Bobcats Drop Road Contest at Idaho

Saturday, November 26

Moscow, ID

7:00 PM PT

Montana State University

at IDAHO

Rod Singleton led the Bobcats Saturday

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

11/26/2011 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MSU can't quite recover from early shooting struggles

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State dug an early hole it couldn't quite escape, dropping a 76-67 decision at Idaho on Saturday night.

Idaho led by as many as 20 points in the first half, but the Bobcats cut that margin in half by halftime and got to within seven late in the game. But in the end, the deficit was too large to overcome.

"We just didn't make shots early," MSU coach Brad Huse said on his post-game radio show on the Bobcat Radio Network. "We can only defend them for so long. If we'd have gotten off to a better start offensively it would have gone a whole lot sooner."

Idaho claimed a 32-12 lead with 3:46 to play in the first half, but a Jamie Stewart three-pointer triggered MSU's 10-0 run to close the half. The Idaho lead remained around 10 points through much of the second half, although a Shawn Reid three-pointer in the last minute brought MSU to within seven. Idaho's conversions from the line gave the Vandals their final margin.

Rod Singleton scored 17 points to lead MSU, adding three steals. Jamie Stewart scored 10 points with five rebounds and three assists. Mo Fall scored 12 points with five rebounds and three blocked shots. Idaho's Deremy Geiger led all players with 23 points.

Huse didn't fault his team's execution or effort. "I liked how we executed, we just had shots that didn't drop," he said. "When your shots aren't falling you have to go make plays in other areas, and we tried to do that. We didn't hang our heads. We kept fighting, kept battling."

The Bobcats fall to 2-3 on the season, while Idaho raised its record to 3-2. MSU visits San Jose State on Monday at 8 pm MT.

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