BILLINGS, Mont. – Anye Turner scored 16 points and added 13 rebounds to complete a double-double as visiting Western Washington picked up a 75-65 victory over Montana State University Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday evening at Alterowitz Gym.
 
Trailing at the half 35-26, MSUB opened the second half with an 8-0 run thanks to two 3-pointers and a layup by Jace Anderson. The 'Jackets kept pace with the Vikings early on in the second, and a layup by Emmanuel Johnson with 11:17 cut the deficit to three points at 45-42.
 
An ensuing 12-0 run by WWU however proved to be the turning point, as the Yellowjackets did not have an answer during the scoring spree late in the second half.
 
"I am really proud of the guys' effort tonight," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "We were a little bit short handed due to injuries but the guys out there really played their tails off against a very talented Western Washington team."
 
Anderson led the Yellowjackets (5-18, 3-10 GNAC) with 18 points on 8 of 16 shooting, and he added two rebounds and two assists. Marc Matthews was also in double figures in scoring for the 'Jackets with 11 points, and Jordan Perry led the team with 10 rebounds.
 
"Jace, Marc and Jordan all did some nice things on the offensive end," Stevens said. "Western's size and athleticism caused us issues but those guys did a nice job of getting us some production."
 
Freshman point guard Kendall Denham also had a nice game for MSUB, with seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Tyler Nelson played 30 minutes for the 'Jackets, finishing with seven points and six boards.
 
Five total Vikings reached double figures in scoring, as Mac Johnson and Kyle Impero had 12 and Joey Schreiber and Ricardo Maxwell each had 10 to join Turner's team-high 16. Turner, who entered the game as the GNAC leader and No. 4 player in all of Division II in blocks per game with 3.14, finished with four on the night.
 
The Vikings held a 35-29 edge in rebounding on the game, and had 13 assists compared with 10 by the 'Jackets. The game was nearly even in points in the paint as WWU had 42 and MSUB had 40, but the Vikings scored 10 second-chance points while the 'Jackets had four.
 
MSUB remained within striking distance despite the late push by the Vikings, with the deficit hovering around 10 points into the late minutes. With 4:10 remaining, Matthews drained a triple from the top of the arc to cut the score to 62-54. MSUB got as close as eight points at 71-63 on a layup by Anderson inside of a minute left, but the 'Jackets ran out of time.
 
WWU (13-10, 6-7 GNAC) first began to pull away in the first half with 12:30 before the break. Leading 11-10, a layup by Blake Bowen was sandwiched by threes from Impero and Schreiber as an 8-0 run gave the Vikings a nine-point advantage.
 
Overall from the field WWU shot 47.5 percent (28-for-59) and held a 41.7 percent (5-for-12) mark from the 3-point line. The Yellowjackets shot 44.3 percent from the field (27-for-61) and 30.0 percent from long distance (6-for-20).
 
The teams entered Saturday's game with the lowest two free-throw percentages in the conference, and WWU finished 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) while MSUB was 5-for-8 (62.5 percent).
 
Anderson was selected the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game as his point total led all scorers. MSUB was without Antoine Hosley for the second-straight game, and Momir Gataric scored seven points in 13 minutes before exiting with an injury.
 
AHEAD: Next week the 'Jackets make the long trip to Alaska to take on Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. The Yellowjackets and Seawolves face off at 10 p.m. Mountain time on Feb. 12, with the matchup against the Nanooks two nights later at the same time.