Montana State University
Eastern Washington
Bobcats Drop Home Contest to Eastern Washington
1/10/2010 5:49:36 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagle Freshman Hits Late Layup
Eastern Washington guard Glen Dean poured in a game-high 23 points, including the game-winner with 3.4 seconds remaining, to lead the Eagles to a 75-73 win over Montana State in Bozeman on Sunday.
Dean pierced the Bobcat defense for lunging layups off of ball screens on two of Eastern's last three possessions, and the Eagles' defense stopped MSU on two of the Bobcats' last three trips to steal the comeback victory. "He just made plays, that's what it comes down to," said Bobcat coach Brad Huse.
Montana State led by as many as eight late in the first half and had a possession to grab a double-digit lead, but Erik Rush missed a layup with 29 seconds left and Kevin Winford hit a three-pointer for Eastern at the buzzer to cut the lead to five. "That was a big play," Huse said.
MSU maintained its lead through the first nine minutes of the second half, but Dean's layup at 11:10 gave the Eagles the lead. MSU built its lead back to four, but Jeffrey Forbes' jumper at 3:53 and back-to-back layups by Laron Griffin gave Eastern a two-point lead.
Branden Johnson's free throw with 1:06 to play gave MSU its final lead. Another Dean layup and a free throw by Matthew Brunell gave Eastern a two-point lead, but
On Eastern's game-winning possession, the Eagles milked the clock to under 10 seconds, when Dean wheeled off the high screen and darted to the hoop. Will Bynum's short jumper at the buzzer fell off the rim.
Dean's 23 points overshadowed a fine all-around game by the true freshman. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out a game-high seven assists, and logged a steal. Mark Dunn scored 16 points for the visitors.
Marquis Navarre led the Bobcats with 17 points, Bobby Howard added 14, Branden Johnson 13 and Erik Rush 12.
