BILLINGS, Mont.
– The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team (11-6, 2-2 GNAC), fell to the Simon Fraser Red Leaf's (5-10, 1-4 GNAC) for the first time since 2022.
Kael Robinson led the Yellowjackets with an impressive 18 points on 7-9 shooting with four rebounds and four assists in just 25 minutes of play, but it was not enough, falling to the Red Leaf's 82-67 in Alterowitz Gym.
Also reaching double digits for the Yellowjackets was
Famous Lefthand who posted 13 points and a pair of boards. Following Lefthand was
Jalen Tot and
Brendon Johnson who had nine points apiece. Tot also contributed with five rebounds, six assists, and three steals while Johnson also tallied five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Leading the way on the glass was
Cooper Dewitt who brought down seven rebounds, six points, three assists, and tied for a team high of three steals.
HEAR FROM FENNELLY: "It was a tough loss, it just felt like one of those games where we couldn't get anything to fall. We had a lot of good looks all night but could never get into rhythm, and with Simon Fraser shooting so well it made it tough to get ahead and stay ahead. Give SFU credit though, they played really well. We will regroup and get ready for another GNAC matchup on Saturday."
FIRST HALF
The opening 20 minutes of play is where the 'Jackets found a majority of their success, jumping out to their largest lead of the night 10-4. MSUB held their lead until the 13:48 mark when the Red Leaf's hit a triple to tie it up at 15 apiece. From there it was back-and-forth until SFU took a one-point lead with a minute to go, followed by a three pointer in the final seconds to head into the half with a 42-38 advantage over MSUB.
SECOND HALF
The Red Leaf's carried their momentum into the second half, going on a 10-4 run of their own. The Yellowjackets quickly responded, cutting their deficit to just five points after a 5-0 run capped by a layup from
Fares Kacem. From their it was all Simon Fraser, slowly increasing their advantage as time began to expire. SFU reached their largest lead of the night at 15 points with just under a minute left to play and would hold on to take the 82-67 victory.
STATISTIC LEADERS
POINTS: Kael Robinson (18);
Famous Lefthand (13)
REBOUNDS: Cooper Dewitt (7);
Jalen Tot (5);
Brendon Johnson (5)
ASSISTS: Jalen Tot (6);
Kael Robinson (4)
STEALS: Cooper Dewitt (3);
Jalen Tot (3)
BLOCKS: Kael Robinson (1);
Brendon Johnson (1)
THE BUZZ: Kael Robinson was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 18 points on 7-9 shooting with four rebounds, four assists, and one block in just 25 minutes of play.
UP NEXT: The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team stays home for another GNAC matchup this Saturday against the Western Washington Vikings at 4:15 PM in Alterowitz Gym. Live stream can be found
here and live statistics can be found
here.
