Bobcats Hold On for Win Over Idaho State

Saturday, January 26

Bozeman, MT

7:05 p.m.

Montana State University

6-49-9/ Big Sky

IDAHO STATE

3-74-15/ Big Sky

OT 1

Idaho State

Montana State

Marcus Colbert, late in MSU's 61-59 OT win over Idaho State

Photo by: MSU Sports Information

1/26/2013 10:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Antonio Biglow's late free throws give Cats victory

By: Bill Lamberty

Antonio Biglow never had a doubt.

“I'm confident in my free throws,” Montana State's junior guard said after scoring his only two points of the night from the charity stripe with 17 seconds left in overtime. Those free throws boosted the Bobcats to a 61-59 overtime win over Idaho State. MSU finished the game 13-for-15 from the line, and MSU's 37-for-44 weekend from the charity stripe included one stretch of 23 consecutive makes.

For Brad Huse, the victory by any means necessary was welcome on the back end of an eight-day stretch that included four league games. “Antonio hit those clutch (free throws at the end,” Huse said, “and we found a way to get it done. In conference you have to do that.”

The heart-stopping finish came after Idaho State slowly melted away a 17-point Bobcat lead in the second half. During the elongated 27-9 Bengals run that culminated with ISU grabbing a short-lived one-point lead with 2:41 to play, MSU endured scoreless stretches of three minutes and four minutes.

“I was proud of how we hung in there,” Huse said. “We really struggled to score for a long stretch, and struggled to stop them. (ISU guard Chris) Hansen really got going. If you give him a little bit of room he's going to knock them down.”

Hansen's 5-for-7 long-distance shooting in the last 15 minutes of regulation drug the Bengals back into the game, but his passing got the game tied. After a pair of Tomas Sanchez free throws gave Idaho State its 55-54 lead with 2:41 remaining in regulation, Bobcat freshman Marcus Colbert coolly drained a three-pointer with 1:08 to play to put MSU up by two. A half-minute later, Hansen dished to Andre Hatchett for a layup that tied the score.

The Bengals scored first in overtime on a pair of Melvin Morgan free throws, but a Paul Egwuonwu dunk at 3:48 tied the score. Neither team moved the scoreboard until Biglow's free throws with 17 seconds remaining in overtime.

The game moved in fits and starts all the way through, each team surviving its own dry spells and opposition runs. Hansen's 20 points paced the Bengals, while Sanchez and Morgan each scored 11. Idaho State shot 40.8% from the floor, but 60% in the second half.

On the Bobcat end, Flavien Davis punctured ISU's zone for most of the night. “That zone's hard to penetrate, hard to get good shots against,” Huse said. “We did a good job getting it to Flavien in spots there, but it's not easy. They do a good job with that.”

Davis finished with a season-high 24 points, and Christian Moon extended his double-digit string to nine games with a 12-point effort. Xavier Blount struggled shooting, but dished out a season-high eight assists.

Montana State raised its evened its season record at 9-9 with the win, moving to 6-4 in Big Sky play. The Bengals fall to 4-15 overall, 3-7 in the conference. The Bobcats hit the road next weekend, playing at Eastern Washington on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday.