January 19, 2008
 
Brooks’ Career-High 32 Points Not Enough as MSUB Falls 85-72 at Western Oregon

Box Score
Season Statistics

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Freshman John Brooks (Perris, Calif.) scored a career-high 32 points in an 85-72 loss at Western Oregon on Saturday evening.  With the loss, the Montana State Billings men’s basketball team fell to 0-16 on the year and 0-5 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  Western Oregon improved to 9-6 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. 

Brooks finished the game with 32 points on 10 of 22 from the field, including 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line.  Freshmen Cameron Khoury (Alta Loma, Calif.) and Kirk Blaine (Gillette, Wyo.) had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Wolves were led by a double-double from Mike McLaughlin who had 21 points and 10 rebounds and a 20-point performance from Brad Krichevsky.  Travis Kuhns just missed a double-double as he scored eight points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.  Khoury led the Yellowjackets with seven rebounds.

WOU led for much of the first half and by as many as 12 points midway through (26-14).  The Yellowjackets wouldn’t go away as they battled back to as close as four points at 37-33 with 3:32 left.  MSUB used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit.  Western Oregon had the answer to close the half, courtesy of a pair of three-pointers—one from Sam Kelly and the other by Kuhns right at the buzzer for a 45-36 lead.

The Yellowjackets were 12 of 32 from the field in the opening stanza and were 5 of 16 from beyond the arc.  MSUB was 7 of 8 from the field as well.  WOU shot a blistering 54 percent for the half on 15 of 28, but were just 4 of 11 from beyond the arc and 11 of 13 from the line.

The Wolves continued their hot play in the second half as they raced to a 22-point lead courtesy of a 19-6 run to start.  During the spurt, WOU went 6 of 6 from the line and had two three-pointers to boot.  MSUB went cold, making just two three-pointers during the six minute-span.

Despite the large run by WOU, the Yellowjackets continued to fight hard as they narrowed the deficit to 11 points with 5:43 left.  MSUB had a run of its own, going on a 17-7 spurt from the 12:09 mark.

WOU padded the lead back to 16 and settled for an 85-72 win.

For the game, MSUB shot 38 percent on 25 of 65 and were 12 of 39 from beyond the arc.  The Wolves’ averaged dipped a bit in the second half as they shot 48 percent for the game on 28 of 58 and were 7 of 23 from beyond the arc. 

The difference in the game was from the charity stripe as WOU was 22 of 32, compared to MSUB’s 10 of 11.  MSUB made it to the line just three times in the second half and was 3 of 3.

The Jackets will be back at Alterowitz Gym, Thurs., Jan. 24 at 7 p.m., against Alaska Fairbanks.  Live video streaming, free live stats, and free internet broadcast can be found on the Yellowjackets web site.