Bobcats Drop Road Tilt at South Dakota, 74-57

Wednesday, December 7

Vermillion, SD

7:15 p.m. MT

Montana State University

5-5

South Dakota

7-4

Montana State

South Dakota

Quinton Everett

Photo by: Alina Rogers

12/7/2016 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Offensive struggles haunt Cats

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State struggled through its most difficult offensive game of the season on Wednesday, falling 74-57 at South Dakota.

The Bobcats scored its fewest points and suffered through its worst shooting game (.386 from the floor, .200 from the arc, .563 from the line) of the season. MSU turned the ball over 17 times, second-most of the season, with the Coyotes turning those opportunities into 19 points.

"We were careless with the ball," said Bobcat coach Brian Fish. "They were the more physical team and they'd bump us a little bit and we didn't respond. You'll have nights you don't shoot it very well, that's part of the game. We wanted to get off to a fast start in the second half and they got the first five rebounds. We have to be mentally tougher."

The first half was an offensive slog for both teams. MSU shot just 32% and turned the ball over 11 times in the game's first 20 minutes. South Dakota wasn't much better, shooting 38%, but USD grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and by virtue of turning the ball over only five times out-scored the Cats 17-3 on turnover points.

Quinton Everett finished the game strong for the Bobcats, leading the team with 13 points. Tyler Hall scored 12, the only other Bobcat in double-digits. Zach Green's seven rebounds paced MSU, while Sarp Gobeloglu added six. Trey Burch-Manning and Tyler Peterson each scored 15 for USD.

MSU lost its third straight game on Wednesday, and Fish said the end of that streak will come from mental improvement. "I focus on the next game, whether we've won three in a row or lost three in a row," he said. "If there was any fatigue tonight I didn't think it was physical. We have to be more mentally tough, and we will get that changed."

Montana State's loss drops the Cats to 5-5 on the season, and MSU is now 0-4 on the road. South Dakota is now 7-4, a perfect 5-0 at home. MSU visits Omaha on Saturday, facing the Mavericks at 6 pm MT.