Samuelson’s 24 Points Not Enough for Yellowjackets (1/12/07)
Box Score

GOODWELL, OK – Playing a starter-short, the Montana State – Billings men’s basketball team was unable to hold on for the Heartland Conference win over Oklahoma State Panhandle Friday, falling 69-64.  The Yellowjackets are 2-10 overall and 2-1 in the conference standings.  The Aggies improved their record to 3-10 and 1-3 in league play.

The Yellowjackets and the Aggies came out of the gate firing off threes at a pace of one per minute.  The Jackets’ Jeff Miner (Gresham, OR) knocked down three 3-pointers in a row to put the Jackets up by five.  The Aggies answered back going on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take the 18-11 lead.  The Jackets tied the game at 20 apiece on Miner’s fifth 3-pointer of the half.  Continuing their scoring barrage, the Yellowjackets carried an eight-point lead at the half, 36-28.

The teams remained scoreless for nearly three minutes of the second half before the shootout began again.  Cody Samuelson (Broadus, MT) hit back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a long range bucket from Tom D’Amore (Tucson, AZ) giving MSUB the nine-point advantage.  The Yellowjackets held that lead until the 5:53 mark when the Aggies’ William Stephenson poured in a layup giving Oklahoma Panhandle the lead that they never relinquished.

“This was an important game for us as our goal is to finish in the top four in the conference,” said Yellowjacket head coach Craig Carse.  “We played well tonight and a number of guys stepped up and did a nice job for us.”

Samuelson led all scorers and posted a career-high 24 points.  He was 9-of-12 form the field and knocked down a career-best six 3-pointers.  Samuelson grabbed seven boards and handed out two assists.  Miner netted 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-13 from long range.  Carl Johnson (Rapid City, SD) grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and scored two points.

“We are looking for our fire-power,” added Carse.  “We just need to put the ball in the basket more consistently.  My hat goes off to the Aggies.  They were very physical and played a good game.”

The Yellowjackets were 22-of-56 from the field and 17-of-33 from 3-point range.  They shot 51.5 percent from behind the arc compared to the Aggies 25 percent.  The Jackets were 3-of-6 from the charity stripe and the Aggies were 17-of-23.

Four Aggies scored in double figures and were led by Stephenson and E.J. Ollison with 17 points apiece.  Stephenson notched a double-double grabbing 10 boards.  Luke Ogden and LaChawn Anderson netted 13 and 11 points respectively

The Yellowjackets play a non-conference game against Oklahoma Panhandle Saturday, January 13 before heading to Texas – Permian Basin (2-5) for one game.  The Jackets then travel to Dallas, Texas wrapping up the four-game road trip with a Heartland Conference game against Dallas Baptist University (4-8).  The Patriots are in their inaugural season.  Tune into AM 970 KBUL or log onto the Yellowjacket Athletics webpage for live basketball action.