Bobcats Battle to End, Beat Bears in Greeley

Thursday, February 12

7:05 pm

Montana State University

5-19, 2-9BSC

Northern Colorado

12-11, 7-5BSC

Team	1	2	F
Montana State	40	50	90
Northern Colorado	34	53	87

Michael Dison's 23 points led the Bobcats to a win over Northern Colorado

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

2/12/2015 10:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MSU snags elusive first road win of 2014-15

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State's game at Northern Colorado Thursday night looked a lot like a lot of other Bobcat games this year.

And then, all of a sudden, it didn't.

MSU jumped to a 19-point first-half lead, but Northern Colorado – like so many other Bobcat opponents this year – began chipping away. A Tevin Svihovec jumper with just under 12 minutes to play tied the score for the only time. Terrell Brown, playing in his home state, hit a jumper to stem the tide for MSU, then Michael Dison nailed a pair of free throws and a jumper, and Montana State led the rest of the night.

"These guys deserve it," Bobcat coach Brian Fish said of his team's first road win of the season. "I've never been around a group that fights harder. I've been in this rebuilding process four times and the difference with this group is how hard they fight. They showed toughness tonight. I'm proud of them."

Dison – "He's 155 pounds all wet, but he keeps swinging," Fish said – led the way. He scored a team-high 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out three assists. He did it without a three-pointer, but made shots when his team needed him the most. Seventeen of Dison's points came in the second half, including three in the last 30 seconds. "I knew he'd keep fighting," Fish said.

Statistically, the Bobcats kept themselves in the game at the free throw line. MSU finished 19-of-24 from the stripe, essentially neutralizing UNC's 22-for-30 showing. But Fish said his team's effort just getting to the line was the game's main storyline.

"Look at the free throws," Fish said. "We were 19 of 24 from the line. Instead of accepting jump shots we drove the ball to the basket. In eight or nine games we lost leads because we settled for jump shots, but tonight we stayed aggressive. We've had those looks before, but tonight we stayed aggressive and earned the win."

Zach Green set the tone for the night by converting an and-one layup on the game's first possession. Back-to-back layups by Dison pushed MSU's lead to 7-1, Marcus Colbert's triple made it 10-1, and Stephan Holm hit one to make the lead a dozen. While MSU was building its lead, Northern Colorado missed its first three shots and turned the ball over three times. The Bobcats grabbed the game's first 10 rebounds.

The Cats played with a double-digit lead for most of the first half, but a 16-3 Bears run to close the half drew UNC to within six. UNC out-shot the Cats (48% to 46.9%) in the first half, and forced seven turnovers while giving it away only five times. But MSU held a 21-to-14 advantage on the boards.

After Northern Colorado tied the game in the second half, the Bobcats responded. MSU hit six of its next seven shots from the floor, and finished the game converting 14 of their last 20 field goal tries.

"This game could have gone either way the last 20 minutes," Fish said. "They kept fighting."

Standout individual performances were easy to find on the Bobcats' box score. Stephan Holm scored 18 off the bench, while Marcus Colbert added 13 points and four assists. Eric Norman snagged eight rebounds and blocked five shots. MSU shot 51.7% for the game, 57.1% in the second half, and out-rebounded UNC 37-to-32.

The win raises MSU's record to 5-19 overall, 2-9 in the league. Northern Colorado drops to 12-11 overall, 7-5 in the conference. Montana State plays at North Dakota at 1 pm MT Saturday in a game televised by Fox Sports North.