Bobcats Race to Exhibition Win

Friday, November 5

5:30 PM

Montana State University

Mayville State

Bobby Howard led the Bobcats to an exhibition win on Friday.

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

11/5/2010 9:02:58 PM | Men's Basketball

A mix of veterans and newcomers contribute

By: Bill Lamberty

A familiar face and a sharp-shooting newcomer led the way for Montana State on Friday, as the Bobcats raced to a 99-62 men's basketball exhibition win over Mayville (N.D.) State in Worthington Arena.

Returning All-Big Sky forward Bobby Howard and freshman Shawn Reid each scored 16 points to pace MSU in its only exhibition contest of the season. Howard led the Bobcats with seven rebounds, and also dished out three assists and blocked a shot. Senior Erik Rush scored 13 points, while freshman Tre Johnson and junior center Jourdain Allou added 10 points each.

Bobcat head coach Brad Huse was pleased with his team's balance and effort.

“You certainly want to be on the right side of the score to start with,” Huse said, “and that was a positive. I thought we sustained a pretty solid effort. We got off to a slow start defensively, but after time we wore them down and they didn't have quite the legs to shoot those threes. They played us smart, they tried to spread the floor and tried to take the air out of the ball and spend more time on offense. We just had to stay really focused on that end of the court. And obviously we got some good offensive production to get the looks we got and convert.”

Mayville jumped out to an early 8-2 lead by hitting its first two three-pointers, and led 14-13 after five minutes. The Bobcats used a 12-0 run starting at the 12:32 mark, triggered by a Howard layup and a Reid three-pointer, to blow the game open.

Montana State shot 47.8% from the floor, including 51.4% in the first half. The Bobcats out-rebounded Mayville 51-to-34, and forced 17 turnovers while committing only seven.

The Bobcats open the season on November 12 at Hawaii at 10 pm MT.