For 20 minutes Wednesday, the leading scorer in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference couldn't do a thing against the UAA men's basketball team.
Once Michael Hall got going, though, neither he nor the Yellowjackets of Montana State-Billings could be stopped.
Hall hit a pair of perimeter shots to ignite his team early in the second half, and the Seawolves responded with missed shots and turnovers as the Yellowjackets grabbed a 69-60 homecourt victory in Billings.
A 6-foot-2 senior guard, Hall was scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points, 8.6 below his season average. But he got hot when his team needed a spark.
Hall's first points of the game came three minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer that cut UAA's lead to two points. UAA came back with a Jeremiah Trueman basket, but Hall answered with an 18-footer to keep it a two-point game 41-39. That shot triggered a 20-7 run that put the Yellowjackets in command 57-48 with six minutes to go.
From there, Billings sealed the victory at the foul line, sinking 9-of-13 free throws as the Seawolves tried to catch up. The only field goal scored by Billings during the final stretch was a layup by Hall.
UAA led by four at the half after a dazzling shooting display -- 14 of 22 from the floor, including a 6-of-8 effort from 3-point range.
But they quickly went from hot to cold. Only 10 of 28 second-half attempts found their mark, a showing that included a dismal 2-of-11 performance from long range.
When the Seawolves weren't missing shots, they were missing opportunities to take shots. During a seven-minute span midway through the half, UAA turned over the ball on five of their 14 possessions.
Hall was one of four Yellowjackets in double figures, with 6-0 guard Mario Burns (18 points) and 6-7 forward Derrick Wright (17) leading the way.
Trueman, a 6-9 center, led UAA with a game-high 20 points and added eight rebounds. Kenny Barker, a 6-3 guard, added 17 points and five rebounds, and Kevin White, a 6-4 guard, chipped in six points and six assists. Brandon Walker, a 6-3 guard who is the team's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, played 22 minutes and missed all three of his shots and didn't have a rebound.
The Yellowjackets -- who last season lost twice to UAA by a total of 80 points -- evened their season record to 9-9 and moved to 4-3 in the GNAC.
UAA, playing its third road game in eight days, slipped to 9-10 and 3-3. The men return home Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. contest with the rival Nanooks from UAF.
UAA 37 23 -- 60
Montana State-Billings 33 36 -- 69
UAA -- Trueman 8-14 3-4 20; Barker 7-17 0-0 17; White 2-4 0-0 6; Ridgeway 3-7 0-0 6; White 2-2 1-2 6; Nye 2-3 0-1 5; Doerr 0-0 0-0 0; Walker 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 24-50 4-7 60.
MONTANA STATE-BILLINGS -- Burns 4-10 10-14 18; Wright 6-9 5-7 17; Bunker 3-8 2-2 10; Hall 4-10 0-0 10; Hodge 2-4 4-4 8; Blaine 2-3 2-4 6; Hentzen 0-2 0-0 0; Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-46 23-31 69.
3-point goals -- UAA 8-19 (Barker 3-10; White 2-4; Trueman 1-1; Nye 1-1; White 1-1; Walker 0-2), Billings 4-16 (Hall 2-7; Bunker 2-7; Burns 0-2). Fouled out -- UAA-None, Billings-None. Rebounds -- UAA 25 (Trueman 8), Billings 32 (Blaine 9). Assists -- UAA 10 (White 6), Billings 13 (Burns 6). Total fouls -- UAA 21, Billings 15. Technical fouls -- UAA-None, Billings-None. A -- 1,413.
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