Saturday, February 1
Cedar City, UT
7:05 pm
Montana State University
5-410-10/ BSC
54
at
52
at SOUTHERN UTAH
0-101-18/ BSC
1
2
F
Montana State
20
34
54
Southern Utah
24
28
52
Eric Norman
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Davis, Norman Lead Bobcat Rally in Victory at Southern Utah
2/1/2014 10:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU overcame an 11-point lead as the Cats posted a big road win
Flavien Davis' 16 points led all players and Eric Norman grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and blocked a potential game-winning three point shot at the buzzer as Montana State earned a hard-fought 54-52 win at Southern Utah on Saturday.
In a game featuring 10 ties, all but one in the second half, and five lead changes, the outcome was not decided until the final buzzer. Davis hit a short, contested runner in the lane with 30 seconds to play to break the game's final tie, then drew a charge on the ensuing possession to give the Bobcats possession with a two-point lead.
Norman missed the opportunity to seal the win from the free throw line with eight seconds to play, but did moments later and 70 feet away by blocking Race Parsons' three-pointer from the corner as time expired. Norman started for the first time in eight games replacing starting center Paul Egwuonwu, who is out indefinitely.
"What a game from Eric," Bobcat coach Brad Huse said. "Every shot that went up he battled on the glass. He was giving up 20, 30 lbs to the guys he was matched up against tonight. He got a big putback, the block, and had a great night rebounding, and we needed every one of those."
Getting the game into a back-and-forth affair seemed a long-shot during much of the first half, when the Thunderbirds scorched the nets at a 56% rate and opened up an 11-point lead. Montana State shot just 22.6% before intermission, a figure which stood at 16% (4-for-25) before Norman's steal and layup with just over five minutes remaining cut SUU's lead to 22-13.
After a Thunderbird basket, Calen Coleman's layup, three-pointer, and two free throws accounted for a 7-0 Bobcat run to end the first half. That drew the MSU to within 24-20 at the intermission. "Calen Coleman really gave us a huge lift at the end of the first half," Huse said. "He really sparked us."
The Southern Utah lead, double-digits less than six minutes earlier, would never surpass four again. Sparked by Davis' 4-for-5 effort after halftime and Norman's 2-for-2 finish, the Bobcats shot 54.5% in the second half. MSU also out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 16-14 in the closing period, with Norman snagging seven. And this while the Bobcats played without its leading rebounder, Egwuonwu.
A.J. Hess led Southern Utah with 14 points, and he shared the team lead with five rebounds. The Bobcats forced 20 SUU turnovers on the night, the most by a Bobcat opponent this season.
The win comes a day after travel delays caused the Bobcats to arrive in Cedar City too late for a normal day-before-the-game practice, and raises MSU's record to 10-10 overall, 5-4 in the league. Southern Utah's loss was its 18th straight, dropping the Thunderbirds to 1-18 overall and 0-10 in Big Sky play, although the team's last five losses have been single-digits with the game not decided until the closing minute.
Montana State returns to Bozeman on Sunday, and hosts Montana on Monday night.
In a game featuring 10 ties, all but one in the second half, and five lead changes, the outcome was not decided until the final buzzer. Davis hit a short, contested runner in the lane with 30 seconds to play to break the game's final tie, then drew a charge on the ensuing possession to give the Bobcats possession with a two-point lead.
Norman missed the opportunity to seal the win from the free throw line with eight seconds to play, but did moments later and 70 feet away by blocking Race Parsons' three-pointer from the corner as time expired. Norman started for the first time in eight games replacing starting center Paul Egwuonwu, who is out indefinitely.
"What a game from Eric," Bobcat coach Brad Huse said. "Every shot that went up he battled on the glass. He was giving up 20, 30 lbs to the guys he was matched up against tonight. He got a big putback, the block, and had a great night rebounding, and we needed every one of those."
Getting the game into a back-and-forth affair seemed a long-shot during much of the first half, when the Thunderbirds scorched the nets at a 56% rate and opened up an 11-point lead. Montana State shot just 22.6% before intermission, a figure which stood at 16% (4-for-25) before Norman's steal and layup with just over five minutes remaining cut SUU's lead to 22-13.
After a Thunderbird basket, Calen Coleman's layup, three-pointer, and two free throws accounted for a 7-0 Bobcat run to end the first half. That drew the MSU to within 24-20 at the intermission. "Calen Coleman really gave us a huge lift at the end of the first half," Huse said. "He really sparked us."
The Southern Utah lead, double-digits less than six minutes earlier, would never surpass four again. Sparked by Davis' 4-for-5 effort after halftime and Norman's 2-for-2 finish, the Bobcats shot 54.5% in the second half. MSU also out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 16-14 in the closing period, with Norman snagging seven. And this while the Bobcats played without its leading rebounder, Egwuonwu.
A.J. Hess led Southern Utah with 14 points, and he shared the team lead with five rebounds. The Bobcats forced 20 SUU turnovers on the night, the most by a Bobcat opponent this season.
The win comes a day after travel delays caused the Bobcats to arrive in Cedar City too late for a normal day-before-the-game practice, and raises MSU's record to 10-10 overall, 5-4 in the league. Southern Utah's loss was its 18th straight, dropping the Thunderbirds to 1-18 overall and 0-10 in Big Sky play, although the team's last five losses have been single-digits with the game not decided until the closing minute.
Montana State returns to Bozeman on Sunday, and hosts Montana on Monday night.
Team Stats
MSU
SUU
FG%
.358
.455
3FG%
.273
.167
FT%
.722
.667
RB
32
31
TO
14
20
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
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