BILLINGS, Mont.- The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team (1-1) fell victim to the Rogers State University Hillcats (2-0) with a final score of 82-70 on the second day of the D2 CCA Tip Off Classic at the Trailhead. The Saturday night contest was as intense as you could ask for with both squads leading for over 19 minutes of the ballgame.
Highlighting the night was senior transfer
Kael Robinson, who was a Swiss army knife for the Yellowjackets. Robinson posted an impressive 20 points while shooting 7-15 from the field and 5-6 from the line, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. Following close behind was
Jalen Tot with 18 points and
Famous Lefthand with 13 points while shooting 4-6 from beyond the arch.
Alongside Robinson, with a +16 efficiency was
Brendon Johnson. Johnson posted seven points on 2-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line with a team best seven boards, three assists, two steals, and zero turnovers in 26 minutes of play. At the rim,
David Jones and
Cooper Dewitt did the heavy lifting. Jones tallied his second straight game with three blocks with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal while Dewitt posted seven points, four boards, one block, and one steal.
The Yellowjackets got out to a hot start, carrying their momentum from their Friday night victory to surge into their largest lead of the night (16-4), backed behind threes from Johnson,
Jalen Tot, and Lefthand who had two in the stretch. The ' Jackets, to no surprise, outshot the Hillcats from beyond the arch 54-42 percent and went into the locker room with a 41-40 lead.
The Hillcats took their first lead of the night 13 seconds into the second half and never looked back. Rogers State would extend their advantage and led by at least eight points for most of the half. This was until the 6:36 mark when Robinson paired a field goal with a pair of free throws and Tot hit his __ triple of the night to bring the game back within one. From there the Hillcats caught fire, going on a 16-5 run and claiming the 82-70 victory.
STATISTIC LEADERS
POINTS: Kael Robinson (20);
Jalen Tot (18)
REBOUNDS: Brendon Johnson (7);
David Jones (5)
ASSISTS: Kael Robinson (3);
Brendon Johnson (3)
STEALS: Kael Robinson (2);
Brendon Johnson (2);
Jajuan Tot (2)
BLOCKS: David Jones (3);
Kael Robinson (1);
Cooper Dewitt (1)
THE BUZZ: Kael Robinson was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 20 points while shooting 7-15 from the field with three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team is back in action tomorrow for their final game of the D2 CCA Tip Off Classic against the 1-1 Texas A&M International Dustdevils at 7 PM in Alterowitz Gym.
