Thursday, January 24
BOZEMAN
7 pm
Montana State University
vs
Weber State
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #18: Bobcats Host League-Leading Weber State to Begin Homestand
1/23/2019 9:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats, Montana State present Big Sky's two top-scoring teams in Worthington Arena
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State opens its most concentrated set of home games of the 2018-19 season on Thursday when Big Sky-leading Weber State visits Worthington Arena. Tipoff is 7 pm.
The Wildcats (12-6 overall, 6-1 in Big Sky games) stand alone atop the league standings entering Thursday's game that matches the conference's top two scoring teams. Weber State is paced by an inside-out attack anchored by guard Jerrick Harding (21.4 points per game in league play) and forward Brekkott Chapman (15.1 points, league-leading 11.3 boards per game), but MSU coach Brian Fish said Weber's talent and experience are far-ranging.
"It's almost 50-50 between the (production of the Weber State) front (court) and back court," Fish said. "They're really good all the way around. They're a talented basketball team. (Zach) Braxton (6-8, 250, sr.) is really big, Chapman's a Pac 12 transfer (from Utah), and they throw a lot of things at you. They have a good bench and good starters. They're probably as complete a team as there is in our league."
Harding, a mercurial 6-1, 170 lb junior, scores in every way imaginable. He has nailed a team-high 34 three-pointers, but that accounts for less than one-third of his baskets. Fish lauds Harding's aggressiveness, and free throw statistics bear that out. He is 95-for-109 from the line, more than double the makes of anyone else on the team and more than one-third more than any of his teammates' attempts.
"I've been very impressed with how they attack," Fish said. "They're not making an abundance of threes, seven or seven-and-a-half a game, so they're really good in attack mode, in transition. They line up and say, 'We're really good, let's see if you can guard our stuff.' They're not overly complicated in what they do but they're really good in every phase of the game."
Weber States individual highlight list is impressive. Harding's 36 points against Delaware State is the most by a Big Sky player this season and his 13 free throws made in that game is tied for the league lead. Chapman's 16 rebounds against NAU is second-most by a Big Sky player in a game, and his 6-for-7 game against Benedictine is the best in the league. A Wildcat stands first or second in eight of the Big Sky's 12 statistical categories on the season.
The Cats counter with a squad that enters Thursday's game 7-10 overall but 4-3 in league games, with all three losses by six points or less. Fish that that indicates a closer attention to details is needed. "That tells me that we have the talent to compete in those games but we need execute just a little better," he said.
Tyler Hall continues to pace the Cats offensively, averaging 19.6 points a game. His first basket last Saturday at Eastern Washington gave him the Big Sky's all-time scoring record, the last major school and conference record on his checklist. "Now I don't have to hear about it all the time," Hall said of his relief at getting the record , "and I can just play." Hall has received support. Keljin Blevins scored 23 points in Saturday's near-miss at Eastern, and Harald Frey had scored double-digits in nine straight games before netting nine in the most recent two outings.
After Thursday's game, the Bobcats host Idaho State on Saturday at 2 pm in Worthington Arena ahead of the annual Cat-Griz doubleheader on February 2.
#GoCatsGo
The Wildcats (12-6 overall, 6-1 in Big Sky games) stand alone atop the league standings entering Thursday's game that matches the conference's top two scoring teams. Weber State is paced by an inside-out attack anchored by guard Jerrick Harding (21.4 points per game in league play) and forward Brekkott Chapman (15.1 points, league-leading 11.3 boards per game), but MSU coach Brian Fish said Weber's talent and experience are far-ranging.
"It's almost 50-50 between the (production of the Weber State) front (court) and back court," Fish said. "They're really good all the way around. They're a talented basketball team. (Zach) Braxton (6-8, 250, sr.) is really big, Chapman's a Pac 12 transfer (from Utah), and they throw a lot of things at you. They have a good bench and good starters. They're probably as complete a team as there is in our league."
Harding, a mercurial 6-1, 170 lb junior, scores in every way imaginable. He has nailed a team-high 34 three-pointers, but that accounts for less than one-third of his baskets. Fish lauds Harding's aggressiveness, and free throw statistics bear that out. He is 95-for-109 from the line, more than double the makes of anyone else on the team and more than one-third more than any of his teammates' attempts.
"I've been very impressed with how they attack," Fish said. "They're not making an abundance of threes, seven or seven-and-a-half a game, so they're really good in attack mode, in transition. They line up and say, 'We're really good, let's see if you can guard our stuff.' They're not overly complicated in what they do but they're really good in every phase of the game."
Weber States individual highlight list is impressive. Harding's 36 points against Delaware State is the most by a Big Sky player this season and his 13 free throws made in that game is tied for the league lead. Chapman's 16 rebounds against NAU is second-most by a Big Sky player in a game, and his 6-for-7 game against Benedictine is the best in the league. A Wildcat stands first or second in eight of the Big Sky's 12 statistical categories on the season.
The Cats counter with a squad that enters Thursday's game 7-10 overall but 4-3 in league games, with all three losses by six points or less. Fish that that indicates a closer attention to details is needed. "That tells me that we have the talent to compete in those games but we need execute just a little better," he said.
Tyler Hall continues to pace the Cats offensively, averaging 19.6 points a game. His first basket last Saturday at Eastern Washington gave him the Big Sky's all-time scoring record, the last major school and conference record on his checklist. "Now I don't have to hear about it all the time," Hall said of his relief at getting the record , "and I can just play." Hall has received support. Keljin Blevins scored 23 points in Saturday's near-miss at Eastern, and Harald Frey had scored double-digits in nine straight games before netting nine in the most recent two outings.
After Thursday's game, the Bobcats host Idaho State on Saturday at 2 pm in Worthington Arena ahead of the annual Cat-Griz doubleheader on February 2.
#GoCatsGo
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