Yellowjackets End Road Trip with Loss at Hilo (January 8, 2003)
HILO, HI – A slow start was
once again the demise of the MSU Billings men’s
basketball team as the Yellowjackets dropped their
fifth-straight game, 86-77, Wednesday night at Hawaii-Hilo. The game ended a
15-day, five-game road swing for the Jackets.
After building a brief 12-10
lead early in the game, the Yellowjackets offense
stalled and they never led again. UH-Hilo went into
the halftime break with a 48-38 lead due in large
part to the Vulcans’ 59% field goal percentage. The
Yellowjackets hit on 41% of their field goals in the
first half, but only 6-of-16 three-pointers.
The story remained much the
same for the first 10 minutes of the second half
before Cameron Munoz caught fire from 3-point range. The freshman, who
scored 39 just two nights earlier, hit several key
3-pointers to draw the Jackets to within two points
late in the game.
The Vulcans answered with some
big shots of their own over the final five minutes
to pull away for the nine-point victory and control
of first place in the PacWest standings. Skip Esene
led UHH with 15 points and six assists.
Munoz finished the game with
six 3-pointers and 18 points. He currently leads
the PacWest in 3-point shooting with 3.36
three-point field goals per game. Senior Dan Thompson scored the Yellowjackets’ first ten points of the
game en route to a game-high 25. Justin Hassell added a double-double with 15 points and 10
rebounds, and Kyle Stirmlinger had 11 points before fouling out.
The road-weary Yellowjackets
will look to get back in the PacWest race with three
big conference games next week. They host the West
Regions 2nd-ranked team, Hawaii Pacific,
on January 14 and 16. No. 6 BYU-Hawaii will visit
Alterowtiz on January 18. MSU Billings will also be
honoring the school’s all-time winningest coach,
Mike Harkins, on the 18th. |
