Wednesday, November 25
Las Vegas, NV
7:30 p.m.
Montana State University
1-0,0-0Big Sky
91
at
78
UNLV
0-1,0-0Mountain West
1
2
F
Montana St.
49
42
91
UNLV
31
47
78
Photo by: Josh Hawkins/UNLV Photo Services
Bobcats Run Past Rebels to Open Hoops Season
11/25/2020 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and never wavered en route to a 91-78 men’s basketball victory over UNLV on Wednesday
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Montana State jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and never wavered en route to a 91-78 men's basketball victory over UNLV on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the Thomas & Mack Center. The season-opening win for the Bobcats was the first true road victory to begin a campaign since MSU defeated Washington in Seattle to start the 2002-03 season.
"Huge win for these guys," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "I'm proud for the program, proud for these guys. All the stuff they've been through since last March, it's not just us, but I'm happy these guys got rewarded for it. They've put in a lot of hard work and they just competed. They really played together."
The Bobcats went back-and-forth with the Runnin' Rebels for 8 minutes before they stretched the ensuing lead. A Borja Fernandez jumper, four points from Jubrile Belo and a Nick Gazelas 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run for MSU that put the 'Cats up 35-18 with 4:41 remaining in the first half.
MSU went into halftime leading 49-31 thanks to strong efforts on both sides of the floor. The Bobcats shot over 60% from the field and 3-point range during the first 20 minutes while holding the Rebels to just a 33% mark from the floor.
UNLV cut the deficit to 14 in the early moments of the second half, but MSU responded. Tyler Patterson drilled a trey and Xavier Bishop converted on a reverse layup on the next possession to thwart the Rebel answer. The Bobcats went up by as many as 22 points midway through the second half and held off UNLV until the Rebels scored the game's final 7 points.
Montana State shot 55.6% overall on 30-for-54 from the field while also converting on that same mark going 10 of 18 from 3-point range. Amin Adamu led the Bobcats' with six of the squad's 19 assists.
"The one thing I thought we did was take good shots," Sprinkle said. "I don't know if we really forced a 3. One of our emphases of our team is one more. Make one more pass to get from a good shot to a great shot. The guys did a great job of that tonight."
Four Bobcats scored in double digits with Bishop leading the way with 22 points. The senior guard also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists in his first game since the 2018-19 season at Kansas City.
"He's just a little magician with the ball," Sprinkle said of Bishop. "He's really hard to guard. Our spacing was really good, it was way better than I expected it to be. It opened up some driving lanes for him and I thought he did a good job finding guys too. When the defense collapsed, he can fire that thing to shooters and you have to respect it.
"I'm super happy for X, he's been chopping at the bit for this thing."
Belo and Adamu each had 14 points for MSU, with Belo racking up a team-high 8 rebounds. Sophomore Nick Gazelas scored 11 points on 3 of 5 from deep in his Bobcat debut. Fernandez added 7 points and 6 rebounds. Abdul Mohamed made his MSU debut and scored 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Freshman Tyler Patterson went 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and fellow class member Kellen Tynes registered 5 points and had 3 assists.
Bryce Hamilton led UNLV by scoring 27 points and recording 8 rebounds. The Rebels finished the game shooting over 45% but had 18 turnovers.
MSU's 91 points were the most by a Bobcat team in a season opener since the 1997-98 squad topped Simon Fraser 107-59 in its debut. The Bobcats won just their second season opener since the 2003-04 campaign, previously earning an overtime victory over Omaha in Great Falls, Mont., to begin the 2017-18 schedule.
Montana State is scheduled to continue its 2020-21 slate on Wednesday, Dec. 2, by traveling to Stockton, Calif., to face the Pacific Tigers.
"Huge win for these guys," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "I'm proud for the program, proud for these guys. All the stuff they've been through since last March, it's not just us, but I'm happy these guys got rewarded for it. They've put in a lot of hard work and they just competed. They really played together."
The Bobcats went back-and-forth with the Runnin' Rebels for 8 minutes before they stretched the ensuing lead. A Borja Fernandez jumper, four points from Jubrile Belo and a Nick Gazelas 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run for MSU that put the 'Cats up 35-18 with 4:41 remaining in the first half.
MSU went into halftime leading 49-31 thanks to strong efforts on both sides of the floor. The Bobcats shot over 60% from the field and 3-point range during the first 20 minutes while holding the Rebels to just a 33% mark from the floor.
UNLV cut the deficit to 14 in the early moments of the second half, but MSU responded. Tyler Patterson drilled a trey and Xavier Bishop converted on a reverse layup on the next possession to thwart the Rebel answer. The Bobcats went up by as many as 22 points midway through the second half and held off UNLV until the Rebels scored the game's final 7 points.
Montana State shot 55.6% overall on 30-for-54 from the field while also converting on that same mark going 10 of 18 from 3-point range. Amin Adamu led the Bobcats' with six of the squad's 19 assists.
"The one thing I thought we did was take good shots," Sprinkle said. "I don't know if we really forced a 3. One of our emphases of our team is one more. Make one more pass to get from a good shot to a great shot. The guys did a great job of that tonight."
Four Bobcats scored in double digits with Bishop leading the way with 22 points. The senior guard also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists in his first game since the 2018-19 season at Kansas City.
"He's just a little magician with the ball," Sprinkle said of Bishop. "He's really hard to guard. Our spacing was really good, it was way better than I expected it to be. It opened up some driving lanes for him and I thought he did a good job finding guys too. When the defense collapsed, he can fire that thing to shooters and you have to respect it.
"I'm super happy for X, he's been chopping at the bit for this thing."
Belo and Adamu each had 14 points for MSU, with Belo racking up a team-high 8 rebounds. Sophomore Nick Gazelas scored 11 points on 3 of 5 from deep in his Bobcat debut. Fernandez added 7 points and 6 rebounds. Abdul Mohamed made his MSU debut and scored 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Freshman Tyler Patterson went 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and fellow class member Kellen Tynes registered 5 points and had 3 assists.
Bryce Hamilton led UNLV by scoring 27 points and recording 8 rebounds. The Rebels finished the game shooting over 45% but had 18 turnovers.
MSU's 91 points were the most by a Bobcat team in a season opener since the 1997-98 squad topped Simon Fraser 107-59 in its debut. The Bobcats won just their second season opener since the 2003-04 campaign, previously earning an overtime victory over Omaha in Great Falls, Mont., to begin the 2017-18 schedule.
Montana State is scheduled to continue its 2020-21 slate on Wednesday, Dec. 2, by traveling to Stockton, Calif., to face the Pacific Tigers.
Team Stats
MSU
UNLV
FG%
.556
.455
3FG%
.556
.440
FT%
.875
.810
RB
30
29
TO
15
18
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
