MSU Game Notes vs. Eastern Washington
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MONTANA STATE (11-9/3-4) vs. Eastern Washington (10-10/6-1)
Montana State makes the turn in the Big Sky Conference, entering the league season’s second half with league-leading Eastern Washington. The red-hot Eagles have won six games in a row after stumbling at home to begin Big Sky play against Montana. Eastern appears to be the front-runner to host the conference tournament, which goes to the league’s regular season champion. NEXT UP: MSU hosts resurgent Portland State (2-5/8-12) on Saturday.
GAME FACTS
TIPOFF 7:05 pm MST
SITE Bozeman
ARENA Worthington Arena
RADIO Bobcat Radio Network
(Kris Atteberry)
TELEVISION Omega TV
HIGHLIGHTS
* Jason Erickson leads the Big Sky in scoring (17.6), steals (2.7), and free throw percentage (.875)
* Mick Durham’s 104 wins in league games is the most in Big Sky history
STREAKS
* Montana State has shot below 50% in nine straight games
* The Bobcats have won all 11 games this season in which they’ve led with five minutes to play
* Montana State has forced five straight opponents into at least 18 turnovers, and have 105 takeaways in that stretch of games
NOTEWORTHY
* Montana State leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (64.0), field goal defense (.404), and turnovers forced (20.0) in conference games
* MSU has outrebounded only two of seven Big Sky opponents
* Jason Erickson now has 1,111 career points, 21st in school history
The Bobcats The Eagles
‘03-04 RECORD 11-9 10-10
Home/Road/Neu 8-3/1-5/2-1 6-1/4-6/0-3
Conf./Record Big Sky/3-4 Big Sky/6-1
HEAD COACH Mick Durham Ray Giacoletti
Alma Mater MSU/’80 Minot State/’85
Overall/Years 214-178/14th 110-80/7th
At School/Years same 62-47/4th
vs Opponent vs. EWU: 16-13 vs. MSU: 4-2
Hm/Rd/Neu 10-4/6-9/0-0 3-0/2-1/0-0
SCHOOL INFO
Spirit colors Blue, gold Red, white
Location Bozeman, MT Cheney, WA
Enrollment 12,000 9,178
Arena Worthington Arena(7,000) Reese Court
SERIES CAPSULES
MSU vs. Eastern Washington 32-22 (20-6/12-16/0-0)
PROJECTED MSU STARTERS Ht Wt Cl Pt Re A/B/S
F #33-Danny Faaborg 6-5 200 Sr 6.7 2.6 1.2a
F #24-Josh Barsh 6-3 195 Sr 4.1 2.3 2.2a
C #4-Calvin Ento 6-7 215 Sr 8.7 5.9 0.8s
G #11-Frank Brown 6-2 160 So 8.2 4.2 4.6a
G #10-Jason Erickson 6-3 185 Sr 17.6 2.6 2.7s
BOBCAT RESERVES
#3-Nick Dissly 6-4 205 Fr 9.7 3.4 1.5a
#5-Dennis Woodall 6-5 225 Jr 3.8 2.5 0.3s
#20-Carson Durr 6-6 200 Fr 1.0 0.6 0.2a
#22-Wes Morales 6-5 190 Sr 0.7 0.3 0.3a
#23-Marcus Clift 6-2 175 Fr 0.4 0.8 0.3a
#30-PJ Owsley 6-8 200 Fr 2.7 0.9 0.3b
#50-Martrel Johnson 6-5 225 Fr 0.5 0.8 0.3b
#52-Matt Towsley 7-0 255 Jr 9.6 4.6 1.0b
*-has used redshirt season +-transferred to MSU
From Bobcat Coach Mick Durham
On Eastern Washington: “Eastern Washington is really playing well right now. They’re playing with a lot of confidence and they feel pretty good about themselves, but the thing about them is they have so many veterans, so I don’t see them getting comfortable. Marc Axton is a very good player and a tough matchup for us, and Alvin Snow has had some tremendous games against us. He and Brendon Merritt were great against us last year here. Eastern is a very good basketball team” On Portland State: “Portland State has a lot of new players that have been around the conference once now, and I think we’ll see them play well in the second half of the season. Seamus Boxley is one of the really good players in the conference, and they have a nice inside-outside mix.” On the Bobcats: “There are no secrets any more in the conference now that we’ve been through the first time through. Our new players now understand when we tell them about Marc Axton or Alvin Snow, but the flip side is that everyone knows our new players, too. We need to play the way we’ve been playing defensively, but we need to shoot better. Being at home should help that a little. We’ve forced 20 turnovers a game in the conference, but we need to convert those into points.”
SCOPING THE BOBCATS
Last Time Out
Jason Erickson scored a game-high 19 points, blocked a career-high three shots, and nabbed a steal, but it wasn’t enough to propel MSU past NAU on Saturday. The Lumberjacks earned a 63-57 home win over the ‘Cats, who have lost two straight.
