BELLINGHAM, Wash. – In a tale of two halves, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team ultimately fell 94-74 to the Western Washington Vikings (15-7, 7-5 GNAC) in Sam Carver Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets fell to 15-10 on the season and 6-6 in conference after taking the advantage heading into halftime but were unable cease the Vikings 70 percent second half shooting performance that ultimately led them to victory.
Despite the loss, the Yellowjackets shot over 40 percent from the field as a team and outrebounded WWU 10-8 on the offensive glass. The 'Jackets also showcased an impressive defensive performance, forcing 12 turnovers while giving up just six while winning the fast break point battle 12-8. MSUB also led in steals 7-4, points off turnovers 8-6, second chance points 16-10, and blocks 2-1.
Leading all scorers on the night was
Kael Robinson who posted 27 points while shooting over 63 percent from the field with four boards, three assists, and one block. Following Robinson was
Jalen Tot who had 14 points on 3-9 from beyond the arc with six rebounds, two steals, and dished it out three times. At the 6:53 mark in the first half, senior transfer
Brendon Johnson hit the 1,000-career point milestone on an assist from his previous teammate from North Idaho College,
Cooper Dewitt. Johnson posted a double-double on the night with 14 points on 2-5 from three with a team high of 10 rebounds and four assists.
HEAR FROM FENNELLY: "It was a tough loss but give WWU the credit, they're the hottest team in the league right now and you can see why. We had too many defensive lapses in the second half which allowed their confidence to get going and after that it felt like they couldn't miss a shot. We just have to compete for all 40 minutes, especially on the road and this one got away from us. We'll regroup and look to get better from this loss. Go 'Jackets."
FIRST HALF
The Yellowjackets got cooking early, going on a 7-2 run to start the game behind a pair of buckets from Robinson and a triple from Dewitt. The Vikings quickly responded with a 7-2 run of their own to tie it back up 9-9 at the 15:23 mark. MSUB then matched that with a seven straight unanswered points to take the 16-9 lead after Johnsons connected on his first three pointer of the night. The Yellowjackets took their largest lead of the night (10) at the nine-minute mark after Johnson hit his second triple on an assist from previous teammate Dewitt. From there, the next four minutes was back-and-forth basketball until the Vikings went on a 7-0 run to knot the ballgame back up at 30 apiece with a minute and a half left in the first half. With a WWU bucket in the mix, Robinson then tallied a three-point play followed by a layup from
Jalen Tot and the 'Jackets went into the locker room with a 35-32 lead.
SECOND HALF
Similar to the first half, Robinson who was leading all scorers in the game, got things going for the Yellowjackets with an early bucket in the paint to add his 15
th point of the night. The Vikings then caught fire, going on a 16-4 run to take a 48-41 advantage at the 15:28 left in the game. Shortly after, WWU took their largest lead of the night (10) after hitting their fifth team three pointer of the night. The Vikings were playing nearly flawless in the second half, extending their lead to 18 while shooting over 70 percent in the second half by this point in the game. After a miraculous flash of success from Western Washington, the 'Jackets started to cut into their deficit after
Jalen Tot connected on back-to-back triples paired with a free throw from
Fares Kacem to cut it to 11 with six minutes to play. Both squads traded punches in the final minutes but it was the Vikings who took home the 94-74 victory.
STATISTIC LEADERS
POINTS: Kael Robinson (27);
Jalen Tot (16)
REBOUNDS: Brendon Johnson (10);
Jalen Tot (6)
ASSISTS: Brendon Johnson (4); Four player tied (3)
STEALS: Cooper Dewitt (2);
Jalen Tot (2)
BLOCKS: Cooper Dewitt (1);
Kael Robinson (1)
THE BUZZ: Kael Robinson was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 27 points on 12-19 from the field with four rebounds, three assists, and one block.
UP NEXT: The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket men's basketball team is back in action this Saturday in Burnaby, B.C. where they will take on the Simon Fraser Red Leaf's at 8:00 PM MT in the West Gymnasium. Live statistics for the matchup can be found
here, and the live stream link can be found
here.
