MSU Earns Home Win Over Explosive Titans
12/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana State rode a 15-4 run opening the second half to a 74-60 win over Cal State Fullerton in Bozeman on Tuesday.
Trailing 43-34 at halftime, Bobby Howard's hot shooting turned the game MSU's direction. The sophomore forward sandwiched a Divaldo Mbunga dunk with two three-pointers, then chipped in a short jumper to give MSU control of the game. Marquis Navarre's three-pointer with 16:24 to play gave the Cats a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"I thought in the second half they missed shots," MSU coach Brad Huse said of the explosive Titans, "and on the positive side we were able to hold them to one shot on a lot of possessions and then convert on our end. We had as good an offensive flow tonight as we've had in quite a while."
Facing the nation's ninth-leading scorer in Fullerton's Josh Akognon, the Bobcats (4-3) pieced together a solid defensive effort. MSU held the Titans (4-6) to 38% shooting, including 6-for-28 from three-point range. Fullerton turned the ball over only nine times, while forcing 17 MSU turnovers.
Huse was impressed with Akognon, who scored 18 points. "He's too good a player to contain," Huse said, "we were just fortunate that he missed some shots in the second half, shots he normally makes."
Howard led the Bobcats with 20 points, his third game at or over 20 points this season. Mbunga and Erik Rush each grabbed eight rebounds to lead all players. MSU out-rebounded the Titans 43-25, the third straight game MSU has grabbed more boards than the opponent and MSU's biggest rebounding margin of the season.
The Bobcats travel to Seattle Saturday to face Washington State in Key Arena. Cal State Fullerton returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield on December 13 before the teams meet again in Titan Gym on December 22.
Trailing 43-34 at halftime, Bobby Howard's hot shooting turned the game MSU's direction. The sophomore forward sandwiched a Divaldo Mbunga dunk with two three-pointers, then chipped in a short jumper to give MSU control of the game. Marquis Navarre's three-pointer with 16:24 to play gave the Cats a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"I thought in the second half they missed shots," MSU coach Brad Huse said of the explosive Titans, "and on the positive side we were able to hold them to one shot on a lot of possessions and then convert on our end. We had as good an offensive flow tonight as we've had in quite a while."
Facing the nation's ninth-leading scorer in Fullerton's Josh Akognon, the Bobcats (4-3) pieced together a solid defensive effort. MSU held the Titans (4-6) to 38% shooting, including 6-for-28 from three-point range. Fullerton turned the ball over only nine times, while forcing 17 MSU turnovers.
Huse was impressed with Akognon, who scored 18 points. "He's too good a player to contain," Huse said, "we were just fortunate that he missed some shots in the second half, shots he normally makes."
Howard led the Bobcats with 20 points, his third game at or over 20 points this season. Mbunga and Erik Rush each grabbed eight rebounds to lead all players. MSU out-rebounded the Titans 43-25, the third straight game MSU has grabbed more boards than the opponent and MSU's biggest rebounding margin of the season.
The Bobcats travel to Seattle Saturday to face Washington State in Key Arena. Cal State Fullerton returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield on December 13 before the teams meet again in Titan Gym on December 22.
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