LAS VEGAS, Nev.- The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team extended its winning streak to four games Saturday night with an 81–66 win over Colorado School of Mines at South Point Arena. In just the second historical meeting between the two schools, the Yellowjackets took home the victory, improving to 11–2 on the year while the Orediggers dropped to 4–9.
MSUB was powered by a career night from
Jonas La Tour, who tied his career high with 23 points while shooting an efficient 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Yellowjackets knocked down 11 total three-pointers and used a balanced offensive attack, as nine different players found the scoring column. MSUB built a lead as large as 26 points, controlling the game from start to finish behind a perfect combination of efficient scoring and a strong defensive performance.
Mason Landdeck followed La Tour with 17 points, four assists, and one rebound while
Miles Gurske was close behind. Gurske filled the stat sheet, scoring 13 points on 9-12 from the line while leading the 'Jackets with nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Also reaching double figures was
Croix Cox with 10 points, seven rebounds, and one block.
Colorado School of Mines opened the scoring with a pair of free throws in their Holiday Hoops Classic opener, but MSUB quickly took control. The Yellowjackets responded with an 11–0 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Milling, Landdeck, and La Tour, forcing an Orediggers timeout at the 16:55 mark. The run continued out of the break as Tchouya drilled another triple to make it 14–2, and Landdeck capped a 16–0 stretch with two free throws. Mines didn't score again until the 13:48 mark, and MSUB pushed its lead to 26–8 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Yellowjackets maintained their dominance the rest of the first half and went into halftime with a commanding 41–23 lead.
MSUB carried that momentum into the second half, opening with a 5–0 burst on a La Tour three and a Gurske layup to extend the lead to 23. After a brief response from Colorado Mines, La Tour buried his fourth triple and Gurske added a basket to give the Yellowjackets their largest lead of the night at 26 points less than three minutes into the half. The Orediggers answered with an 8–0 run to cut the deficit to 18, but
Croix Cox halted the surge with a basket inside. Back-and-forth basketball followed, highlighted by a five-point stretch from
Ty Cox to make it 61–42 with 11 minutes to play.
Colorado School of Mines made one final push, going on an 11–4 run to pull within 11 points, but Gurske ended a four-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws and added five more points in the final two minutes to secure the win. The Yellowjackets closed out the contest to earn the 81–66 victory.
STAT LEADERS
Points: Jonas La Tour (23)
Rebounds: Miles Gurske (9)
Assists: Miles Gurske (6)
Steals: Miles Gurske (3)
Blocks: Croix Cox (1);
Brandon Tchouya (1)
THE BUZZ: Jonas La Tour was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after tying his career high with 23 points on 8-14 from the field, 5-8 from three, and 2-3 from the line with five rebounds and one steal.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team rounds out their Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, NV against Dominican University (NY) at 9:15 PM (MT) in the South Point Arena.
