Bobcats Top Eastern in League Opener
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eastern Washington’s Rodney Stuckey spent most of Thursday’s league opener locked in a super-human effort, but in the end a pair of Bobcats hit the game’s biggest shots. Carson Durr’s three-pointer with 97 seconds to play erased a short-lived Eagle lead and Carlos Taylor drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Montana State an 82-79 win in Cheney.
“I was just trying to get it off,” Taylor said of his game-winner. “My man collapsed and Casey (Durham) made a great read. I just wanted to get a quality shot off.”
Taylor’s quality shot capped a frenetic finish. The Bobcats turned the ball over twice after Durr’s three, then Durham and Adrian Zamora each converted one of two free throws to give MSU. A Paul Butorac dunk and a layup by Stuckey tied the score with 11.8 seconds left, leading to Taylor’s three.
Brad Huse, who earned his first league win as MSU’s head coach, credited his entire roster with the win. “The last shot got you the win, but I really felt that it was a team effort,” Huse said. “We weren’t going to be denied, we kept fighting and fighting. We made plays when we had to make plays.”
While Stuckey scored a game-high 26 points, Huse credited his team with a solid defensive effort. “I thought our defense made them take tough shots,” he said. “(Defending Stuckey) wasn’t a one-man deal, it was a team effort all the way. Everybody took their shots at him, and no one has a great tale to tell. He is a great player.”
After Nick Dissly’s three-pointer to open the second half, MSU played most of the rest of the game from in front. The Bobcats led by as many as eight on three occasions, and Eastern led three times, by one point each time, in the second half. MSU shot 47% from the floor for the game, and out-rebounded Eastern 38-to-36. The Eagles scored 21 points from the charity stripe, and forced 15 MSU turnovers.
Taylor led the Bobcats with 20 points, while Casey Durham added a dozen. Nick Dissly scored 10 points, but grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. “Nick found a lot of ways to help,” Huse said.
Montana State emerged from an uneven first half with a slim 41-39 lead. The Bobcats shot 50% from the floor and hit five treys in the first 20 minutes, but Eastern stayed in the game on the strength of Rodney Stuckey’s 12 points and a free throw parade which saw the home team shoot 16 times from the stripe to MSU’s two. MSU was whistled for 11 first half fouls, Eastern just four.
Eastern jumped out to an 18-11 lead, but Mecklen Davis turned the tide with a short jumper at 11:40 and a layup 35 seconds later that started a 22-8 Bobcat run. MSU grabbed its biggest first-half lead at 35-26 when Carlos Taylor, who scored nine of his 11 first-half points in that stretch, converted a layup.
“I was just trying to get it off,” Taylor said of his game-winner. “My man collapsed and Casey (Durham) made a great read. I just wanted to get a quality shot off.”
Taylor’s quality shot capped a frenetic finish. The Bobcats turned the ball over twice after Durr’s three, then Durham and Adrian Zamora each converted one of two free throws to give MSU. A Paul Butorac dunk and a layup by Stuckey tied the score with 11.8 seconds left, leading to Taylor’s three.
Brad Huse, who earned his first league win as MSU’s head coach, credited his entire roster with the win. “The last shot got you the win, but I really felt that it was a team effort,” Huse said. “We weren’t going to be denied, we kept fighting and fighting. We made plays when we had to make plays.”
While Stuckey scored a game-high 26 points, Huse credited his team with a solid defensive effort. “I thought our defense made them take tough shots,” he said. “(Defending Stuckey) wasn’t a one-man deal, it was a team effort all the way. Everybody took their shots at him, and no one has a great tale to tell. He is a great player.”
After Nick Dissly’s three-pointer to open the second half, MSU played most of the rest of the game from in front. The Bobcats led by as many as eight on three occasions, and Eastern led three times, by one point each time, in the second half. MSU shot 47% from the floor for the game, and out-rebounded Eastern 38-to-36. The Eagles scored 21 points from the charity stripe, and forced 15 MSU turnovers.
Taylor led the Bobcats with 20 points, while Casey Durham added a dozen. Nick Dissly scored 10 points, but grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. “Nick found a lot of ways to help,” Huse said.
Montana State emerged from an uneven first half with a slim 41-39 lead. The Bobcats shot 50% from the floor and hit five treys in the first 20 minutes, but Eastern stayed in the game on the strength of Rodney Stuckey’s 12 points and a free throw parade which saw the home team shoot 16 times from the stripe to MSU’s two. MSU was whistled for 11 first half fouls, Eastern just four.
Eastern jumped out to an 18-11 lead, but Mecklen Davis turned the tide with a short jumper at 11:40 and a layup 35 seconds later that started a 22-8 Bobcat run. MSU grabbed its biggest first-half lead at 35-26 when Carlos Taylor, who scored nine of his 11 first-half points in that stretch, converted a layup.
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