Monday, February 3
Bozeman, MT
7:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
MONTANA
Antonio Biglow and the Bobcats face Montana on Monday
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Host Grizzlies in Annual Encounter Monday
2/3/2014 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MSU closes first half of league season with rare Monday night home tilt
Montana State may be limping – literally – out of the weekend, but eighth-year head coach Brad Huse expects to see fire in his team's eyes when the Bobcats host arch-rival Montana Monday night at 7 pm.
The task of playing the well-rested, hot, defending Big Sky champion is formidable enough, but MSU also received a dose of adversity in the days leading up to the annual Cat-Griz game in Bozeman. In addition to challenging travel circumstances – MSU suffered flight delays or cancellations traveling both to and from Southern Utah for Saturday's game – two Bobcat starters are questionable for Monday's game. Center Paul Egwuonwu missed Saturday with an injury, while forward Flavien Davis suffered an injury in the game's closing moments.
Huse sees the challenge ahead, but expressed pride in his team for handling those immediately behind.
"It was a tough trip," he said. "But I'm really proud of the guys. They never looked comfortable in the first half (Saturday), but they fought through it. I know we will prepare and be ready (for Cat-Griz)."
In Egwuonwu's absence Saturday, Eric Norman stepped forward. The junior grabbed a game- and career-high 11 rebounds, and hit four of his six shots. He and wing Calen Coleman (2-for-4 shooting) were the only Bobcats to shoot more than once and hit half his shots at SUU. The rest of the team was 13-for-43 from the field.
"It was like slugging rats to get a basket to drop," Huse said following the game.
But when the team's shooting wasn't there (the Cats shot 22.6% before halftime, 54.5% after), the team compensated in other areas. The Bobcats limited the Thunderbirds to 38.5% shooting in the second half (compared to 55.6% in the first half), and forced 20 turnovers. MSU also out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 32-31 in spite of playing without Egwuonwu, one of the Big Sky's leading rebounders.
Monday's matchup presents the Bobcats several challenges. Montana stands among the nation's leaders in free throw shooting (73.0%) and handling the basketball (10.3 turnovers per game, a category in which UM has led the nation in recent weeks). Senior wing Kareem Jamar has been a nearly-unstoppable force, standing third in the league in scoring (19.4 points a game in conference contests) and second in assists (4.8 per game).
As tough a matchup as Jamar presents opposing defenses, he is far from a one-man show. Junior Jordan Gregory has a string of 13 consecutive double-digit scoring games, while Keron DeShields hits 44% of his three-point shots, among the best rates in the Big Sky. Add into the mix freshman guard Mario Dunn, who has drawn raves across the league for his skill, and sharp-shooters Mike Weisner and Brandon Gfeller, and Montana brings a dynamic attack to Bozeman.
Montana State relies on balance at both ends of the floor. "We need to keep working hard to get the ball to good spots on the floor," Huse said. "Sharing the basketball and taking the shots that come in the flow of the offense are things we've done well at times this year, but they remains important going forward. Defensively, we need to continue to play team basketball."
Monday's game officially ends the first half of the Big Sky season, and the Bobcats and Grizzlies are bunched together in the middle of the conference standings. MSU is 5-4 in league play, 10-10 overall, while Montana is 4-5 in the conference, 9-9 overall. Monday's game also marks the initial hardwood contest played between the two teams in the "Brawl of the Wild" rivalry series, which assigns points to each sports in which the schools mutually compete.
The task of playing the well-rested, hot, defending Big Sky champion is formidable enough, but MSU also received a dose of adversity in the days leading up to the annual Cat-Griz game in Bozeman. In addition to challenging travel circumstances – MSU suffered flight delays or cancellations traveling both to and from Southern Utah for Saturday's game – two Bobcat starters are questionable for Monday's game. Center Paul Egwuonwu missed Saturday with an injury, while forward Flavien Davis suffered an injury in the game's closing moments.
Huse sees the challenge ahead, but expressed pride in his team for handling those immediately behind.
"It was a tough trip," he said. "But I'm really proud of the guys. They never looked comfortable in the first half (Saturday), but they fought through it. I know we will prepare and be ready (for Cat-Griz)."
In Egwuonwu's absence Saturday, Eric Norman stepped forward. The junior grabbed a game- and career-high 11 rebounds, and hit four of his six shots. He and wing Calen Coleman (2-for-4 shooting) were the only Bobcats to shoot more than once and hit half his shots at SUU. The rest of the team was 13-for-43 from the field.
"It was like slugging rats to get a basket to drop," Huse said following the game.
But when the team's shooting wasn't there (the Cats shot 22.6% before halftime, 54.5% after), the team compensated in other areas. The Bobcats limited the Thunderbirds to 38.5% shooting in the second half (compared to 55.6% in the first half), and forced 20 turnovers. MSU also out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 32-31 in spite of playing without Egwuonwu, one of the Big Sky's leading rebounders.
Monday's matchup presents the Bobcats several challenges. Montana stands among the nation's leaders in free throw shooting (73.0%) and handling the basketball (10.3 turnovers per game, a category in which UM has led the nation in recent weeks). Senior wing Kareem Jamar has been a nearly-unstoppable force, standing third in the league in scoring (19.4 points a game in conference contests) and second in assists (4.8 per game).
As tough a matchup as Jamar presents opposing defenses, he is far from a one-man show. Junior Jordan Gregory has a string of 13 consecutive double-digit scoring games, while Keron DeShields hits 44% of his three-point shots, among the best rates in the Big Sky. Add into the mix freshman guard Mario Dunn, who has drawn raves across the league for his skill, and sharp-shooters Mike Weisner and Brandon Gfeller, and Montana brings a dynamic attack to Bozeman.
Montana State relies on balance at both ends of the floor. "We need to keep working hard to get the ball to good spots on the floor," Huse said. "Sharing the basketball and taking the shots that come in the flow of the offense are things we've done well at times this year, but they remains important going forward. Defensively, we need to continue to play team basketball."
Monday's game officially ends the first half of the Big Sky season, and the Bobcats and Grizzlies are bunched together in the middle of the conference standings. MSU is 5-4 in league play, 10-10 overall, while Montana is 4-5 in the conference, 9-9 overall. Monday's game also marks the initial hardwood contest played between the two teams in the "Brawl of the Wild" rivalry series, which assigns points to each sports in which the schools mutually compete.
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