Thursday, January 25
BOZEMAN
7 pm
Montana State University
4-411-10/ BSC
75
vs
77
Northern Arizona
1-74-17/ Big Sky
1
2
F
Northern Arizona
32
45
77
Montana State
36
39
75
Sam Neumann
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Northern Arizona Rides Hot Second Half to Win Over Bobcats
1/25/2018 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State drops fourth straight
BOZEMAN, Montana – Northern Arizona shot 55.6% in the second half and held off a late Montana State rally for a 77-75 win over the Bobcats in Bozeman on Thursday.
The Bobcats carried a 36-32 lead into the intermission, but NAU scored on nine of its first 12 possessions of the second half to erase MSU's margin. The visiting Lumberjacks missed three of their first four shots coming out of the break before converting seven straight. When Karl Harris hit an and-one with 12:24 to play to push NAU into a 48-46 lead, the Lumberjacks would not trail again.
"You've got to get stops," Bobcats coach Brian Fish said of his team's performance in the second half. "They shot 56% (after halftime). We just didn't get stops."
Bobcat junior Tyler Hall, who scored seven points, concurred that the root of MSU's problem lied on the defensive end. "Our offense was not what hurt us," he said. "It's our defense. We're scoring at a good rate, we're just not defending well enough."
Northern Arizona led by six points with 49 seconds to play, but the Bobcats gave themselves a chance. A layup by Devonte Klines cut the lead to four at 74-70, and after a Lumberjack free throw Joe Mvuezolo Jr. hit a three-pointer to pull MSU to within two, 75-73. Chris Bowling hit one of two charity tosses for NAU with 14 seconds to play, but Mvuezolo drained a pair of free throws to pull the Cats within one. Harris' free throw gave NAU a 77-75 advantage, and Hall couldn't get off a shot as the buzzer sounded.
Montana State led for much of the first half, but NAU's Torry Johnson kept the Lumberjacks in the game. He scored 17 of the team's 32 first-half points, and finished with a career-high 27. Sam Neumann counted with 14 points for MSU, with 12 coming before halftime. MSU out-rebounded Northern Arizona 35-to-31 and forced 13 turnovers while giving the ball away 11 times, but shooting was the stat that mattered. While Montana State shot 45% in the first half and 41% in the second, NAU's hot shooting after the intermission spelled the difference.
"At the end of the day they shot 51%," Fish said, "56% after halftime. They pinned their ears back and came at us and we didn't get them stopped."
Northern Arizona earned its first league win, raising its record to 4-17 overall and 1-7 in Big Sky play. MSU stands 11-10 overall, 4-4 in the league. The Cats return to action Saturday at 2 pm against Southern Utah.
The Bobcats carried a 36-32 lead into the intermission, but NAU scored on nine of its first 12 possessions of the second half to erase MSU's margin. The visiting Lumberjacks missed three of their first four shots coming out of the break before converting seven straight. When Karl Harris hit an and-one with 12:24 to play to push NAU into a 48-46 lead, the Lumberjacks would not trail again.
"You've got to get stops," Bobcats coach Brian Fish said of his team's performance in the second half. "They shot 56% (after halftime). We just didn't get stops."
Bobcat junior Tyler Hall, who scored seven points, concurred that the root of MSU's problem lied on the defensive end. "Our offense was not what hurt us," he said. "It's our defense. We're scoring at a good rate, we're just not defending well enough."
Northern Arizona led by six points with 49 seconds to play, but the Bobcats gave themselves a chance. A layup by Devonte Klines cut the lead to four at 74-70, and after a Lumberjack free throw Joe Mvuezolo Jr. hit a three-pointer to pull MSU to within two, 75-73. Chris Bowling hit one of two charity tosses for NAU with 14 seconds to play, but Mvuezolo drained a pair of free throws to pull the Cats within one. Harris' free throw gave NAU a 77-75 advantage, and Hall couldn't get off a shot as the buzzer sounded.
Montana State led for much of the first half, but NAU's Torry Johnson kept the Lumberjacks in the game. He scored 17 of the team's 32 first-half points, and finished with a career-high 27. Sam Neumann counted with 14 points for MSU, with 12 coming before halftime. MSU out-rebounded Northern Arizona 35-to-31 and forced 13 turnovers while giving the ball away 11 times, but shooting was the stat that mattered. While Montana State shot 45% in the first half and 41% in the second, NAU's hot shooting after the intermission spelled the difference.
"At the end of the day they shot 51%," Fish said, "56% after halftime. They pinned their ears back and came at us and we didn't get them stopped."
Northern Arizona earned its first league win, raising its record to 4-17 overall and 1-7 in Big Sky play. MSU stands 11-10 overall, 4-4 in the league. The Cats return to action Saturday at 2 pm against Southern Utah.
Team Stats
NAU
MSU
FG%
.510
.433
3FG%
.381
.391
FT%
.654
.737
RB
31
35
TO
13
11
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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