Johnson's Hot Hand Leads Bobcats to Win Over UCSB

Friday, December 18

Bozeman, MT

7:05 pm

Montana State University

UC Santa Barbara

Branden Johnson's hot hand in the second half keyed MSU's win over UCSB.

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

12/18/2009 10:26:27 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Bill Lamberty

It seemed as if everyone in Worthington Arena was waiting for someone to break the ice of a two-minute scoreless streak to begin the second half of Montana State's non-conference contest with UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

Branden Johnson was the man.

Montana State's senior forward converted a four-point play and a three-pointer in the first 3:40 of the second, and put an exclamation mark on the proceedings with a third at the 15:11 mark. Johnson outscored the Gauchos 10-3 in the first five minutes after halftime to boost MSU's lead into double-digits, provide the team with the cushion it needed, and spur the Bobcats to a 76-64 win over the Gauchos in Worthington Arena on Friday.

“BJ got us off to a good start in the second half,” said MSU coach Brad Huse. “We needed someone to knock down shots and get us going in the second half, and he did that.”

Johnson's 10-point spurt helped the Bobcats sandwich halftime with a 22-7 run. As the Bobcat offense heated up, MSU's defense clamped down. The Cats held UC Santa Barbara to 34% shooting in the game's final 32 minutes, and limited UCSB's leading scorer Orlando Johnson to 12 points, nearly five below his season average.

After Johnson's third three-pointer in the second half, the Gauchos chipped away at MSU's lead. A three-pointer by Sam Phippen followed by a tip-in and a layup by James Nunnally drew UCSB within five. But Johnson answered with a three-pointer 16 seconds later to stem the tide, and Erik Rush scored six points in a 13-5 run as MSU wrested control of the game away from its Big West opponent.

Erik Rush led all players with 17 points, senior Branden Johnson posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, and Danny Piepoli came within a point of his career-high by scoring 14 points with two assists to lead MSU. Nunnally's 13 points led UCSB. Montana State shot 52% in the second half, limiting UCSB to 38%.

Montana State raised its record to 6-4 on the season, while UCSB is 4-3. The Bobcats begin a four-game road trip that wraps around Christmas with games at Cal Poly (Monday) and Boise State (Wednesday).