Bobcats Win League Opener
1/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wednesday couldn't have gone much worse for the Montana State men's basketball team. Thursday's game couldn't have started much worse, either. But it ended just fine, as Montana State won a hotly-contested defensive battle 61-54 at Portland State.
"We talked before the game about handling whatever came our way," said MSU coach Mick Durham, whose Bobcats spent 14 hours traveling from Bozeman to Portland on Wednesday because of inclement weather in ice-sheathed Portland. After finally making it to the gym, MSU stumbled through a slow start, falling behind 8-0.
When it was over, MSU used a tenacious defense and an 11-3 run early in the second half to vault past Portland State in the Stott Center. The win lifts MSU to a 1-0 conference start, and the team's fourth straight conference-opening win.
"I definitely was concerned with our start," Durham said. "I didn't want to start the conference season behind eight-to-nothing."
The game looked anything but promising when the Vikings jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but when PSU led 12-2 Frank Brown answered with a jumper and two free throws to begin an 11-2 run that got the Bobcats back into the game. Brown finished with 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting and a 7-for-8 free throw performance. Importnatly, Brown got six rebounds and four steals.
"Frank brought a lot of energy tonight," Durham said.
The game's marquee matchup between the Big Sky's top two scorers, Jason Erickson and Viking guard Blake Walker, didn't disappoint. Walker scored 16 poitns, while Erickson added 14, a dozen in the second half.
The most prominent feature of the contest, though, was defense. "I thought it was a typical first conference game," Durham said. "The game was pretty ugly offensively for both teams, but both teams played well defensively."
Montana State shot only 39%, but held PSU to 31% shooting and forced 24 Viking turnovers. The Bobcats have forced at least 20 turnovers in three consecutive games, and in five of the last seven. The last three Bobcat opponents have now shot less than 50%.
Erickson keyed MSU's defensive effort, in spite of picking up two quick first-half fouls. The senior guard had three steals.
Durham had no explanation for his team' poor start. "What caused it I don't know," he said, "but we did a good job fighting through it."
Montana State travels to Cheney, Wash., for a Saturday night game against Eastern Washington.
"We talked before the game about handling whatever came our way," said MSU coach Mick Durham, whose Bobcats spent 14 hours traveling from Bozeman to Portland on Wednesday because of inclement weather in ice-sheathed Portland. After finally making it to the gym, MSU stumbled through a slow start, falling behind 8-0.
When it was over, MSU used a tenacious defense and an 11-3 run early in the second half to vault past Portland State in the Stott Center. The win lifts MSU to a 1-0 conference start, and the team's fourth straight conference-opening win.
"I definitely was concerned with our start," Durham said. "I didn't want to start the conference season behind eight-to-nothing."
The game looked anything but promising when the Vikings jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but when PSU led 12-2 Frank Brown answered with a jumper and two free throws to begin an 11-2 run that got the Bobcats back into the game. Brown finished with 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting and a 7-for-8 free throw performance. Importnatly, Brown got six rebounds and four steals.
"Frank brought a lot of energy tonight," Durham said.
The game's marquee matchup between the Big Sky's top two scorers, Jason Erickson and Viking guard Blake Walker, didn't disappoint. Walker scored 16 poitns, while Erickson added 14, a dozen in the second half.
The most prominent feature of the contest, though, was defense. "I thought it was a typical first conference game," Durham said. "The game was pretty ugly offensively for both teams, but both teams played well defensively."
Montana State shot only 39%, but held PSU to 31% shooting and forced 24 Viking turnovers. The Bobcats have forced at least 20 turnovers in three consecutive games, and in five of the last seven. The last three Bobcat opponents have now shot less than 50%.
Erickson keyed MSU's defensive effort, in spite of picking up two quick first-half fouls. The senior guard had three steals.
Durham had no explanation for his team' poor start. "What caused it I don't know," he said, "but we did a good job fighting through it."
Montana State travels to Cheney, Wash., for a Saturday night game against Eastern Washington.
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