by By Hayden Foltz
BILLINGS, Mont.- Highlighting the Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket men’s basketball team (6-3) matching up for an in-state competition against the University of Providence Argos (5-4). The ‘Jackets on a three-game winning streak kept their streak alive with a thrilling overtime win over the Argos with a final score of 89-87. “Give Providence and Coach Isakson the credit, they played hard and played great all night,” said head coach Luke Fennelly. “We didn’t come out with the energy we needed right away but proud of our guys for sticking together and finding a way to pull out the win.”
After another won tip-off by Daniel Moody, Jalen Tot put the first points of the game on the board after a deep three-pointer putting the ‘Jackets ahead early. The Argos responded with a pair of field goals followed by a triple to then put them ahead 7-3 at the 16:30 mark. With the Yellowjackets off to a slow start, Bryce Whitaker had the spark they needed by hitting a triple on his first attempt followed by a Beni Fungula triple on the following possession. At this point in the game the Argos were successful at creating turnovers and missed shots on the defensive end and getting to the free-throw line on the offensive side of the ball. Even with the Argos pressure zone defense MSUB was able to find some more success beyond the arch with another deep ball by Steven Richardson to bring their deficit within one. Just before the halfway point in the first half the ‘Jackets were able to reclaim the lead after Richardson hit a contested hook shot to take a 14-13 lead.
Despite the early struggle on offense the Yellowjackets were able to get the Argos into foul trouble early with 5 defensive fouls and an offensive foul in the first 10 minutes of play. Providence was able to retake the lead after a pair of three-pointers at the 8:28 mark and regain a five-point lead over the Yellowjackets. After almost a two-minute offensive drought, Zharon Richmond was able to get on the board with a tough contested lay-up, followed by Fungula hitting an and-one and making the free-throw. The ‘Jackets were able to collect five more points after a Famous Lefthand triple and a pair of Richmond free-throws, tying up the game at 26 apiece. At the five-minute mark the Argos again reclaimed a four-point lead after another three-pointer paired with a field goal. With time winding down in the first half of play the ‘Jackets needed some life. Famous Lefthand gave them exactly that, hitting back-to-back deep balls and putting him at 11 total points on the night. The ‘Jackets were able to match the Argos and head into the half tied at 38-all.
Providence stayed hot starting off the second half with a bucket but then immediately answering was Daniel Moody hitting a bucket to keep the game tied. With the Argos leading the ‘Jackets in all shooting categories MSUB needed to find some rhythm on offense. Jalen Tot was able to start a rally hitting a deep field goal followed by a Moody bucket and a Fungula layup to give the Yellowjackets a two-point lead. Providence continued to answer getting to the line multiple times early in the second half and shooting flawlessly. At the 15:30 mark there had been 11 lead changes in the game, proving to be a tight contest at this point in the matchup. Providence continued to shoot the deep ball efficiently, hitting back-to-back threes and reclaiming a five-point lead. MSUB continued to battle after Fungula hit his second triple of the night, followed by Ky Kouba making his first three-pointer of the night at the 12-minute mark.
Halfway through the second half the Argos hit back-to-back contested field goals to put them ahead 61-54. At this point in the game the Yellowjackets had been playing solid defense but with the Argos efficient shooting they needed to find a way to create stops and capitalize on offense. The ‘Jackets did their best but got into foul trouble having seven fouls with just under nine minutes left to play. With the Yellowjackets needing to amount a late comeback, Daniel Moody started hit hitting a late shot clock triple followed by getting to the line and hitting both free-throws. The ‘Jackets then followed this by forcing a pair of turnovers and Fungula making a contested layup to bring their deficit to just five. Alterowitz had finally found the momentum they were looking for after another Fungula and-1 and Jalen Tot making a pair of free-throws to tie up the game at 66 with just over four minutes left to play. With the crowd on there the ‘Jackets had back-to-back blocks on defense followed by a Famous Lefthand step-back three-pointer that erupted the gym, giving the Yellowjackets their first lead since the 17:20 mark in the second half. MSUB carried this momentum scraping a pair of free throws and a put-back bucket to give them the 73-66 lead with 3:11 left on the clock. The Argos didn’t back down following the Richmond bucket with a triple of their own followed by another field goal and another triple on their following two possessions. The Argos extended their run to seven and obtained a one-point lead with a minute left to play in the game. With the clock running down and the ‘Jackets at a one-point deficit, Zharon Richmond got to the line and made 1-2 to tie up the game at 78. Richmond followed that by forcing a missed shot on the defensive end, giving MSUB the ball with 20 seconds left in the game. Fungula winded the clock down and hit Jalen Tot who took a shot at the buzzer but was unable to capitalize, sending the game into overtime.
As per NCAA rules the ‘Jackets had a five-minute overtime to amount a comeback and win the game. Overtime started out with another Daniel Moody won tip-off followed by Moody getting to the free-throw line and hitting one to give them the 79-78 advantage. Moody proceeded to get his second block of the game on the defensive end with Zharon Richmond hitting a huge three-pointer. The Argos matched Richmond and made a layup of their own tying the game again. Richmond took control in overtime hitting two more field goals, putting him at 17 in the game, and extending their lead to four with just over a minute to play. The Argos responded with two of their own, tying the game and giving the Yellowjackets another chance at a game winner. Daniel Moody got the pass from Jalen Tot and was goal tended by a Providence defender to give MSUB the two-point lead with seven seconds left on the clock. That was all they needed as the Argos missed a three-point attempt for the win, giving the ‘Jackets the 89-87 win.
