Bobcats Ride High Effort Level to Home Win on Wednesday

Wednesday, December 3

7:05 pm

Montana State University

2-5

South Dakota Mines

2-7

South Dakota Mines

Montana State

Marcus Colbert's 10 assists set the pace for MSU in Wednesday's win

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

12/3/2014 10:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Marcus Colbert, Michael Dison lead the Cats to victory

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State coach Brian Fish wanted to see intensity and effort from his Bobcats against NCAA Division II South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on Wednesday night.

For most of the night, he did. The result was a 79-41 win for the Bobcats in Worthington Arena.

"For 30 minutes it was really good," Fish said of his team's intensity. "I thought Marcus Colbert did a really good job of moving the ball, Michael (Dison) knocked down some shots as the night went on, Eric Norman blocked six shots and had a very good night. He was very effective."

Colbert dished out a career-high in assists for the third time in the past four games, with 10 helpers on Wednesday. The junior point guard also notched a career-high six steals and with nine points narrowly missed his first career double-double. Dison scored 24 points, his second 20-point effort in the last three (he scored 32 against UT Arlington), and he averages 24 points in the last three outings.

MSU scored the first eight points of the game, holding the Hardrockers scoreless for the game's first 2:10. After its first basket, SD Mines went nearly four more minutes without a point. The Cats led 16-8 after a Marcus Colbert free throw with 10:04 remaining in the first half, then neither team scored for four minutes.

A three-pointer by Holm then back-to-back treys by Dison pushed the Bobcat lead to 25-8, giving the Bobcats control of the game. MSU finished the half with a 32-15 lead, holding SD Mines to 14% shooting.

The Cats finished the game shooting 43%, holding the Hardrockers to 24%. MSU out-rebounded Mines 49-to-40, and forced 20 Hardrocker turnovers.

The individual highlights piled up for the Bobcats on Wednesday. In addition to Colbert's career highs, Eric Norman blocked a career-best six shots, the second-highest total in school history, with a season-high nine rebounds. Quinn Price's three blocks also marked a career high for the freshman forward.

The Bobcats raise their record to 2-5, and host Utah Valley of the WAC on Saturday at 7:30 pm after the MSU-Wyoming women's game at 5 pm. South Dakota Mines falls to 2-7.