Jackets Bit by Rattlers, 70-62 (2/8/07)
Box Score
 

SAN ANTONIO, TX –  Despite holding a one-point advantage at the half, the Montana State-Billings men’s basketball team was denied the Heartland Conference win by St. Mary’s University, falling 70-62 Thursday in San Antonio.  The loss drops the Jackets to 4-18 overall and 3-6 in the Conference while the Rattlers improved to 12-9 and 5-3 in the league. 

“I think this is the best game we have played all year,” said Yellowjacket head coach Craig Carse.  “Even though our shots didn’t fall like we had hoped, we played good basketball tonight.  St. Mary’s was just the better ball team in this game.”

The Yellowjackets’ Cody Samuelson (Broadus, MT) came out of the gate scoring the Jackets’ first four points of the contest.  Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ammar Harknell (Stockholm, Sweden) and Tom D’Amore (Tucson, AZ) gave the Yellowjackets the seven-point lead.  The Rattlers’ Dominique Richardson’s jumper at the 16:02 mark sparked a 9-0 run where St. Mary’s took over the lead with 13 minutes remaining in the half.

The Yellowjackets held the Rattlers in check, keeping the lead within four points.  With less than two minutes left in the first half, Eric Cunningham (Phoenix, AZ) made the traditional 3-point play to give the Jackets the two-point advantage.  Three points by Jawan Bailey put the Rattlers back into the lead before the Jackets’ Russell Steplight (Olympia, WA) hit a 3-pointer at the end of the half to carry a one-point lead into the locker room.

“We had another great effort,” added Carse.  “The guys are teaching me a lot about determination and it is fun to coach this team.  We are getting our rhythm, and things are coming together for us.”

The Rattlers steadily built a six point second half lead, but a consistent game by Samuelson tied the game at 45 apiece with 10:39 to play after making two 3-pointers in a two minute span.  That was the closest the Jackets would get through the rest of the game as the Rattlers pulled away, leading by as many as a dozen. 

“Tom worked very hard tonight as many of the players did,” said Carse.  “We only had nine turnovers which was a good improvement for us.  If we make it to the conference tournament, we will be a tough team to play as things are starting to fall in place.”

Three Yellowjackets scored in double figures and were led by Wiley’s 14 points.  He was 5-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line.  Wiley also had nine rebounds in the game.  Samuelson netted 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc.  Cunningham added 11 points and was 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.

As a team the Jackets were 22-of-66 from the field and 8-of-30 from 3-point range.  The team was 1-of-1 from the line in the first half and 9-of-12 in the second half.  The Yellowjackets had nine steals in the game to the Rattlers one.

Marcus Hill led the Rattlers scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from the perimeter.  Jawan Bailey notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Bailey was 5-of-10 from the field and just 1-of-6 from the line.

St. Mary’s was 26-of-52 from the field and a dismal 4-of-15 from 3-point range for 27 percent.  The Rattlers out-rebounded the Yellowjackets 49-35 in the game.

As the season winds down, the Jackets hopes remain alive in their quest to make it to the Heartland Conference Tournament.  To get there, the Jackets must win over Incarnate Word on Saturday and against Dallas Baptist in Billings February 19.  The Yellowjackets final road game of the season is against St. Edward’s in Austin February 24.  A win over the Hilltoppers would guarantee a spot in the tournament should Dallas Baptist lose against St. Mary’s on February 13. Winning out the remainder of the season would give the Jackets the one-game lead over the Patriots.

The Yellowjackets remain in San Antonio for one game against University of the Incarnate Word (12-9, 6-2) Saturday, February 10.  The Heartland Conference game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MST and can be heard live at AM 970 KBUL or by logging onto the Yellowjackets Athletics webpage.  Following Saturday’s contest, the Jackets will host University of Texas – Permian Basin (7-12) for a single game, February 17 at Alterowitz Gymnasium.