Cold Second Half Shooting Dooms Yellowjackets, 83-66

     Box Score
     Season Stats 

BILLINGS, Mont. – A 28-10 run to start the second half proved to be the difference as Western Oregon defeated Montana State Billings Thursday evening 83-66 at Alterowitz Gym.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 1-22 overall and 1-11 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WOU improves to 12-9 on the year and 5-6 in the GNAC.

The game began with both teams shooting lights out.  Through the first eight minutes of play, WOU shot 73 percent from the field while MSUB shot 50 percent.  The Yellowjackets were led by freshman John Brooks who knocked down four shots in the early going and had two treys. 

The Wolves went on a 16-4 run courtesy of three-pointers to build a 30-19 lead with 10:47 left in the half.  WOU extended the lead to as many as 13 points, but the Yellowjackets wouldn’t go away quietly, going on a run of their own with the help of two key treys by freshman Kirk Blaine, cutting the deficit to 38-33 with 6:06 left.  The run was a 10-2 spurt.

WOU pushed the lead back to 11, but two freshman Brett Taylor three-pointers in the final 44 seconds cut the lead deficit back to seven at 46-39 at half.

For the half, Taylor led the Yellowjackets with 11 points and Brooks added 10.  As a team, MSUB shot 40 percent from the field on 14 of 35, 7 of 17 from beyond the arc and 4 of 7 from the line. 

Western Oregon cooled down to 60 percent for the half on 18 of 30 from the field.  The Wolves were 5 of 7 from three-point land and were a perfect 5 of 5 from the line.  Sam Kelly led the way with 11 points and Mike McLaughlin added 10.  Leading scorer for the Wolves, Travis Kuhns, was held to just two points in the half.

WOU held a 19-16 lead on the boards.  The Wolves committed seven turnovers, while MSUB had five.

Things really cooled down to start the second half as both teams struggled to make shots during the first 3:30.  WOU had two buckets, to push the lead to 50-39 with 16:30 left. 

A trey by Blaine with 15:25 left ended a 4:35 drought for the Yellowjackets to start the half. 

Brad Krichevsky and Kelly had a trey and a jumper, respectively to put WOU back up 55-42.  Moments later, the Wolves increased the lead with another Krichevesky trey for a 60-42 advantage with 13:03 left.  On the defensive end, WOU had two key blocks as well.

The Wolves took control of the game building a 66-42 lead with just under 12 minutes left.  To that point, the Yellojackets had scored just one field goal in the half. 

A pair of free throws by freshman Aaron Terry at the 9:39 mark was the first points for the Yellowjackets since the 15:25 mark, ending a 5:21 drought. 

Later, freshman Cameron Khoury ended a drought of no field goals with a nice inside move to the bucket with just over six minutes left cutting the deficit to 74-49.  The field goal ended a drought of 11:10 and was just the Yellowjackets’ second field goal of the half.

For the game, the Yellowjackets were led by 16 points from Brooks, 15 from Blaine, 12 from freshman Kyle Palmer and 11 from Taylor.  MSUB was 23 of 67 from the field (34 percent), 9 of 30 from beyond the arc and 11 of 15 from the line.

WOU kept the hot shooting in the second half shooting 34 of 56 from the field for 60 percent for the game.  The Wolves were 7 of 14 from beyond the arc and 8 of 15 from the line.  McLaughlin led the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds.  Krichevsky and Kelly each had 15 points and Adonal Arrington chipped in 12.  Kuhns had just four points in the game.

MSUB will be back in action on Sat., Feb. 16, against Saint Martin’s at 7 p.m. in Alterowitz Gym.  It will be the second game of a “Think Pink” doubleheader as the women’s game begins at 5 p.m.  The “Think Pink” initiative is to support breast cancer awareness and research.  Live video streaming, free live stats, and free internet broadcast can be found on the Yellowjackets web site.