LACEY, Wash. – In a thrilling and unforgettable finish,
Jajuan Tot's dramatic half-court buzzer beater propelled the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team into the GNAC Semifinals, securing a 79-78 upset victory over Western Washington earlier this afternoon. Despite trailing by 10 points with just 3:31 left, the Yellowjackets mounted a furious comeback, forcing four key turnovers to ignite their rally, capped off by Tot's clutch game-winner.
The second game of the GNAC Tournament proved to be a true back-and-forth battle, featuring seven lead changes with five of them coming in the second half. The #5 Yellowjackets improved to 21-11 on the season after overcoming a 10-point deficit in the final three minutes to upset #4 Western Washington (19-10). MSUB shot the ball with impressive efficiency, shooting just under 50% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. Across the stat sheet, the 'Jackets edged the Vikings 33-31 in rebounds, 21-18 in assists, turnovers 13-15, and points off turnovers 23-26.
HEAR FROM COACH FENNELLY: "An absolute gritty win by the guys but give WWU a lot of credit, they are a talented with an explosive offense, so we knew it was going to be a battle. We just kept telling each other to stay in the fight no matter the score, and the guys did just that. We had to go to our press late and our guys found a new gear forcing turnovers to get back into the game. We kept fighting until the end, gave ourselves a chance to win, and Jajuan brought us home. March Madness has officially begun, and we look forward to our matchup tomorrow against CWU. Go 'Jackets!"
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets was
Jalen Tot who led all scorers with 24 points while shooting 9-20 from the field and 5-10 from three while dishing it out four times and bringing down three boards. To no surprise,
Kael Robinson was close behind with 20 points on the night, shooting 8-13 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc while tallying four rebounds four assists, two steals, and one block.
Nearly dropping his second straight double-double was
Brendon Johnson who posted 18 points on 8-16 from the field with nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal in his GNAC Tournament debut. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was
Cooper Dewitt with 11 points on 5-11 from the field while adding six rebounds, a team high of six assists, and two steals. The hero of the night,
Jajuan Tot, ended his day with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, a team best of three steals, and a shot heard around the world.
FIRST HALF
The Vikings opened the second game of the GNAC Tournament red hot, going on a 7-0 run in the first minute and a half.
Jalen Tot got the Yellowjackets on the board with a jumper which started an 11-4 run to tie up the ballgame at the 15:35 mark. Following was Western Washington extending their lead back to six, but their run was halted when Tot brought it back to a one-point game after scoring five straight points to make it a 19-20 ballgame. From there, it was back-and-forth basketball, but it was the Vikings heading into the half with a 37-35 advantage.
SECOND HALF
What played out to be one of the craziest games of the season started in the final 20 minutes. The Yellowjackets quickly regained a one-point lead after a triple from Dewitt, but the Vikings struck back with an 11-0 run. After a crucial timeout from coach Fennelly, MSUB went on an absolute tear, outscoring WWU 17-2 in the next five minutes with all of them coming from Johnson and Tot, regaining a 55-50 advantage. Their post-season hopes were starting to dwindle when Western followed that up with another 14-0 run. At the 3:31 mark, Dewitt started what turned out to be a 13-3 run to tie up the ballgame at 76 with just 12 seconds remaining. The Vikings trotted down and made what looked to be a winning basket, but the game's final twist came when Dewitt passed the ball to Tot. From beyond half court, Tot launched a desperation shot that banked through the net as time expired, sending the Yellowjackets to a stunning victory.
STATISTIC LEADERS
POINTS: Jalen Tot (24);
Kael Robinson (20)
REBOUNDS: Brendon Johnson (9);
Cooper Dewitt (6)
ASSISTS: Cooper Dewitt (6); Three players tied (4)
STEALS: Jajuan Tot (3);
Kael Robinson (2);
Cooper Dewitt (2)
BLOCKS: Kael Robinson (1)
THE BUZZ: Jajuan Tot was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after hitting the half court buzzer beater to send the Yellowjackets home with a 79-78 victory over Western Washington.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will face off against #1 Central Washington in the GNAC Semifinals at 3:15 PM MT in Marcus Pavilion tomorrow. Tickets for the game can be found
here, live statistics can be found
here, and the live stream link can be found
here.
