Bobcats Topple Louisiana in Home-Opening Thriller

Monday, November 14

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

1-1

UL Lafayette

0-2

Louisiana

Montana State

Joe Mvuezolo Jr. hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to boost MSU to a win over Louisiana

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

11/14/2016 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Joe Mvuezolo Jr. hits two free throws with two seconds left for the win

By: Bill Lamberty

Brian Fish preached to his Montana State basketball team the need for toughness in the days between Friday's season-opening loss at Washington State and Monday's home opener against Louisiana.

He saw plenty of it Monday, both the physical and mental variety, as MSU topped the Ragin' Cajuns in an 84-83 thriller. "I was happy with how tough our guys played," Fish said. "There are lots of things to clean up, but they played with some toughness."

The Bobcats needed it. MSU outrebounded a physical Louisiana squad that won 19 games a year ago, and survived a withering comeback after building a 16-point lead with 7:17 to play. And it all came in fits and starts. "We found a rhythm and went on a run," said sensational sophomore Tyler Hall after answering his 32-points Friday with 28 on Monday, "then they'd go on a run. It was a game of runs."

The two longest were the last two. After Louisiana took a 59-58 lead with 12:14 to play, he Bobcats scored 18 of the next 19 points. Sam Neumann's only three-pointer through the season's first two games gave the Bobcats a 76-60 advantage. Hall and Harald Frey each scored six points in that stretch, and Neumann added four.

But ULL roared back, a run that was fueled by Bobcat fouls and turnovers. Louisiana scored 17 of the next 19 points to pull to within 78-77, and 11 of those points came without the clock moving. The Cats turned the ball over six times in that stretch.

"You look at the turnovers and the mistakes and you can say we have a lot of things to work on," Fish said. "But I'll flip it around and say that we got a lot of new guys that gained some valuable experience. Now Harald has been through it, Joe (Mvuezolo Jr.) has been through it, Devonte has been through it. They'll be better from this experience."

With the game in the balance, the Bobcats dug in. Hall ended nearly a four-and-a-half minute scoreless stretch by draining a triple with 2:13 left. After Bryce Washington scored two of his 12 points to trim MSU's lead to two, Frey hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to 82-79. Then Jonathan Stove hit a layup with 1:01 left to draw Louisiana within one, then made another with 28 seconds left to give the visitors the lead.

Hall missed a three-pointer, but Mvuezolo scrapped for the loose-ball rebound, secured it, and was fouled. With 2.1 seconds remaining, he toed the line and hit both. Bartley's long three-pointer missed the mark for Louisiana, and the Cats had an impressive win.

To get it, the team had to fight through a mess. The teams combined for 64 fouls (36 on MSU) and 87 free throws (54 by Louisiana, the most by a Bobcat opponent since 1993). The Bobcats countered a nine-point deficit from the line by hitting four more field goals (MSU shot 46%, ULL 36%) and two extra triples (nine to seven). MSU out-rebounded the Cajuns 42-to-40.

"That game was physical," Bobcat forward Zach Green said. "They were big, strong."

Montana State returns to action Wednesday night hosting Rocky Mountain College, then squares off with James Madison in Worthington Arena on Friday. Both games are at 7 pm.