Bobcats Wear Down Eagles for Key Big Sky Win

Thursday, January 21

7:05 pm

Montana State University

2-48-11/ Big Sky

Eastern Washington

3-39-9/ Big Sky

Eastern Washington

Montana State

Marcus Colbert leans for two of his 23 points against Eastern on Thursday

Photo by: Sepp Jannotta

1/21/2016 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Defense, hot-shooting guards pace MSU

By: Bill Lamberty

For Marcus Colbert, Thursday night's game was a feast.

"I thought we were hungry," Montana State's sensational senior guard said after his team topped defending Big Sky Champion Eastern Washington 85-71 in Bozeman. "That feeling of losing, especially at Northern Colorado, we felt like we were in that game, we were in a good position on the road, we just came up a little short. Everybody was just hungry (this week), ready to get better."

The Bobcats rode the strength of statistical advantages in nearly every category, but MSU head coach Brian Fish lauded his team's defensive effort. "They were 7-for-25 from three," he said. "If you'd have told me they were shooting 28% from three I'd have taken that. I thought a little of that had to do with us flying around, we didn't give up as many open looks as we have. I thought our effort was great."

MSU held one of the league's top offenses to 41.8% shooting overall, and Eastern's seven treys were nearly four fewer than the team's average. The Cats also forced 14 Eagles turnovers, two-and-a-half more than the team's average. Individually, EWU center Venky Jois entered the game averaging 16.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. The Bobcat defense limited him to 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with six rebounds.

"Our big men did a really good job on Jois," Colbert said. "That was key for our win."

Colbert credited his team's preparation. "We had a good scout from our coaches," he said. "They were spot on. We knew they shot a lot of threes so we had to be there on the catch and try and contest their shots. That's what we did."

After a choppy start, Eastern jumped out to a 16-10 lead on a three-pointer by Will Ferris with 11:20 to play before halftime. The Bobcats turned that deficit into a lead moments later when Sarp Gobeloglu hit a triple, Tyson Kanseyo laid one in, and Colbert hit a three.

That three-pointer by Colbert was significant. He scored it at the 6:39 mark, and it began a run of Colbert scoring MSU's next 17 straight points in a stretch covering five minutes, 40 seconds. He was 6-for-7 from the floor, 5-for-5 from the arc, in that dominating period, and only Tyler Hall's trey as time expired in the half snapped the streak. It also sent the Bobcats into the locker room with a 38-30 lead.

Except for one burst about five minutes into the second half, Eastern never seriously challenged. With MSU leading by a dozen after a Tyler Hall three-pointer, Bogdan Bliznyuk drained a three, Felix Von Hofe followed with a triple, and Julian Harrell hit one for good measure to cut MSU's lead to 48-45. Jois' layup at 13:24 drew the Eagles within 48-47.

But the Cats had an answer. Danny Robison's layup restored the lead to three, Colbert hit a jumper and a layup, they Tyler Hall converted an and-one and the Bobcats' lead was never again in danger. While Colbert's breathtaking shots stand out, and Hall's 24 points nudged his teammate from team-high scoring honors, Fish was quick to credit several other Bobcats.

"I thought Nahjee Matlock and Tyson Kanseyo gave us some great minutes off the bench," he said. "Same Neumann brought some energy. Danny Robison grabbed some rebounds. I thought it was a team win all the way."

Montana State's unsung hero of the night was Quinton Everett. The junior wing scored nine points on 1-for-5 shooting, but drained all six of his free throws, grabbed seven boards, dished out a pair of assists, and logged a big blocked shot. "I thought Quinton was as important as anyone," Fish said. "He was flying all over the court. He had a great night."

While Colbert and Hall have carried the Cats offensively throughout the season, Thursday marked the first time since November – and just the second overall – that the two had each gone off for 20 in a game. Colbert scored nine of MSU's 30 baskets and assisted on eight others. The game was Colbert's seventh over 20 on the young season, while Hall has now scored double-digits in 18 of his 19 college games and has cracked 20 seven times.

Montana State raises its record to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in Big Sky play with the win, while Eastern Washington falls to 9-9 overall, 3-3 in the league. The Cats host Idaho at 2 pm Saturday. Purchase tickets for that contest by calling 406/994-CATS or at http://ticketswest.com/events/msu-mens-basketball/15402/.