Bobcats Complete Road Sweep with Matinee Win at UND

Saturday, February 14

2:05 pm CT/1:05 pm MT

Montana State University

6-19 (3-10BSC)

North Dakota

8-16 (4-9BSC)

Team	1	2	F
Montana State	37	43	80
North Dakota	34	44	78

Marcus Colbert's buzzer-beater gave MSU a win at UND

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

2/14/2015 4:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Marcus Colbert caps wild win with buzzer-beater

By: MSU Sports Information

The record books will show that Montana State beat North Dakota Saturday on the strength of Marcus Colbert's buzzer-beating jumper and Eric Norman's first career double-double. But first-year head coach Brian Fish traces the Bobcats' 80-78 come-from-behind stunner further back.

"These guys are having success because they have worked hard in practice all the way through this," Fish said. "They've fought hard. They've believed in each other. And now they're being rewarded."

Saturday's reward came in unlikely fashion. After junior point guard Marcus Colbert missed an attempted game-winner, the ball caromed right to him. He recalibrated, fired, and gave the Cats their first weekend sweep since winning at Idaho State and Weber State in 2004-05.

Colbert's shot capped a back-and-forth affair which MSU led by as many as nine in the first half, and trailed by seven with seven minutes left. The Bobcats eradicated that margin with a 14-1 run, 12 coming from Colbert. Zach Green's layup with just under two minutes left pushed MSU's lead to nine.

But the Green and White was not finished. A Terel de Rouen three-pointer cut the lead to six, and a jumper then two free throws by Jaron Nash trimmed it to two. With 27 seconds remaining, an Estan Tyler layup tied the score.

"Our guys are just so resilient," Fish said. "They never stop fighting."

Like most of MSU's league games, the Cats built big leads – by 10 in the first half on Saturday – only to watch it dissipate. Several heroes emerged Saturday. Colbert's 18 points and three rebounds, included inthe game-winning sequence, stand out. Michael Dison also poured in 18 points.

But Eric Norman's heroics, consistent throughout the conference season, came in a different form on this day. Steady in his rebounding and shot-swatting – he added 12 boards and two blocks Saturday – Norman had his best offensive day as a Bobcat when his team needed it most. The senior from San Diego was 9-for-10 from the field, 4-for-5 from the arc, for a career-high 22 points.

"Eric's work doesn't always show up in the scoring column," Fish said. "But he has worked hard and stayed consistent. He had a great day today."

With the weekend sweep, MSU is suddenly part of the Big Sky Tourney chase, bunched with two other teams at three wins and just a game behind North Dakota (4-9). The Cats host Weber State (5-9) and Idaho State (3-9, all before Saturday's games) next weekend.