Cats Head East to Face Richmond
3/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After a stirring opening round win at Utah State on Tuesday, the Bobcats are back on the roadFriday to face Richmond in a first round NIT matchup. The ‘Cats will be squaring off with atalented, tournament-tough Spider team. Richmond lost in the A-10 championship game lastweek, but topped Wagner 74-67 in overtime at home on Wednesday. UR is led by ReggieBrown (14.2 ppg). NEXT UP: The MSU-Richmond winner will play at Minnesota early nextweek.
GAME FACTS
TIPOFF 5:35 pm MST
SITE Richmond, VA
ARENA Richmond Coliseum
RADIO Bobcat Radio Network
(Dean Alexander) TELEVISION none
PRESS ROW
HIGHLIGHTS
l Aaron Rich passed the 1,000-point mark Tuesday, and now has 1,004
l MSU has reached 20 wins for the first time since
STREAKS
l MSU has won 17 of its last 20
NIT NOTES
l MSU is 1-1 all-time in the NIT, and was 0-1 in this year’s Preseason NIT
l The ‘Cats’ last post-season win was an 82-66 win over American International in 1952
l MSU is 0-1 in NIT games, and was 0-1 in this year’s Preseason NIT
l MSU is in the NIT for the second time ever, the first since ‘87
l The ‘Cats shot just 35% in their regular-season games against Utah State this year, and 53%
on Tuesday
l Big Sky schools are 3-11 in the NIT all-time
The ‘Cats The Spiders
‘01-02 RECORD 20-9 20-13
Home/Road/Neu 12-3/7-4/1-2 10-4/6-7/4-2
Conf./Record Big Sky/1st, 12-2 A-10/11-5
HEAD COACH Mick Durham John Beilein
Alma Mater MSU/’80
Overall/Years 192-154/12th 445-257/20th
At School/Years same 98-52/5th
vs. UR/MSU 0-0 0-0
MSU/Road/Neu 0-0/0-1/0-0 0-0/0-0/0-0
MSU
School Colors Blue, gold Red, blue
Location Bozeman, MT Richmond, VA
Enrollment 12,500 2,900
Arena Worthington Robins Center
SERIES CAPSULES
MSU vs. Richmond first meeting
PROJECTED MSU STARTERS Ht Wt Cl Pt Re A/B/S
F #24-Aaron Rich 6-6 200 Sr 10.9 4.4 2.1a
F #12-Damir Latovic (duh-MEER luh-TOE-vich) 6-8 235 Jr 10.9 7.7 0.9s
C #42-Casey Reynolds 6-6 230 Jr 8.3 5.6 1.1a
G #22-James Clark 5-11 160 Sr 9.8 1.8 3.8a
G #10-Jason Erickson, G 6-3 185 So 10.4 1.9 2.2a
THIS WEEK’S GAME
ABOUT RICHMOND
The Spiders are a well-known program, having experienced a considerable amount of success
in recent NCAA tourneys... in the last 20 years, Richmond has been in the NCAA
Tournament six times, the NIT five times, have had 14 first team all-conference choices and
four players drafted by NBA teams... Richmond is the only school to win NCAA Tourney
games as a 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th seed... NBA player Johnny Neuman played at
Richmond.
