Yellowjackets Drill Argos in Non-Conference Tune Up (Feb. 5, 2004)
Box Score
BILLINGS, MT – The mission was to fine tune
before the stretch run of the PacWest Conference schedule.
Mission accomplished Thursday night as the Montana State-Billings
Yellowjackets drained 20 three-pointers and routed an overmatched
University of Great Falls team, 132-54.
The Argos were forced into 39 turnovers by a
school record 28 Yellowjacket steals. Senior guard Jerett
Skrifvars, who has been slowed by injuries in recent weeks,
harassed Great Falls into numerous turnovers on his own. He
dived, scrambled and hustled for a school record 11 steals,
helping the Yellowjackets convert the Argos turnovers into 50
points.
Great Falls tied the game at 2-2 on an Aaron
Timmons tip in 55 seconds into the game. That was as close as the
Argos got the rest of the night as Buddy Windy Boy hit 3-pointers
on the next two possessions to start the Jackets’ offense rolling.
“After a tough weekend on the road, it was
important for the kids to get up and down the floor and shoot the
ball well,” said Yellowjacket head coach Craig Carse. “Buddy got
us going by hitting some shots early, and Cameron (Munoz), who had
the flu tonight, got going in the second half and really shot the
ball well. Now we’re focused on BYU-Hawaii. Tuesday and Thursday
will be big games for us at home.”
Munoz played just seven minutes in the first
half and missed all five of his field goal attempts. The
Yellowjacket training staff must have found the cure for the flu
at halftime, because Munoz scored 33 points and dropped in eight
3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. He was 8 of 12 from behind
the arc in the second half, and 11 of 15 from the field.
In all, six of the seven Yellowjackets who
saw action scored double figures. Skrifvars finished with a
triple-double, scoring 24 points and grabbing a career-high 13
rebounds to go with his record number of steals. He was nearly
perfect from the field, connecting on 9 of 10, and made 6 of 9
from the free throw line.
Bill Day and Dave Carse each notched
double-doubles. Day dropped in 17 points and pulled down 13
boards, and Carse scored 26 while handing out a career-high 15
assists, missing the school assists record by just one. Windy Boy
added 16 points and four 3-pointers, and Alex Galloway scored 12
points to go with a career-high seven assists.
The Yellowjackets passed out 32 assists in
the game, the fourth most in a game in school history. They shot
53 percent from the field and 48 percent from behind the arc.
Junior forward Trae Fortier missed Thursday’s
game due to a team suspension. The suspension, which was
announced on Wednesday, is listed as “indefinite,” and his status
for next week’s conference games is questionable.
The Argos were led by Loren Edwards, who was
10 of 14 from the field and scored 21 points. Eric and Trent Oram
each added six points.
MSU Billings continues Pacific West
Conference play next Tuesday when the Jackets host 15th-ranked
BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders are in first place in the PacWest with
a 6-1 conference mark and are ranked No. 2 in the West Region.
The Yellowjackets are 4-4 in the PacWest and tied for second place
with Hawaii Pacific. The Yellowjackets also host BYU-Hawaii on
Thursday as well as Hawaii Pacific on Saturday.
Click HERE for photos of the
Yellowjackets vs. University of Great Falls |
