Bobcats Win Third Straight Thriller
1/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Branden Miller hit a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds to play, lifting Montana State to a 67-64 win over Sacramento State on Thursday.
Miller, whose roommate Ja'Ron Jefferson hit the game-winner Saturday at Montana, finished with 13 points. Jefferson had 17 to lead the Bobcats, now 9-8 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference. Jason Harris and Chris Lange each scored 13 points to lead Sacramento State, who falls to 5-12 overall and 2-3 in the league.
"I'm not sure what I was thinking" during the last shot, Miller said. Like last week's game-winning play, the ball was in Miller's hand and the clock winding down. He used a screen by Marvin Moss, who rolled into the paint, then fired a three-point shot from the top of the key.
"And he boy did he nail it," said Bobcat coach Mick Durham.
Montana State jumped to an eight-point lead early in the first half, but a Jason Harris layup with 3:05 to play in the first half started a 7-0 Hornet run and helped the visitors build a five-point lead that they took into halftime. The Hornet lead reached eight at 54-46 with 9:45 to play, but a Marvin Moss jumper, two free throws by Miller and a floater by freshman Ryan Holmes brought the 'Cats to within two.
The teams played on even terms for the next several minutes, until a three-pointer by Ja'Ron Jefferson, followed by three Jefferson free throws on two trips to the line, gave MSU a 62-60 lead with 3:05 to play. The game was tied at 64-64 with 1:15 to play when DaShawn Freeman nailed two free throws. Sac State's EJ Harris got a steal on the ensuing Bobcat possession, but MSU forced Lange into a missed three, rebounded by Marvin Moss, to set up the winning possession.
"We weren't playing great defense in the first half," Durham said, "but we turned it around in the second half. We held them to 39% shooting, which is great."
Sacramento State coach Jerome Jenkins lauded the Bobcats. "I've got a young team, and we're growing up each and every game," said Jenkins, whose team lost to MSU for the first time in three seasons on Thursday. "Give Montana State credit, they deserved to win tonight. They did all the things they had to do down the stretch. I was a little disappointed that we turned the ball over late and did some little things to let them back in the game."
Montana State hosts Northern Arizona on Saturday at 7:05 pm in Worthington Arena.
Miller, whose roommate Ja'Ron Jefferson hit the game-winner Saturday at Montana, finished with 13 points. Jefferson had 17 to lead the Bobcats, now 9-8 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference. Jason Harris and Chris Lange each scored 13 points to lead Sacramento State, who falls to 5-12 overall and 2-3 in the league.
"I'm not sure what I was thinking" during the last shot, Miller said. Like last week's game-winning play, the ball was in Miller's hand and the clock winding down. He used a screen by Marvin Moss, who rolled into the paint, then fired a three-point shot from the top of the key.
"And he boy did he nail it," said Bobcat coach Mick Durham.
Montana State jumped to an eight-point lead early in the first half, but a Jason Harris layup with 3:05 to play in the first half started a 7-0 Hornet run and helped the visitors build a five-point lead that they took into halftime. The Hornet lead reached eight at 54-46 with 9:45 to play, but a Marvin Moss jumper, two free throws by Miller and a floater by freshman Ryan Holmes brought the 'Cats to within two.
The teams played on even terms for the next several minutes, until a three-pointer by Ja'Ron Jefferson, followed by three Jefferson free throws on two trips to the line, gave MSU a 62-60 lead with 3:05 to play. The game was tied at 64-64 with 1:15 to play when DaShawn Freeman nailed two free throws. Sac State's EJ Harris got a steal on the ensuing Bobcat possession, but MSU forced Lange into a missed three, rebounded by Marvin Moss, to set up the winning possession.
"We weren't playing great defense in the first half," Durham said, "but we turned it around in the second half. We held them to 39% shooting, which is great."
Sacramento State coach Jerome Jenkins lauded the Bobcats. "I've got a young team, and we're growing up each and every game," said Jenkins, whose team lost to MSU for the first time in three seasons on Thursday. "Give Montana State credit, they deserved to win tonight. They did all the things they had to do down the stretch. I was a little disappointed that we turned the ball over late and did some little things to let them back in the game."
Montana State hosts Northern Arizona on Saturday at 7:05 pm in Worthington Arena.
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