Saturday, March 7
7:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
Montana
Blake Brumwell is one of three Bobcat seniors battling UM Saturday
Photo by: Ruth Shellenberg
Bobcats Host Grizzlies in Season Finale, Brawl of the Wild
3/6/2015 3:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State closes 2014-15 season with Montana at home
Montana State's first-year men's basketball coach Brian Fish doesn't care about spoiling anything his final opponent of the season, Montana, may or may not be playing for by Saturday. All he cares about is the chance to lead this year's team into one more game.
"I haven't really thought about that," he said when asked about playing the role of spoiler Saturday against his team's rival, which entered the week playing for a Big Sky Conference regular season championship. "I relish the role of getting a chance to play. That's the part I'm struggling with, we're done on Sunday and I'll miss the chance to play and compete."
Fish leads this year's team one final time, with the opportunity to thank three seniors that he says has eased his transition as a first-year head coach. Center Blake Brumwell (Big Sandy, Mont.), guard Michael Dison (Houston, Tex.) and forward Eric Norman (San Diego, Calif.) form this year's senior class. Saturday's Senior Night ceremonies will take place on the Worthington Arena floor following the game.
Fish appreciates the contributions each of the three players have made. "It won't show up (in the record), but the leadership that Blake has shown has been very instrumental," Fish said. "If you watched early on when he was out of the game he would be the only guy standing up on the bench cheering, and now you see the whole bench cheering. You see a camaraderie he's built, how much it means to him. For Michael Dison to have his best year as a senior and to play (well) and hit as many big shots as he has is good. For Eric to play more this year than he has his previous three years combined is great. He's gotten an opportunity.
"I think all three of these guys walk away having given their best effort during their senior year," Fish said, "and that's what you ask of your seniors."
The Bobcats face a 17-11 Montana team which has progressively improved under its own first-year head coach, Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies are 13-4 in league play, have won six of their last seven, and if Sacramento State loses one of its final two games – which will be completed before Saturday's Brawl of the Wild Series contest – a Montana win on Saturday gives UM a share of the Big Sky title. Two Sac State losses would give UM a chance to host the league tournament, from which the Cats have been eliminated.
The Grizzlies have won six of their last seven, including Saturday's heart-stopper at Eastern Washington, and stand poised as a team whose balance and depth has become major strengths during the league season. Still, two Grizzlies stand out as among the top threats in the Big Sky. Big man Martin Breunig is seventh in the Big Sky in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. "He's a really skilled player," Fish says of Breunig. "He can stretch the floor out to 17 feet, he's long, he's active, he's playing with a purpose, he never quits on a ball. We've got to compete with him the entire possession. He's real good when you give him open looks and he gets comfortable, he's real good if you don't block him out."
Slick-shooting guard Jordan Gregory stands a notch ahead of Breunig in scoring, and is among the top three-point shooters in the Big Sky. Fish calls Gregory "the guy in the program that they know when there's a last-second shot who's taking it, they know how to get him open. He plays very aggressive. I really like him."
Fish also really likes his seniors, and the leadership they've provided. "Sometimes when you look at leadership you look to see if there's been (mental) slippage in games," Fish said. "Our guys' attention to detail has been very good. We've lacked some things in talent, everyone's noticed that through 29 games, but we haven't had times where we haven't played hard, we haven't had slippage or aloofness on the basketball floor. I put a lot of that on leadership."
Brumwell is likely to be the only starter Saturday that hails from the Treasure State. A Bobcat underclassman, Danny Robison from Billings, averages 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds as a junior. One of Robison's classmates, Marcus Colbert, dealt a hot hand last weekend. He scored a career-high 27 points at Eastern Washington Saturday, following that with 26 at Idaho on Sunday.
Tipoff Saturday is 7:05 pm in Worthington Arena.
"I haven't really thought about that," he said when asked about playing the role of spoiler Saturday against his team's rival, which entered the week playing for a Big Sky Conference regular season championship. "I relish the role of getting a chance to play. That's the part I'm struggling with, we're done on Sunday and I'll miss the chance to play and compete."
Fish leads this year's team one final time, with the opportunity to thank three seniors that he says has eased his transition as a first-year head coach. Center Blake Brumwell (Big Sandy, Mont.), guard Michael Dison (Houston, Tex.) and forward Eric Norman (San Diego, Calif.) form this year's senior class. Saturday's Senior Night ceremonies will take place on the Worthington Arena floor following the game.
Fish appreciates the contributions each of the three players have made. "It won't show up (in the record), but the leadership that Blake has shown has been very instrumental," Fish said. "If you watched early on when he was out of the game he would be the only guy standing up on the bench cheering, and now you see the whole bench cheering. You see a camaraderie he's built, how much it means to him. For Michael Dison to have his best year as a senior and to play (well) and hit as many big shots as he has is good. For Eric to play more this year than he has his previous three years combined is great. He's gotten an opportunity.
"I think all three of these guys walk away having given their best effort during their senior year," Fish said, "and that's what you ask of your seniors."
The Bobcats face a 17-11 Montana team which has progressively improved under its own first-year head coach, Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies are 13-4 in league play, have won six of their last seven, and if Sacramento State loses one of its final two games – which will be completed before Saturday's Brawl of the Wild Series contest – a Montana win on Saturday gives UM a share of the Big Sky title. Two Sac State losses would give UM a chance to host the league tournament, from which the Cats have been eliminated.
The Grizzlies have won six of their last seven, including Saturday's heart-stopper at Eastern Washington, and stand poised as a team whose balance and depth has become major strengths during the league season. Still, two Grizzlies stand out as among the top threats in the Big Sky. Big man Martin Breunig is seventh in the Big Sky in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. "He's a really skilled player," Fish says of Breunig. "He can stretch the floor out to 17 feet, he's long, he's active, he's playing with a purpose, he never quits on a ball. We've got to compete with him the entire possession. He's real good when you give him open looks and he gets comfortable, he's real good if you don't block him out."
Slick-shooting guard Jordan Gregory stands a notch ahead of Breunig in scoring, and is among the top three-point shooters in the Big Sky. Fish calls Gregory "the guy in the program that they know when there's a last-second shot who's taking it, they know how to get him open. He plays very aggressive. I really like him."
Fish also really likes his seniors, and the leadership they've provided. "Sometimes when you look at leadership you look to see if there's been (mental) slippage in games," Fish said. "Our guys' attention to detail has been very good. We've lacked some things in talent, everyone's noticed that through 29 games, but we haven't had times where we haven't played hard, we haven't had slippage or aloofness on the basketball floor. I put a lot of that on leadership."
Brumwell is likely to be the only starter Saturday that hails from the Treasure State. A Bobcat underclassman, Danny Robison from Billings, averages 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds as a junior. One of Robison's classmates, Marcus Colbert, dealt a hot hand last weekend. He scored a career-high 27 points at Eastern Washington Saturday, following that with 26 at Idaho on Sunday.
Tipoff Saturday is 7:05 pm in Worthington Arena.
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