Box Score By Jacob Norling
November 15, 2025
 
(HI, Hilo.) Westmont Men's Basketball (0-2) will leave Hawaii still in search of their first win of the season, after the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets (4-0) defeated the Warriors 80-72 on Saturday night. A strong first half allowed Westmont to enter intermission with a five-point advantage, but a second that saw Billings outscore Westmont 45-32 left the Warriors empty-handed in this two-game road trip.
 
"Well, we played a very good first half," offered head coach Justin Leslie. "We found ourselves in a little bit of foul trouble, but we were able to navigate that for a good while since we shot the ball well. In the first half we forced some turnovers that allowed us some easy chances to score, but then to be honest, in the second half I felt like we lost some of that edge on the defensive end.
 
"Because of that, they were able to get some higher-quality looks up. You have to be really disciplined when it comes to rebounding on some of the shots these guys were taking. They ended up taking higher-quality shots with better floor balance, and it gave them some shots at a few too many second chances in the end.
 
"They had 11 offensive rebounds in the second half, and then 15 total second chance points. You couple that with our poor three-point shooting and our poor shooting from the free throw line, and it was enough to make the difference."
 
In totality, Westmont made only seven of their 22 attempts from three-point land, and only 17 of their 28 free throws. Billings did not fare particularly well from the charity stripe either (11-18), but the Yellowjackets did convert 11 of their 28 looks from beyond the arc.
 
The big difference, however, was in those second chances mentioned by Leslie. While Westmont was out-rebounded 31-24, nearly half (15) of Billings' boards were on the offensive end. For Westmont, the club gathered only seven rebounds on the offensive end. Sixteen Warrior turnovers did not help the equation either, with Westmont's giveaways leading to 21 extra points for Billings.
 
"I was telling the guys after, you have to look at some of the mistakes that were made," explained Leslie. "They're freshmen and sophomores who haven't played a lot of college basketball, or that don't have a lot of minutes under their belt. Part of their growth process is getting the opportunity to fail.
 
"Now, we get to go back and work on it. There were some silly mistakes that were out-of-character for us, but in the heat of the moment, it can happen. I think that's something that comes with time and maturity, and that's a battle that we're going to keep fighting as we progress."
 
Individually, Chase Collins led the way with 17 points, while Braedon Bigott added 13 of his own. Aidan Mandel led Westmont with 10 rebounds, while Trey Thompson finished with a team-high four assists.
 
"I have no doubts about it turning the direction that we want," assured Leslie. "For Billings, this was their fourth game of the year, with three home games already. That is a leg up. They had a lot of college basketball upper-class veterans on their roster. As the game unfolded, they made some veteran plays that swung the game in their favor.
 
"They're a good basketball team, and I give them a lot of credit. Playing this team, there is a lot that we can look at and learn from."