The Three Company
MSU has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 295 games. From 1986 to late ‘92-93 MSU rolled up 197 straight games with a trey, giving MSU at least one three in 493 of the last 494 games.
The Magic Number
The Bobcats are 104-15 when scoring at least 80 points since ‘93-94.
More Magic
MSU scored 80 points in five straight early-January games, a first for the ‘Cats since January 1994.
Eating Glass
Rebounding has been a pretty solid indicator of Montana State’s success this season. The Bobcats are 2-8 when the opponent grabs more rebounds than MSU, 9-1 when the ‘Cats are even or positive in rebounds.
Slow Starts
MSU has staggered out of the gates in the last four games. The ‘Cats haven’t scored the first points of a game in three weeks ago, and trailed NAU 14-5 at 14:22, Sac State 17-8 at 13:00, Montana 10-4 at 14:40, and Idaho State 24-8 at 12:56. MSU lost three of those.
Bozeman Bombers
Bobcat basketball fans have felt some hometown love lately. In the last three games, MSU’s three players from Bozeman High -- PJ Owsley, Nick Dissly, and Danny Faaborg -- have combined to average 17 points and five boards a game.
Freebies
Jason Erickson has shot 88% from the free throw line this year, the best mark in the conference, but other Bobcats have struggled from the line. MSU has shot just 63% as a team, and the team other than Erickson has shot 57% from the charity stripe.
Swattin’...
The Bobcats have improved in the shot-blocking category this year. Montana State has 55 blocked shots through 20 games, including 16 by Matt Towsley. Last year, MSU blocked 50 shots all season.
...and Swipin’
Montana State has had sticky fingers this year. The Bobcats have 139 steals through 18 games, an average of 7.7 a game. Last year, the ‘Cats averaged 5.3 steals per game. Jason Erickson has a league-high 51 steals -- 2.8 per game -- or more half of his career total before this season (98).
Shooting Woes
MSU brought the league’s top field goal percentage into the conference season, but has shot a league-low 40.5% from the floor through the first half of the Big Sky Conference season.
More Swats
The Bobcats blocked 12 shots last weekend. Jason Erickson had three against NAU, as did PJ Owsley. Josh Barsh had two at Sac State.
Upside Down
Big Sky home teams were 6-2 last weekend, dropping the record of league road teams to 13-15 this year.
Montana State makes the turn in the Big Sky Conference, entering the league season’s second half with league-leading Eastern Washington. The red-hot Eagles have won six games in a row after stumbling at home to begin Big Sky play against Montana. Eastern appears to be the front-runner to host the conference tournament, which goes to the league’s regular season champion. NEXT UP: MSU hosts resurgent Portland State (2-5/8-12) on Saturday.
GAME FACTS
TIPOFF 7:05 pm MST
SITE Bozeman
ARENA Worthington Arena
RADIO Bobcat Radio Network
(Kris Atteberry)
TELEVISION Omega TV
HIGHLIGHTS
* Jason Erickson leads the Big Sky in scoring (17.6), steals (2.7), and free throw percentage (.875)
* Mick Durham’s 104 wins in league games is the most in Big Sky history
STREAKS
* Montana State has shot below 50% in nine straight games
* The Bobcats have won all 11 games this season in which they’ve led with five minutes to play
* Montana State has forced five straight opponents into at least 18 turnovers, and have 105 takeaways in that stretch of games
NOTEWORTHY
* Montana State leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (64.0), field goal defense (.404), and turnovers forced (20.0) in conference games
* MSU has outrebounded only two of seven Big Sky opponents
* Jason Erickson now has 1,111 career points, 21st in school history
The Bobcats The Eagles
‘03-04 RECORD 11-9 10-10
Home/Road/Neu 8-3/1-5/2-1 6-1/4-6/0-3
Conf./Record Big Sky/3-4 Big Sky/6-1
HEAD COACH Mick Durham Ray Giacoletti
Alma Mater MSU/’80 Minot State/’85
Overall/Years 214-178/14th 110-80/7th
At School/Years same 62-47/4th
vs Opponent vs. EWU: 16-13 vs. MSU: 4-2
Hm/Rd/Neu 10-4/6-9/0-0 3-0/2-1/0-0
SCHOOL INFO
Spirit colors Blue, gold Red, white
Location Bozeman, MT Cheney, WA
Enrollment 12,000 9,178
Arena Worthington Arena(7,000) Reese Court
SERIES CAPSULES
MSU vs. Eastern Washington 32-22 (20-6/12-16/0-0)
PROJECTED MSU STARTERS Ht Wt Cl Pt Re A/B/S
F #33-Danny Faaborg 6-5 200 Sr 6.7 2.6 1.2a
F #24-Josh Barsh 6-3 195 Sr 4.1 2.3 2.2a
C #4-Calvin Ento 6-7 215 Sr 8.7 5.9 0.8s
G #11-Frank Brown 6-2 160 So 8.2 4.2 4.6a
