Yellowjackets Upset Second-Ranked Humboldt State in Thriller (Dec. 29, 2003)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – MSU Billings stunned No. 2 Humboldt State Monday night, hitting fourteen 3-pointers and shooting 54-percent from behind the arc.  The Yellowjackets (5-2) had five players in double figures led by Cameron Munoz’s 18 points. 

All three of Munoz’s field goals were 3-pointers and he connected on a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line.  Six of his free throws came in the final 1:50 as the Lumberjacks were forced to foul after MSUB built a late 71-66 lead.  Munoz’s made his other three free throws in the first half when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt.

A halftime buzzer-beater by Trae Fortier gave the Yellowjackets a 38-34 lead at the break.  Fortier finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds.  MSU Billings led by as many as 13 midway through the first half, but a five-minute Yellowjacket shooting drought gave the Lumberjacks (9-2) a chance to climb back into the game. 

Humboldt’s Trey Shannon scored seven of his nine points between 8:46 and 6:24 of the first half to pull the Lumberjacks to within two at 27-25.  Austin Nichols tied the game for the first time with a jumper at the 5:36 mark of the half.  Nichols finished with a game-high 30 points, making 9-of-18 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line.  Humboldt State shot five more free throws than MSU Billings until the final 1:50 when the Lumberjacks started fouling to stop the clock.  They were 18-of-26 in the game from the charity stripe while the Yellowjackets connected on 21-of-27.

The Yellowjackets’ four-point halftime lead evaporated quickly in the second half.  MSUB didn’t score a second-half point until Dave Carse’s fourth 3-pointer of the night with 13:26 left in the game.  By that time the Lumberjacks had built a 45-38 lead with a pair of baskets from Nichols and a 3-pointer by Kejuan Johnson.  Johnson scored 11 points in the game.

A Buddy Windy Boy 3-pointer and a pair of Jerett Skrifvars free throws tied the game at 46-46 with 11:59 remaining.  After Fred Hooks gave the Lumberjacks the lead on a jumper at the 8:43 mark, Carse’s fifth 3-pointer of the game put the Yellowjackets ahead for good with 8:24 on the clock.  Carse finished with 15 points and five 3-pointers in the game.

MSU Billings built its lead back to nine on two Skrifvars free throws with 4:30 left before Humboldt made its final run.  Four Nichols free throws sandwiched around a Hooks jumper cut the lead to four with 2:39 to play.  After HSU traded free throws for jumpers for two minutes, a Nichols jumper with 23 ticks on the clock drew the Jacks to within two at 75-73. 

After both sides traded free throws and Nichols hit a 3-pointer to pull the Lumberjacks to within 79-78, Humboldt fouled freshman Yellowjacket Jonathan Wiley with three seconds on the clock.  Wiley missed both free throws, giving Humboldt one last gasp for the win.  Nichols got off a running 3-pointer from about 35 feet, but it bounced off the top of the backboard, hit the rim and missed to preserve the Jackets’ win.

MSU Billings will host Western Oregon on Saturday, January 3 at 1:00 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium.  The Yellowjackets lost to the Wolves, 94-88, in Oregon on December 16.