Wednesday, March 13
Boise, ID
2:30 p.m.
Montana State University
15-16
75
vs
71
Idaho
5-27
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 30 | 41 | 71 |
| Montana State | 32 | 43 | 75 |
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
BIG (SKY) WIN! Bobcats Earn Tourney Win Over Idaho, Advance to Quarters vs. EWU
3/13/2019 5:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tyler Hall and Harald Frey led the Cats on Wednesday
BOISE, Idaho – Idaho started its Big Sky Conference Tournament first round game against Montana State with a flourish. It finished the same way. But in between the Bobcats did enough to earn a 75-71 win over the Vandals on Wednesday.
Tyler Hall scored the last two of his game-high 23 points from the free throw line in the game's final five seconds to clinch the Bobcats' first Big Sky Tournament win in 10 years. After helping keep the Bobcats afloat after Idaho's early 10-0 run to begin the game, Hall's final points were set up by defense. Hall got a steal with nine seconds to play and was fouled to set up the game-winning charity tosses.
"We talked a lot the last two or three days about making it a 40-minute game," said MSU coach Brian Fish. "We knew we needed to respond to the ups and downs, and they did that. They kept playing. I didn't see any panic in them."
The composure showed itself in the first half. Montana State's start was sub-optimal. The Cats didn't score until a Russell Daniels jumper nearly five minutes in, by which time Idaho had already built a 10-0 lead. Soon, though, the Cats got rolling. Tyler Hall hit back-to-back threes, half of his first-half output, and when Harald Frey hit one of his two first half triples at 4:50 the Cats edged ahead of UI 24-22.
The Bobcats missed their first five shots, but a 13-for-18 finish to the half boosted the team's shooting percentage to 48.1% at the intermission. Frey and Hall each scored a dozen first half points, negating the brilliant start by Cameron Tyson. The Idaho sharp-shooter hit four triples on his way to 15 points in the first half.
The composure showed up late, too. The Bobcats led 61-47 with nine-and-a-half minutes to play, but a 11-2 Vandals run closed the gap to five, and the game was competitive from that point. The Cats turned the ball over four times in the game's final seven minutes, but never lost control. "It's not the prettiest game we've played," said junior guard Harald Frey, "but we're moving on."
Frey's play helped drive Montana State's charge through the middle portion of the game. The Cats out-scored Idaho 36-16 in a 14-minute stretch surrounding halftime. He hit a three-pointer with 17:20 to play to extend MSU's lead to 42-34 and assisted on MSU's next two buckets. Frey finished with 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
Center Devin Kirby and forward Keljin Blevins also helped push MSU's lead to double-digits with early second-half layups, but Fish lauded those two for their work in a different area. "I sort of bit them at halftime about (rebounding and defense)," Fish said, "and they responded. I thought they were very good inside in the second half." Blevins finished with 10 points and one rebound, Kirby with 10 points and five boards.
The game's closing moments held biting irony for Frey and Hall, two of the best free throw shooters in MSU history by percentage. Frey missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 28.9 seconds, and 13 seconds later Hall followed suit. But Idaho, trailing 73-71, couldn't capitalize. That set up Hall's pick-pocket act on Idaho's Trevon Allen, and the Bobcats had their win.
The Bobcats out-rebounded Idaho 31-29, which Fish said was the game's single biggest factor. "Credit Tyler and Harry for hitting some deep threes after we got off to that slow start," he said, "but what really got us going was rebounding."
The Cats shot 53.7% from the field, hitting 11 of their 24 three-point attempts. Idaho stayed close largely with free throw shooting. The Vandals finished 16-for-18 from the line, while MSU was 6-for-11.
The win pushes MSU into the tournament's quarterfinal round. The Bobcats play Eastern Washington at 8 pm on Thursday in Boise's CenturyLink Arena.
#GoCatsGo
Tyler Hall scored the last two of his game-high 23 points from the free throw line in the game's final five seconds to clinch the Bobcats' first Big Sky Tournament win in 10 years. After helping keep the Bobcats afloat after Idaho's early 10-0 run to begin the game, Hall's final points were set up by defense. Hall got a steal with nine seconds to play and was fouled to set up the game-winning charity tosses.
"We talked a lot the last two or three days about making it a 40-minute game," said MSU coach Brian Fish. "We knew we needed to respond to the ups and downs, and they did that. They kept playing. I didn't see any panic in them."
The composure showed itself in the first half. Montana State's start was sub-optimal. The Cats didn't score until a Russell Daniels jumper nearly five minutes in, by which time Idaho had already built a 10-0 lead. Soon, though, the Cats got rolling. Tyler Hall hit back-to-back threes, half of his first-half output, and when Harald Frey hit one of his two first half triples at 4:50 the Cats edged ahead of UI 24-22.
The Bobcats missed their first five shots, but a 13-for-18 finish to the half boosted the team's shooting percentage to 48.1% at the intermission. Frey and Hall each scored a dozen first half points, negating the brilliant start by Cameron Tyson. The Idaho sharp-shooter hit four triples on his way to 15 points in the first half.
The composure showed up late, too. The Bobcats led 61-47 with nine-and-a-half minutes to play, but a 11-2 Vandals run closed the gap to five, and the game was competitive from that point. The Cats turned the ball over four times in the game's final seven minutes, but never lost control. "It's not the prettiest game we've played," said junior guard Harald Frey, "but we're moving on."
Frey's play helped drive Montana State's charge through the middle portion of the game. The Cats out-scored Idaho 36-16 in a 14-minute stretch surrounding halftime. He hit a three-pointer with 17:20 to play to extend MSU's lead to 42-34 and assisted on MSU's next two buckets. Frey finished with 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
Center Devin Kirby and forward Keljin Blevins also helped push MSU's lead to double-digits with early second-half layups, but Fish lauded those two for their work in a different area. "I sort of bit them at halftime about (rebounding and defense)," Fish said, "and they responded. I thought they were very good inside in the second half." Blevins finished with 10 points and one rebound, Kirby with 10 points and five boards.
The game's closing moments held biting irony for Frey and Hall, two of the best free throw shooters in MSU history by percentage. Frey missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 28.9 seconds, and 13 seconds later Hall followed suit. But Idaho, trailing 73-71, couldn't capitalize. That set up Hall's pick-pocket act on Idaho's Trevon Allen, and the Bobcats had their win.
The Bobcats out-rebounded Idaho 31-29, which Fish said was the game's single biggest factor. "Credit Tyler and Harry for hitting some deep threes after we got off to that slow start," he said, "but what really got us going was rebounding."
The Cats shot 53.7% from the field, hitting 11 of their 24 three-point attempts. Idaho stayed close largely with free throw shooting. The Vandals finished 16-for-18 from the line, while MSU was 6-for-11.
The win pushes MSU into the tournament's quarterfinal round. The Bobcats play Eastern Washington at 8 pm on Thursday in Boise's CenturyLink Arena.
#GoCatsGo
Team Stats
IDAHO
MSU
FG%
.444
.537
3FG%
.368
.458
FT%
.889
.545
RB
29
31
TO
9
9
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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G
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G
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G
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