Second-Half Surge Leads Bobcats to Home Win over Idaho State

Saturday, February 21

2:35 pm

Montana State University

4-117-20/ BSC

Idaho State University

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Team	1	2	F
Idaho State	31	22	53
Montana State	24	43	67

Michael Dison drives on Idaho State's Ben Wilson Saturday

Photo by: Ruth Shellenberg

Second-Half Surge Leads Bobcats to Home Win over Idaho State

2/21/2015 7:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Michael Dison's 29 points boost Cats to victory

By: Bill Lamberty

What exactly was said in Montana State's locker room at halftime of the team's 67-53 win over Idaho State in Worthington Arena Saturday will likely be lost to history.

"We had a little come-to-Jesus meeting at halftime," Bobcat coach Brian Fish said in the aftermath of the victory, and there can be no doubt the discussion had its desired effect. Montana State outscored the Bengals 43-22 after the intermission, held the Bengals to 37.5% shooting after the break, and nearly erased a 22-to-13 halftime rebound deficit. MSU turned a 31-24 halftime deficit into largest margin of victory in a month, and the motivation, Fish said, was simple.

"We know that if we lose, we're done," Fish said of his point-of-emphasis between halves, a reference to the team's post-season chances. "We (knew) we've got to get a win. We stepped on the gas a little bit in the second half."

The man driving much of that acceleration, as he has throughout the conference season, was the shortest player on the court. Michael Dison, MSU's 5-9 senior guard, led all players with 29 points, and as usual they came from an array of or angles and depths. He rained four dome-scraping three-pointers, five shots off of penetration, and drained all seven of his free throws. When not scoring he dished out three assists, and also came up with three pilfers.

Dison's dynamic offense drove the Cats through a strange shooting game. Montana State hit five of its first six shots, jumping out to an 18-6 lead eight-and-a-half minutes in, but the Bengals scratched back. While MSU finished the half shooting 4-for-22, the Bengals closed with a 25-6 run and captured a 31-24 advantage at the intermission.

"At halftime, we got challenged," said senior center Blake Brumwell.

With the challenge accepted, MSU's offensive efficiency ratcheted up in the second half. Trailing by six with 12:55 to play, Dison's three-pointer cut the lead in half, Marcus Colbert answered an ISU basket to draw MSU within two, and two minutes later he tied the score with a tear-drop in the lane. After the teams see-sawed momentarily, Dison gave MSU the lead with a three-pointer, and Colbert added another.

"The thing about Mike Dison," Fish says, "is that he just keeps fighting."

The Bobcats' roll continued. Another Colbert layup pushed MSU in front 52-46 with 7:08 to play, then a Zach Green layup off of a beautiful dish from Eric Norman gave the Bobcats and eight point lead.

The Bobcats sealed the win not by pulling away offensively, but by shutting down the Bengals. From the eight-minute mark until the clock ticked below one minute, the Bobcats held ISU to just a single Chris Hanson layup. That 12-2 run proved too much for the Bengals.

Ironically, Idaho State's first-half run covered nearly the same terrain. From just north of the eight-minute mark to just outside of one minute, ISU scored 14 straight points.

"Maybe after 27 games we're used to going through that," Fish quipped. "You have to credit (ISU) Coach (Bill) Evans' team. At some point, their zone is going to get you."

The win kept alive Montana State's possibility of qualifying for the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament, as MSU raised its league record to 4-11, 7-20 overall. Idaho State is now 3-12 in the conference, 6-21 in all games. Montana State heads west next week, playing at Eastern Washington on Thursday at 8 pm MT.