G #10-Jason Erickson 6-3 185 Sr 17.6 2.6 2.7s
BOBCAT RESERVES
#3-Nick Dissly 6-4 205 Fr 9.7 3.4 1.5a
#5-Dennis Woodall 6-5 225 Jr 3.8 2.5 0.3s
#20-Carson Durr 6-6 200 Fr 1.0 0.6 0.2a
#22-Wes Morales 6-5 190 Sr 0.7 0.3 0.3a
#23-Marcus Clift 6-2 175 Fr 0.4 0.8 0.3a
#30-PJ Owsley 6-8 200 Fr 2.7 0.9 0.3b
#50-Martrel Johnson 6-5 225 Fr 0.5 0.8 0.3b
#52-Matt Towsley 7-0 255 Jr 9.6 4.6 1.0b
*-has used redshirt season +-transferred to MSU
From Bobcat Coach Mick Durham
On Eastern Washington: “Eastern Washington is really playing well right now. They’re playing with a lot of confidence and they feel pretty good about themselves, but the thing about them is they have so many veterans, so I don’t see them getting comfortable. Marc Axton is a very good player and a tough matchup for us, and Alvin Snow has had some tremendous games against us. He and Brendon Merritt were great against us last year here. Eastern is a very good basketball team” On Portland State: “Portland State has a lot of new players that have been around the conference once now, and I think we’ll see them play well in the second half of the season. Seamus Boxley is one of the really good players in the conference, and they have a nice inside-outside mix.” On the Bobcats: “There are no secrets any more in the conference now that we’ve been through the first time through. Our new players now understand when we tell them about Marc Axton or Alvin Snow, but the flip side is that everyone knows our new players, too. We need to play the way we’ve been playing defensively, but we need to shoot better. Being at home should help that a little. We’ve forced 20 turnovers a game in the conference, but we need to convert those into points.”
SCOPING THE BOBCATS
Last Time Out
Jason Erickson scored a game-high 19 points, blocked a career-high three shots, and nabbed a steal, but it wasn’t enough to propel MSU past NAU on Saturday. The Lumberjacks earned a 63-57 home win over the ‘Cats, who have lost two straight.
The Three Company
MSU has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 295 games. From 1986 to late ‘92-93 MSU rolled up 197 straight games with a trey, giving MSU at least one three in 493 of the last 494 games.
The Magic Number
The Bobcats are 104-15 when scoring at least 80 points since ‘93-94.
More Magic
MSU scored 80 points in five straight early-January games, a first for the ‘Cats since January 1994.
Eating Glass
Rebounding has been a pretty solid indicator of Montana State’s success this season. The Bobcats are 2-8 when the opponent grabs more rebounds than MSU, 9-1 when the ‘Cats are even or positive in rebounds.
Slow Starts
MSU has staggered out of the gates in the last four games. The ‘Cats haven’t scored the first points of a game in three weeks ago, and trailed NAU 14-5 at 14:22, Sac State 17-8 at 13:00, Montana 10-4 at 14:40, and Idaho State 24-8 at 12:56. MSU lost three of those.
Bozeman Bombers
Bobcat basketball fans have felt some hometown love lately. In the last three games, MSU’s three players from Bozeman High -- PJ Owsley, Nick Dissly, and Danny Faaborg -- have combined to average 17 points and five boards a game.
Freebies
Jason Erickson has shot 88% from the free throw line this year, the best mark in the conference, but other Bobcats have struggled from the line. MSU has shot just 63% as a team, and the team other than Erickson has shot 57% from the charity stripe.
Swattin’...
The Bobcats have improved in the shot-blocking category this year. Montana State has 55 blocked shots through 20 games, including 16 by Matt Towsley. Last year, MSU blocked 50 shots all season.
...and Swipin’
Montana State has had sticky fingers this year. The Bobcats have 139 steals through 18 games, an average of 7.7 a game. Last year, the ‘Cats averaged 5.3 steals per game. Jason Erickson has a league-high 51 steals -- 2.8 per game -- or more half of his career total before this season (98).
Shooting Woes
MSU brought the league’s top field goal percentage into the conference season, but has shot a league-low 40.5% from the floor through the first half of the Big Sky Conference season.
More Swats
The Bobcats blocked 12 shots last weekend. Jason Erickson had three against NAU, as did PJ Owsley. Josh Barsh had two at Sac State.
Upside Down
Big Sky home teams were 6-2 last weekend, dropping the record of league road teams to 13-15 this year.
Wednesday, August 19
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Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
