Hot-Shooting Bobcats Roll to Exhibition Win

Tuesday, October 30

BOZEMAN

8 pm

Montana State University

0-0

UM Western

1-0

Team	1	2	F
UM Western	37	38	75
Montana State	52	38	90

Lassi Nikkarinen

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

10/30/2018 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score UMW-MSU box score

Newcomers and players filling new roles shine

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Montana – Bobcat forward Tyler Hall scored 16 points in his 12 minutes of play Tuesday in Montana State's 90-75 exhibition win over Montana Western in Bozeman, but it was his second half that drew most of the attention.

There wasn't one.

Hall suffered an ankle injury late in the first half which held him out of the second, which left fifth-year Montana State coach Brian Fish in the same situation as everyone else after the game. "It's an ankle sprain, and we won't know much for about 48 hours," he said. "That's just the nature of it. That's kind of the damper on a night where a lot of good things happened."

Chief among them was an offensive outburst from a pair of wings. Harald Frey scored 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting, all behind the arc, to lead all players. A junior, Frey is adapting to playing off the ball after two years as MSU's primary point guard. Newcomer Ladan Ricketts, a junior college transfer originally from Livingston, added 13 points. "I really like Harry off the ball," Fish said, adding that Ricketts "is a player I really like, and I think you saw why tonight."

Frey and Hall (5-for-6 from the floor, 4-for-5 from beyond the arc) triggered a hot-shooting night for the Bobcats against their Frontier Conference foe. Montana State shot 60% from the floor, 50% from the arc, and 80% from the free throw line. MSU also out-rebounded UMW 38-23 and dished out 21 assists on the team's 30 baskets. The only negative statistically was 20 turnovers.

Tuesday night's exhibition served as a showcase for several Bobcat newcomers, even beyond Ricketts. Point guard Russell Daniels ran the offense efficiently at times, and big men Usman Haruna, a senior transfer from East Carolina, and freshman Max Schuecker, combined to shoot 7-for-8 with eight rebounds. It was also a night for players moving into different roles. Sophomore Lassi Nikkarinen played 18 minutes as the backup point guard, and senior Sam Neumann – MSU's starting center the past two seasons – played 17 minutes at the four.

"Lot of good things tonight," Fish said succinctly, "and a lot of film to watch to get better. Everyone played double-digit minutes, so no one's going to be sitting there wondering if they'll ever show up on the tape."

Montana State gets a week of practice before opening the regular season on November 6 against Mountain West foe Utah State in Worthington Arena. Tipoff is 7 pm.