In Front of a Sellout Crowd, Bobcats Topple Griz in Fieldhouse

Saturday, February 25

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

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Montana

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Montana

Montana State

Tyler Hall scored 37 points on Saturday

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

In Front of a Sellout Crowd, Bobcats Topple Griz in Fieldhouse

2/25/2017 11:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Tyler Hall's 37 points led the way

By: Bill Lamberty

Tyler Hall scored 37 points, Zach Green logged a double-double and Quinton Everett celebrated his Senior Night with 6,772 of his closest friends as Montana State topped Montana 78-69 in a sold-out Worthington Arena on Saturday.

After a scoring frenzy that featured a banked three-pointer and a thrilling three at the end of a shot clock, Hall had other highlights on his mind. "They were shots," MSU's record-setting sophomore said, "but my teammates put me in that position. I just knocked down some shots, but it was our defense, really. We can talk about points or whatever, but our defense in the second half allowed us to extend the lead."

The Cats held Montana to 41.8 percent shooting on the night, and 37 percent after halftime. Perhaps more significantly, MSU finished 24-for-35 from the line while Montana was 18-for-26, and MSU our-rebounded the Grizzlies 38-to-30.

"They're a tough, hard-nosed, physical, well-coached team," said Bobcat coach Brian Fish. "I thought we played tough tonight, and that's an area we've made major improvement in. We know we had to be tough on the boards and guard them without fouling."

While lauding Hall for his shot-making, Fish also credited those around him. "I thought his teammates really helped Tyler tonight," Fish said. "At times when he's had big scoring games I thought we let it affect us in different ways, but tonight I really liked how everybody chipped in and contributed."

The double-double for Green, who Hall called "a beast," was his second of the season. Sam Neumann gobbled up nine rebounds, and Hall and Everett each had six. Everett and Devonte Klines, who had a pair of pilfers, were part-and-parcel of the team's excellent defensive effort.

But at the beginning and the end, it was Hall who drove the Bobcats. He opened the scoring with a three-pointer, finished 11-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the arc, while converting 9-of-11 free throws. In all, his 37 points was third-most (behind Don Rae's 41 in 1964 and Jack Gillespie's 40 in 1968) ever scored by a Bobcat against MSU's ancient rival. And it gave 675 points on the season, a new MSU single-season scoring record with at least three games remaining.

Montana State remained tied for fourth place – with Idaho, who beat Weber State on Saturday – in the Big Sky standings, and is now 15-14 overall, 10-6 in the league. Montana is 14-15, 9-7. MSU plays at Idaho State on Thursday and Weber State on Saturday, both games beginning at 7 pm, to close the regular season.