SPIDERS ROSTER
1 Tony Dobbins, G 6-4 205 So Mitchellville, MD
3 Scott Ungerer, G 6-7 210 Sr Syracuse, NY
4 Jeff Myers, G 6-1 185 Jr Rockford, IL
12 Reggie Brown, G 6-4 180 Jr Flushing, NY
14 Justin Lay, G 6-2 195 Sr Richmond, VA
21 Tim Faulconer, C 6-11 220 Sr Santa Clarita, CA
22 Jermaine Bucknor, F 6-6 205 Fr Edmonton, Alta.
24 Jason Morton, G 6-1 180 Fr Charlotte, NC
25 Patrick O’Malley, F/C 6-8 220 Fr Charleston, WV
32 Mike Skrocki, G 6-6 195 So Howell, NJ
33 Johnathan Collins, F/C 6-9 210 Jr Norfolk, VA
55 Eric Zwayer, C 6-9 235 Jr Sebring, FL
HEAD COACH: John Beilein
From Bobcat Coach Mick Durham
On Richmond: "Richmond is a program we all know about because of the success they’ve had
in the NCAA Tournament. They’re very similar to us in that they have a lot of guys that make
three-pointers. They’re going to switch defenses, and you can’t forget about their transition
defense. They seem to feed off hoops in transition. Richmond is a very smar, very tough
basketball team. It’s a good program, it’s in the A-10, which is in a tough conference." On the
win at Utah State: "Pete Conway was really feeling it Tuesday night, and he gave us the lift we
needed. I thought we really defended well, especially on the perimeter, and we shot it better
than we had in the first two games against them. Utah State is a good basketball team, and we
were thrilled to get a win there." On the travel: "The thing that’s helping us right now is that we
didn’t really travel much in February. We were home pretty much the whole month, so we’re
fairly fresh. By no means is this trip ideal, getting into Richmond around 1 am, but we’re
travelling east so that will really be 11 pm on our clocks. We need to get our work done (on
Thursday) then enjoy the trip back east. If everything goes well, it won’t be a bad trip."
Big Sky Conference in NIT
2002 MSU 1-0 77-69 at Utah State
1997 NAU 0-1 76-101 at Arkansas
1995 Montana 0-1 60-90 at UTEP
1991 Boise State 0-1 74-75 to Southern Illinois
1989 Boise State 0-1 55-69 at Oklahoma State
1987 Montana State 0-1 90-98 ot to Washington
Boise State 1-1 62-61 over Utah, 68-73 at Washington
1986 Montana 0-1 69-76 to TCU
NAU 0-1 61-67 to La Tech
1985 Montana 0-1 47-78 at UCLA
1984 Weber State 1-1 75-63 over Fordham, 72-74 2ot at SW La.
1983 Idaho 0-1 59-77 at Oregon State
SCOPING THE BOBCATS
Last Time Out
Montana State avenged two earlier defeats, topping Utah State 77-69 in Logan in the NIT’s
Opening Round on Tuesday. The Bobcats shot 53% against the Aggies, after shooting just
35% in the previous two meetings.
The Three Company
MSU has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 255 games. From 1986 to late ‘92-93 MSU
rolled up 197 straight games with a trey, giving MSU at least one three in 452 of the last 453
games.
The Magic Number
The Bobcats are 96-15 when scoring at least 80 points since ‘93-94.
Crankin’ it Up
The 94 points MSU scored vs PSU is its most since getting 98 vs. Sac State in ‘01.
A Big Win
MSU’s 78-47 home win over Idaho State was its biggest Big Sky victory margin since beating
Sac St. 80-43 in ‘99.
Rising Up
This year’s Montana State team has gotten the Bobcat program back on track in a big way.
The team’s 12 Big Sky wins is the school’s most since 1987, MSU’s only other NIT season.
Another win would give the ‘Cats their first 20-win season since 1996.
D-ing Up
Montana State had held its opponents below 50% shooting in seven straight halves until the
Grizzlies hit exactly half their shots in both halves lat Friday.
Turnover Totals
Montana State has been plagued by early-game turnovers this season. For instance, MSU
turned it over in four of the first five possessions at Arizona State. MSU averages 14.4
turnovers a game, 8.4 in the first half and 6.0 in the second. In league games, that trend is even
more pronounced. The ‘Cats average 15.7 turnovers per conference outing, 8.4 in the first
half, and 7.3 in the second.
Listen for the Click
Mick Durham has found the right starting combination in the last 18 games. Since settling on a
front five of James Clark and Jason Erickson at guard, Aaron Rich and Damir Latovic at
forward, and Casey Reynolds at center, MSU is 15-3.
Seeing Double-Double
Damir Latovic has nine double-doubles this year, most in the Big Sky.
Senioring
MSU’s seniors came up huge in their last regular season home games. James Clark had a
career high 24 points Friday vs. NAU, and finished the best weekend of his career with 18 on
Saturday. Kenny Plummer had a season high 13 on Friday, and Aaron Rich was 6-for-10
shooting on the weekend with a season-high five assists on Saturday. In all, MSU’s seniors
scored 75 of MSU’s 130 points.
