 73-61 in favor of the Yellowjackets.
KEY PERFORMANCES:
Daniel Moody – 13 PTS (7-7 FT), 11 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL
Zharon Richmond – 11 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
Ky Kouba – 9 PTS (2-5 FG, 4-4 FT), 1 REB, 1 STL
Emmanuel Ajanaku – 7 PTS (2-3 FG), 3 REB, 1 BLK
THE BUZZ: Jalen Tot was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 23 points (9-11 FG, 5-6 3PT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team hits the road to take on the #4 team in the nation per D2CSC polls, the Saint Martin's University Saints.
