Bobcats Race Past Northwest Indian for Exhibition Win

Tuesday, November 3

7:05 pm

Montana State University

Northwest Indian

Marcus Colbert scored 23 points Tuesday

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

11/3/2015 9:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Guards pace Bobcats

By: Bill Lamberty

Brian Fish wanted to see how his youthful Montana State team responded under "the bright lights" of a game situation in its exhibition outing against Northwest Indian on Tuesday.

The answer came early, and it came in the affirmative. Freshman guard Tyler Hall scored 24 points and his senior backcourt-mate Marcus Colbert added 23 to lead the Bobcats in a 114-57 romp over Northwest Indian in Worthington Arena on Tuesday.

"I thought we got off to a good start," Fish said of an opening five minutes that saw his team score 19 of the game's first 25 points. "The second time everyone went back in we had some guys try to do some things that we don't do. There were a lot of unforced turnovers. But we took 73 shots, which means there were a lot of possessions, so 18 (turnovers) isn't that many given how many possessions there were."

Even with the high volume of shots, Fish was pleased with the shot selection. "I like the shots we got," he said. "Extra passes were made. It just wasn't (indicative) of what we're going to see in Hawaii in a week."

While solid play from seniors Colbert and Danny Robison – 15 points, 10 rebounds – didn't surprise, Hall's production certainly stood out. He finished 10-for-14 from the floor, hit two of his four three-point tries, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out four assists without a turnover. "He was exactly what I thought," Colbert said. "The kid can play. He can really score."

While Robison's inside-out performance was solid, Fish said he hopes to coax more out of his other big men. "The one thing you've got to do is develop trust between the coaches and players. Our inside game is not trusting me yet in terms of playing physical, playing hard, bending their knees. I expect some of this, and I also expect a good response from those guys (in practice)."

Still, there were some bright spots. Against a much smaller NWI team, forward Sarp Gobeloglu scored 10 points with 10 rebounds, and Tyson Kanseyo snagged seven boards. Guard Nahjee Matlock scored 10 poitns, and Colbert lauded him for bineg "in charge when he was on the court. He got everyone in the right spots."

All in all, Fish said Tuesday's exhibition provided a good stretch of the legs for a team whose scrimmage time has been limited by injuries. "I wish I had a FitBit on the guys," he said. "They probably went five miles getting up and down like that. And that's what I wanted."

MSU's next outing is at Hawaii on November 13.