Of Brooms and Such
For its second straight game, MSU entered its matchup with Utah State on Tuesday against ateam it had played twice. MSU was 2-0 against Montana before the Grizzlies upset the ‘Catsin the Big Sky Tournament semifinals, and MSU was 0-2 against Utah State before upendingthe Aggies in the NIT Opening Round. Both victors were playing on the road.
GAME FACTS
TIPOFF 5:35 pm MST
SITE Richmond, VA
ARENA Richmond Coliseum
RADIO Bobcat Radio Network
(Dean Alexander) TELEVISION none
PRESS ROW
HIGHLIGHTS
l Aaron Rich passed the 1,000-point mark Tuesday, and now has 1,004
l MSU has reached 20 wins for the first time since
STREAKS
l MSU has won 17 of its last 20
NIT NOTES
l MSU is 1-1 all-time in the NIT, and was 0-1 in this year’s Preseason NIT
l The ‘Cats’ last post-season win was an 82-66 win over American International in 1952
l MSU is 0-1 in NIT games, and was 0-1 in this year’s Preseason NIT
l MSU is in the NIT for the second time ever, the first since ‘87
l The ‘Cats shot just 35% in their regular-season games against Utah State this year, and 53%
on Tuesday
l Big Sky schools are 3-11 in the NIT all-time
The ‘Cats The Spiders
‘01-02 RECORD 20-9 20-13
Home/Road/Neu 12-3/7-4/1-2 10-4/6-7/4-2
Conf./Record Big Sky/1st, 12-2 A-10/11-5
HEAD COACH Mick Durham John Beilein
Alma Mater MSU/’80
Overall/Years 192-154/12th 445-257/20th
At School/Years same 98-52/5th
vs. UR/MSU 0-0 0-0
MSU/Road/Neu 0-0/0-1/0-0 0-0/0-0/0-0
MSU
School Colors Blue, gold Red, blue
Location Bozeman, MT Richmond, VA
Enrollment 12,500 2,900
Arena Worthington Robins Center
SERIES CAPSULES
MSU vs. Richmond first meeting
PROJECTED MSU STARTERS Ht Wt Cl Pt Re A/B/S
F #24-Aaron Rich 6-6 200 Sr 10.9 4.4 2.1a
F #12-Damir Latovic (duh-MEER luh-TOE-vich) 6-8 235 Jr 10.9 7.7 0.9s
C #42-Casey Reynolds 6-6 230 Jr 8.3 5.6 1.1a
G #22-James Clark 5-11 160 Sr 9.8 1.8 3.8a
G #10-Jason Erickson, G 6-3 185 So 10.4 1.9 2.2a
THIS WEEK’S GAME
ABOUT RICHMOND
The Spiders are a well-known program, having experienced a considerable amount of success
in recent NCAA tourneys... in the last 20 years, Richmond has been in the NCAA
Tournament six times, the NIT five times, have had 14 first team all-conference choices and
four players drafted by NBA teams... Richmond is the only school to win NCAA Tourney
games as a 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th seed... NBA player Johnny Neuman played at
Richmond.
