Late Rally Falls Short as Washington State Takes Narrow Season-Opener from Cats

Friday, November 11

Pullman, WA

5 p.m. MT

Montana State University

0-1

Washington State

1-0

Team	1	2	F
Montana State	21	44	65
Washington State	31	38	69

Tyler Hall

Photo by: Sepp Jannotta

Late Rally Falls Short as Washington State Takes Narrow Season-Opener from Cats

11/11/2016 8:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Tyler Hall leads all players with 32 points

By: Bill Lamberty

The start was slow, the finish furious, and the net result was a narrow 69-65 defeat for the Montana State men's basketball team in its 2016-17 season opener at Washington State on Friday.

The Bobcats missed their first dozen shots of the game, and trailed 11-0 before a Sarp Gobeloglu three-pointer pushed MSU into the scoring column. Third-year Montana State coach Brian Fish understood that a slow start was a possibility.

"We had a lot of guys playing in their first game, on the road, against a Pac 12 school," he said, "and I knew (the start) would be something we could face. We got in a situation where it took us a long time to find ourselves. We fell in love with the three, which was not the game plan, but Tyler (Hall) played really, really well and Harry (Frey) found his way around. I liked the fight they showed."

Montana State's competitive nature presented itself after the Cougars stretched the lead to 15-3. Four of Montana State's next five baskets rained in from three-point range off the finger-tips of Hall, and the Cats trimmed the WSU advantage to 21-17 with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. A Benson Osayande layup drew MSU to within two, but the Cougars answered with a 10-2 run to build a 31-21 advantage at halftime.

Fish said Montana State's main offensive issue was easy to identify. "We fell in love with the three a little too much," he said. The Cats shot 21 times from outside the arc in the first half, 15 inside, and for the game 39 of MSU's 75 shots came from long range.

The second half mirrored the first in many ways, with Washington State out-scoring the Cats 8-2 in the first three minutes, 10 seconds, and eventually building a 48-29 lead with 12:53 to play. From that point on, though, the Bobcats dominated. MSU out-scored the Cougars 36-21 the rest of the way and hitting 10 of its next 18 shots.

At the end of the day, Washington State's steady shooting – the Cougars shot 43.5% in the first half and 41.7% in the second – and ability to get to the free throw line stood as the difference. The Cougars finished 24-for-34 from the line, while MSU was 9-for-10. "They out-scored us by 15 points from the line, and that's the difference in the game," Fish said. "We've just got to be better at not putting them on the line."

Washington State out-rebounded MSU 48-to-38, but the Cats countered by forcing 17 turnovers while surrendering the ball just eight times. Cougar senior Josh Hawkinson scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

But the night was ruled by Hall. Montana State's smooth-shooting sophomore scored 32 points with seven rebounds and five assists. He also blocked a shot. His 32 points was the second-highest total of his career, and the second-most ever scored by a Bobcat in a season opener (Larry Chanay scored 40 against Whitworth in 1959).

Gobeloglu scored 14 points, nailing 3 of his five three-point attempts, and Fish was impressed with Frey. The freshman point guard dished out four assists to only one turnover and scored seven points. "He found his gear," Fish said. "When you walk into this place with a freshman point guard you'll face these things early on. But I like how he responded."

Montana State returns to the hardwood Monday night, hosting the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at 7 pm in Worthington Arena. Purchase tickets at www.msubobcats.com.