Yellowjackets Offense Hits High Gear in Win
over St. Martin’s (December 14,
2002)
BILLINGS, MT – Seven players
scored in double figures as the MSU Billings
Yellowjackets rolled over St. Martin’s College (0-8)
to remain undefeated at 5-0. Senior Dan Thompson notched a double-double with 18 points and 10
rebounds to lead the Jackets.
Both squads had sporadic
success on offense in the early going, but a
Yellowjacket surge late in the first half pushed MSU Billings
to a 50-41 lead at the break. The Jackets used that
spurt over the final five minutes of the half to
push their field goal percentage to 47-percent in
the half. Included in that percentage was a 6-of-13
performance from 3-point range.
The Yellowjackets then turned
defense into offense in the second half as they used
an aggressive man-to-man defense to pressure the
ball handler and the passing lanes. Despite
allowing St. Martin’s 11 more field goal attempts in
the half, the Jackets’ defense forced the Saints
into a 39-percent field goal percentage over the
final 20 minutes.
After a slow start to the
season, Thompson has had solid games in the last two
outings. Saturday night he made 4-of-9 three-point
attempts and was 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
Joining Thompson in double-digits were Jerett Skrifvars (17 points), Kyle Strimlinger (15 points, nine rebounds), Dave Carse (14 points, four 3-pointers), Willy Davison (12 points), Justin Hassell (12 points) and Cameron Munoz (11 points, three 3-pointers).
With four new players joining
the Yellowjackets’ five returning players, MSUB
relied heavily on the veterans over the first few
games of the season. Now that Munoz, Hassell, Bill Day and Buddy Windy Boy are becoming familiar with the system, the
Yellowjackets’ trademark balanced scoring attack is
starting to reemerge.
Along with improving the
Yellowjackets to 5-0 and stretching their
nation-best home winning streak to 37 games, the win
was also an important West Region win. With the
NCAA II tournament system, every win against a
Regional opponent is important when tournament
selection time comes.
The Yellowjackets will host the
University of Charleston from Charleston, West
Virginia on Thursday, December 19. Tip-off is set
for 7:00 p.m. |
