Bobcats Hang On to Top Sac State, 74-59
2/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana State watched a 13-0 lead fade into a 22-18 deficit, then vaulted past Sacramento State with a 21-3 run on its way to a 74-59 win over the Hornets on Thursday.
Casey Durham stepped out of his role as a distributor, hitting six of his seven three-pointers and his only shot inside the arc, spurring the Bobcat offense past Sacramento State's full-court pressure. The Bobcats turned the ball over 19 times, the most for the team in 2007, and shot only 43%, but out-rebounded the Hornets 44-to-35 and held Sac State to just 35% shooting.
"We got off to a great start," said Bobcat coach Brad Huse, "then their pressure and trapping threw us off. It took us a while to adjust, but I thought the guys responded and did a good job holding them off."
MSU scored the game's first 13 points, and Sacramento State's inability to score kept the Hornets from employing its full-court pressure. Once the baskets began falling, the Hornets increased the tempo and held the Bobcats without a basket from the 14:42 mark until Casey Durham's three-pointer at 5:47. The Hornets led 22-18 before Durham's huge triple, and when Durham answered Loren Leath's three-pointer at 4:03 MSU took a 27-25 lead it would never relinquish. That launched the Bobcats on a 15-0 run that eventually gave MSU a 39-29 halftime lead.
"When the guys got out of synch a little Casey stepped up," Huse said. "And in a way, he gets a reward because he works so darned hard. There's never a moment when Casey is not going at a maximum level."
After Davon Roberts converted a putback to open the second half, Durham nailed a three to give MSU a 42-31 lead. When Carlos Taylor answered Alex Bausley's layup moments later the Bobcats led 45-35. The Montana State lead never again fell below double-digits.
Montana State's win raises the team's record to 10-14 overall but 7-4 in the Big Sky Conference, setting up a showdown with arch-rival Montana, also 7-4, on Saturday.
The Big Sky standings -- which Weber State leads at 10-4 -- couldn't have been further from Huse's mind following the Sac State victory. "It's not important," Huse said of his team's slot in the league chase. "What is important is that we are prepared to play on Saturday."
Casey Durham stepped out of his role as a distributor, hitting six of his seven three-pointers and his only shot inside the arc, spurring the Bobcat offense past Sacramento State's full-court pressure. The Bobcats turned the ball over 19 times, the most for the team in 2007, and shot only 43%, but out-rebounded the Hornets 44-to-35 and held Sac State to just 35% shooting.
"We got off to a great start," said Bobcat coach Brad Huse, "then their pressure and trapping threw us off. It took us a while to adjust, but I thought the guys responded and did a good job holding them off."
MSU scored the game's first 13 points, and Sacramento State's inability to score kept the Hornets from employing its full-court pressure. Once the baskets began falling, the Hornets increased the tempo and held the Bobcats without a basket from the 14:42 mark until Casey Durham's three-pointer at 5:47. The Hornets led 22-18 before Durham's huge triple, and when Durham answered Loren Leath's three-pointer at 4:03 MSU took a 27-25 lead it would never relinquish. That launched the Bobcats on a 15-0 run that eventually gave MSU a 39-29 halftime lead.
"When the guys got out of synch a little Casey stepped up," Huse said. "And in a way, he gets a reward because he works so darned hard. There's never a moment when Casey is not going at a maximum level."
After Davon Roberts converted a putback to open the second half, Durham nailed a three to give MSU a 42-31 lead. When Carlos Taylor answered Alex Bausley's layup moments later the Bobcats led 45-35. The Montana State lead never again fell below double-digits.
Montana State's win raises the team's record to 10-14 overall but 7-4 in the Big Sky Conference, setting up a showdown with arch-rival Montana, also 7-4, on Saturday.
The Big Sky standings -- which Weber State leads at 10-4 -- couldn't have been further from Huse's mind following the Sac State victory. "It's not important," Huse said of his team's slot in the league chase. "What is important is that we are prepared to play on Saturday."
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