Last-Second Shot Falls Short, as Bobcats Fall to Weber State

Thursday, February 19

7:05 pm

Montana State University

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Weber State University

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Team	1	2	F
Weber State	36	38	74
Montana State	32	39	71

Michael Dison scored 22 points for the Cats on Thursday

Photo by: Ruth Shellenberg

Last-Second Shot Falls Short, as Bobcats Fall to Weber State

2/19/2015 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Michael Dison scores 22 points to lead MSU

By: Bill Lamberty

A play called "home run" landed on the warning track for an out, allowing hot-shooting Weber State to escape Worthington Arena with a 74-71 win on Thursday.

But the last-ditch play with 1.5 seconds remaining – a length-of-the-court pass from Eric Norman to Michael Dison, whose on-line three-pointer was just long at the buzzer – was not the one on Bobcat head coach Brian Fish's mind in the moments after another narrow and disheartening defeat. "What got us in trouble is that we went from needing a two-point basket to a three-pointer."

That happened just a second earlier. After Dison banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut Weber State's lead from four points to 72-71 with nine seconds remaining, Wildcat point guard Hayden Hunter missed the second of two free throws, but scrambled after an odd carom that sent the ball into the corner, grabbed the rebound, and was fouled. He hit one of the next two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to set up MSU's desperation final play.

That the Bobcats entered the final seconds with a chance to alter the game's outcome seemed unlikely most of the night. Weber State maintained torrid shooting throughout. The Wildcats shot over 80% for the game's first eight minutes, and after cooling late in the first half picked up the pace again in the second. WSU shot 56.5% in the second half, matched the high-water mark for three-pointers (eight) in the team's last dozen games, and actually shot better from the floor for the game (52.0%) than the free throw line (51.9%). The Wildcats did all this without leading scorer Jeremy Senglin, who was injured last weekend.

MSU trailed by double-digits for stretches of the first half, and by nine with 10 minutes remaining in the game. But, as they've done all season, the Bobcats battled back. Triples by Stephan Holm and Michael Dison pulled MSU within three. After Weber pushed the margin back to eight with three minutes remaining, the Cats made one last run.

"I think that's a trait we've had," said junior guard Marcus Colbert. "We're always fighting, we never give up."

Colbert made a pair of layups and Dison added one to trim the lead to 70-68. MSU forced a WSU miss and had possession down by two in the game's last 90 seconds, but an Eric Norman turnover with 54 seconds remaining gave Weber possession. A free throw by Kyndahl Hill gave MSU gave Weber a three-point lead, and when Stephan Holm missed a contested layup with 21 seconds left Weber pushed the lead to four on a Joel Bolomboy free throw. That set up Dison's long three-pointer, and the wild finish.

Bolomboy was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half for Weber State. He scored 18 points with nine rebounds before halftime, finishing with 21 points and a dozen rebounds. "Bolomboy is a good player," Fish said. "He could have played in the Pac 12, having spent four years in that league. He went for 21 and 12, and we wanted to contain him better in the second half. We let a couple of other guys get going, and that's what killed us."

Those other guys included Ryan Richardson, whose 17 points and four three-pointers were both his second-most this season. Richaud Gittens scored 12, and James Hajek 11. The Wildcats pounded MSU on the boards, 41-to-26. Bolomboy led the way, but Hajek's nine marked a career high.

Dison's 22 points gave the senior his fifth 20-point game of the season, and second in the last three outings. Colbert scored 17 points, and Danny Robison added 13. The Bobcats shot 41%, but were stuck in the mid-30s until the late rally.

Montana State falls to 6-20 on the season, 3-11 in league play, while Weber State is 6-8 in the Big Sky, 11-14 overall. Montana State hosts Idaho State Saturday afternoon at 2:35 pm, while the Wildcats play at Montana Saturday night.