HAYWARD, Calif. – A cold spell to open the second half stymied the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team in its season-opener Friday night, as the Yellowjackets fell to Chico State University 92-66 at Pioneer Gymnasium on the campus of California State University East Bay.
 
The 'Jackets trailed by just three, 44-41, at the half, but scored just four points in the opening 11-plus minutes of the second half as Chico State built a 20-point lead and never looked back in the victory.
 
The loss dropped MSUB to 0-1 on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 1-0 in their first game of 2015-16.
 
"This was a great measuring-stick game for our program," commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "I thought we competed well for the first 20 minutes but the run Chico went on to start the second half pretty much was the difference. We had some positives to build off but we have a lot to work on."
 
Jordan Perry led the Yellowjackets with 19 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line in 24 minutes of action.
 
Junior Marc Matthews was also in double figures for MSUB, finishing with 16 points in 15 minutes of action. The 'Jackets were led on the boards by Emmanuel Johnson who had eight, but on the game MSUB was outrebounded by Chico 39-19.
 
"I think we probably got worn down by our lack of depth and foul trouble as well, but this night will definitely help us moving forward," Stevens said.
 
For the Wildcats, Corey Silverstrom led a quartet of double-figure scorers with 23 points and added six rebounds. Jalen McFerren was close behind with 19 points and seven boards, and Tanner Giddings and Isaiah Ellis had 14 apiece.
 
The game was evenly matched over the opening 20 minutes, with MSUB taking the lead seven different times in the first half to counter five ties and two leads gained by the Wildcats. Each team had 16 points in the paint in the first half, but the Wildcats pushed ahead to a noticeable 22-10 advantage in that category over the final 20 minutes.
 
Both benches contributed equally with 26 points apiece, but the Wildcats held a 26-16 advantage in points off of turnovers as they converted on MSUB's miscues throughout the game.
 
The 'Jackets led by four after a three from Matthews early on, and led by as much as 12 after a pair of free-throws by Johnson with 8:17 to go in the first.
 
An ensuing 13-2 run by the Wildcats reversed the trend and gave Chico a four-point advantage, as the lead moved back-and-forth up until a last-second three by Silverstrom right before the break.
 
MSUB opened the second frame slowly, and the Wildcats took advantage by building an insurmountable lead.
 
The 'Jackets had 18 turnovers against eight assists, while the Wildcats had an even 1.00 margin at 14 turnovers and 14 assists. Christian Evans, Preston Beverly, and Johnson each had eight points, and Beverly added a pair of steals in 32 minutes in his first college game.
 
The 'Jackets shot 41.1 percent from the floor (23-for-56), 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-for-23), and a solid 81.3 percent from the foul line (13-for-16). Chico State managed a mark of 50.9 percent from the field (28-for-55), 41.2 percent from the arc (7-for-17), and 76.3 percent from the foul line (29-for-38).
 
Perry was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game for the Yellowjackets.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets take on tournament host CSU East Bay on Saturday evening with another 7 p.m. Mountain time tipoff. Live video will be available for Saturday's game.