The Retort

Yellowjackets Sting Northwest Nazarene

January 29th, 2010 by MSUB Athletics For The Retort

Lasha Parghalava tallied his first block of his Montana State Billings career Thursday evening and it couldn’t have come at a better time as it secured a 76-74 victory for the Yellowjackets at Northwest Nazarene. Parghalava swatted a Jamie Eisinger triple with nine seconds left in regulation propelling the Yellowjackets to their ninth victory of the year.

“In the first half we were out of formation for almost 20 minutes,” MSUB head coach George Pfeifer said. “In the second half, we played with a lot more energy, focus and intelligence. I thought DeAndre (Chambers) was the best player on the floor without question tonight, he came off the bench and played really well. We were really fortunate to win this game.”

The Yellowjackets (9-4, 3-1 GNAC) were led by 21 points off the bench from junior guard DeAndre Chambers, 15 points from Parghalava to go along with 14 points and eight rebounds from Derrick Wright and 12 points and six assists from DaVell Jackson.

Northwest Nazarene (10-6, 2-3 GNAC) was led by 20 points from Kendall Gielow on a game-high 10 of 14 from the field to lead four Crusaders in double figures. Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Drew Eisinger, was held to just eight points and eight rebounds. Eisinger was averaging 16.1 points entering tonight’s contest.

In a game that saw six ties and three lead changes, the Crusaders jumped out to an early 24-12 lead through 11 minutes of action. Just as in the Saint Martin’s game from a week ago, the Yellowjackets were forced to play catch up in the first half. MSUB cut the deficit to six on a pair of Chambers free throws with 3:16 left, but NNU swelled the lead back to 10 on a triple from Louie Beech with just over a minute left. Parghalava hit a triple to cut the deficit back to seven under a minute left, but NNU had the answer at the buzzer with a jumper by Anthony Golden for a 44-35 lead at intermission.

In the first half, MSUB shot 44 percent from the field on 12 of 27. The Jackets were 3 of 8 from beyond the arc and 8 of 10 from the line. NNU shot 58 percent from the field in the first half on 18 of 31 from the floor. The Crusaders were 3 of 7 from deep and 5 of 6 from the line.

Chambers was the lone Yellowjacket in double figures in the first half with 13 points on 4 of 7 from the field, 1 of 3 from deep and a perfect 4 of 4 from the stripe. Gielow had 14 points for the Crusaders.

NNU swelled the lead to as many as 13 points in the first two minutes of the second half, but the Yellowjackets kept fighting and trimmed the deficit using a 22-11 run over the next nine minutes to pull even on a Parghalava jumper with 9:22 to play at 61 apiece.

The Yellowjackets took their first lead of the game on a pair of Tyler Hentzen free throws moments later for a 63-61 advantage.

The Crusaders had the answer as they tied the game at 63 with a Gielow jumper and then proceeded to build a four point cushion on two Beech free throws with 6:28 left. Wright scored two free throws and a jumper to erase the deficit, then he hit a key triple, his fourth of the season, with 2:06 to play putting the Yellowjackets up for good.

Two free throws by Golden cut the Yellowjacket lead to 75-74 with 13 seconds left, but a 1 of 2 performance from Chambers at the line on the ensuing possession gave the Jackets a 76-74 lead. Parghalava and the Yellowjacket defense stepped up one last time as he made the crucial block for the game winner seconds later.

The Jackets shot an even 50 percent from the field in the second half on 12 of 24 from the floor. MSUB knocked down seven triples in the second half and 10 for the game to key the comeback. Conversely, the Yellowjackets held NNU to just 37.5 percent shooting in the second half with solid defense forcing nine second half turnovers to just four for MSUB. The Crusaders also struggled from deep in the second half, going just 2 of 7 and 5 of 14 for the game.

It was the Yellowjackets’ second consecutive win at NNU as MSUB downed the Crusaders 71-66 in the regular season finale last year. The win marks just the third road win in the GNAC since MSUB joined the league in 2007.

MSUB returns home for three consecutive games beginning Thursday, January 28, versus Central Washington.