Second Half Blowout Lifts Jackets (1/4/06)
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Score Game
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BILLINGS, MT – Some teams don’t score 73
points in entire games. The Montana State-Billings men’s
basketball team poured in that many in the second half Wednesday
to defeat Western New Mexico going away, 122-97. The game was the
Heartland Conference opener for both teams. MSU Billings improved
to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the league. Western dropped to 0-9,
0-1.
The Mustangs controlled the tempo for much of
the first half even though the Yellowjackets either held a lead or
were tied for the first 14:40 of the game. Western’s Casey
Crevelone hit a 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining in the first half to
give the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 41-39, and
Western took a 51-49 lead into the locker room.
The lead changed hands six times in the first
1:33 of the second half and nine times in the first 4:50. The
Yellowjackets took the lead for good on back-to-back lay-ups by Carlin Hughes (So., Perth, Australia) with the second coming
at the 15:10 mark.
The Mustangs hung around for about the next
three minutes before Hughes single-handedly took over the game.
In a span of just over two minutes, beginning at the 11:22 mark of
the second half, the Aussie guard scored 18-straight Yellowjacket
points to blow the game open. When Hughes started his run with a
conventional 3-point play in the paint, the Yellowjackets held a
slight 72-68 advantage. By the time he finished with a long
3-pointer with 9:03 remaining, MSU Billings led 90-74 and the game
was out of reach.
MSU Billings scored over 100 points for the
sixth time this season, all wins. They are averaging 104 ppg for
the season and 112 ppg at Alterowitz Gym. Led by the career-high
33 points from Hughes, four Yellowjacket starters scored in double
figures to account for 99 of the team’s points.
Hughes was 14-of-25 from the field, knocking
down four 3-pointers. He also dished out 10 assists for his third
double-double of the season.
Cameron Munoz (Sr., Chino, CA) dropped in 29 points, 26 coming
in the second half. The conference’s leading scorer rebounded
from a 1-for-9 performance in the first half to make 9-of-14 in
the second half. He was 7-of-16 from 3-point range in the game
and became the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,488
career points. Only four players in school history have scored
over 1,500 career points. Munoz will be within range of that mark
on Friday when the Yellowjackets host Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Moritz Wohlers (Sr., Wolfenbuttel, Germany) posted a
double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 17 points
in the first half to help keep the Yellowjackets close. Fellow
senior Buddy Windy Boy (Lodge Grass, MT) netted 16 points on the
night, including four 3-pointers.
After scoring a total of 25 bench points in
the last two games combined, the Yellowjacket subs scored 21
against the Mustangs. Junior Jonathan Wiley (Westlake Village, CA) led the way with a
season-high eight points. He also grabbed a season-high 11
rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double. Drew
Arnold (So., Tempe, AZ) added six points on 3-of-4 shooting, Cody Samuelson (Jr., Broadus, MT) netted five, and Carl
Johnson (Fr., Rapid City, SD) had two.
The Yellowjackets shot a blistering 58
percent from the field in the second half and 54 percent in the
game. They were 16-of-38 from 3-point range. MSU Billings
out-rebounded the Mustangs 50-35 in the game and had a 21-5 edge
on second chance points. That helped offset the 29-12 advantage
the Mustangs had at the free throw line.
Four Mustangs scored in double figures, led
by Matt Enriquez’s 25. He was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Trey Clarkson added 19, and Adam Grimes had 18. Clarkson made
five of the Mustangs’ 14 threes.
The Yellowjackets next play on Friday when
they host OPSU in another Heartland Conference game at Alterowitz
Gym. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m., following the Lady Jackets’
6:00 p.m. game against the Aggies. The game can be heard on AM
970 in Billings and on the web at www.msubillings.edu/athletics. |