SPIDERS ROSTER
1 Tony Dobbins, G 6-4 205 So Mitchellville, MD
3 Scott Ungerer, G 6-7 210 Sr Syracuse, NY
4 Jeff Myers, G 6-1 185 Jr Rockford, IL
12 Reggie Brown, G 6-4 180 Jr Flushing, NY
14 Justin Lay, G 6-2 195 Sr Richmond, VA
21 Tim Faulconer, C 6-11 220 Sr Santa Clarita, CA
22 Jermaine Bucknor, F 6-6 205 Fr Edmonton, Alta.
24 Jason Morton, G 6-1 180 Fr Charlotte, NC
25 Patrick O’Malley, F/C 6-8 220 Fr Charleston, WV
32 Mike Skrocki, G 6-6 195 So Howell, NJ
33 Johnathan Collins, F/C 6-9 210 Jr Norfolk, VA
55 Eric Zwayer, C 6-9 235 Jr Sebring, FL
HEAD COACH: John Beilein
From Bobcat Coach Mick Durham
On Richmond: "Richmond is a program we all know about because of the success they’ve had
in the NCAA Tournament. They’re very similar to us in that they have a lot of guys that make
three-pointers. They’re going to switch defenses, and you can’t forget about their transition
defense. They seem to feed off hoops in transition. Richmond is a very smar, very tough
basketball team. It’s a good program, it’s in the A-10, which is in a tough conference." On the
win at Utah State: "Pete Conway was really feeling it Tuesday night, and he gave us the lift we
needed. I thought we really defended well, especially on the perimeter, and we shot it better
than we had in the first two games against them. Utah State is a good basketball team, and we
were thrilled to get a win there." On the travel: "The thing that’s helping us right now is that we
didn’t really travel much in February. We were home pretty much the whole month, so we’re
fairly fresh. By no means is this trip ideal, getting into Richmond around 1 am, but we’re
travelling east so that will really be 11 pm on our clocks. We need to get our work done (on
Thursday) then enjoy the trip back east. If everything goes well, it won’t be a bad trip."
Big Sky Conference in NIT
2002 MSU 1-0 77-69 at Utah State
1997 NAU 0-1 76-101 at Arkansas
1995 Montana 0-1 60-90 at UTEP
1991 Boise State 0-1 74-75 to Southern Illinois
1989 Boise State 0-1 55-69 at Oklahoma State
1987 Montana State 0-1 90-98 ot to Washington
Boise State 1-1 62-61 over Utah, 68-73 at Washington
1986 Montana 0-1 69-76 to TCU
NAU 0-1 61-67 to La Tech
1985 Montana 0-1 47-78 at UCLA
1984 Weber State 1-1 75-63 over Fordham, 72-74 2ot at SW La.
1983 Idaho 0-1 59-77 at Oregon State
SCOPING THE BOBCATS
Last Time Out
Montana State avenged two earlier defeats, topping Utah State 77-69 in Logan in the NIT’s
Opening Round on Tuesday. The Bobcats shot 53% against the Aggies, after shooting just
35% in the previous two meetings.
The Three Company
MSU has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 255 games. From 1986 to late ‘92-93 MSU
rolled up 197 straight games with a trey, giving MSU at least one three in 452 of the last 453
games.
The Magic Number
The Bobcats are 96-15 when scoring at least 80 points since ‘93-94.
Crankin’ it Up
The 94 points MSU scored vs PSU is its most since getting 98 vs. Sac State in ‘01.
A Big Win
MSU’s 78-47 home win over Idaho State was its biggest Big Sky victory margin since beating
Sac St. 80-43 in ‘99.
Rising Up
This year’s Montana State team has gotten the Bobcat program back on track in a big way.
The team’s 12 Big Sky wins is the school’s most since 1987, MSU’s only other NIT season.
Another win would give the ‘Cats their first 20-win season since 1996.
D-ing Up
Montana State had held its opponents below 50% shooting in seven straight halves until the
Grizzlies hit exactly half their shots in both halves lat Friday.
Turnover Totals
Montana State has been plagued by early-game turnovers this season. For instance, MSU
turned it over in four of the first five possessions at Arizona State. MSU averages 14.4
turnovers a game, 8.4 in the first half and 6.0 in the second. In league games, that trend is even
more pronounced. The ‘Cats average 15.7 turnovers per conference outing, 8.4 in the first
half, and 7.3 in the second.
Listen for the Click
Mick Durham has found the right starting combination in the last 18 games. Since settling on a
front five of James Clark and Jason Erickson at guard, Aaron Rich and Damir Latovic at
forward, and Casey Reynolds at center, MSU is 15-3.
Seeing Double-Double
Damir Latovic has nine double-doubles this year, most in the Big Sky.
Senioring
MSU’s seniors came up huge in their last regular season home games. James Clark had a
career high 24 points Friday vs. NAU, and finished the best weekend of his career with 18 on
Saturday. Kenny Plummer had a season high 13 on Friday, and Aaron Rich was 6-for-10
shooting on the weekend with a season-high five assists on Saturday. In all, MSU’s seniors
scored 75 of MSU’s 130 points.
Of Brooms and Such
For its second straight game, MSU entered its matchup with Utah State on Tuesday against ateam it had played twice. MSU was 2-0 against Montana before the Grizzlies upset the ‘Catsin the Big Sky Tournament semifinals, and MSU was 0-2 against Utah State before upendingthe Aggies in the NIT Opening Round. Both victors were playing on the road.
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
