Hot Shooting Start Leads Montana Past Montana State

Saturday, February 1

Missoula, MT

7 p.m.

Montana State University

11-10,5-5Big Sky

Montana

12-10,8-3Big Sky

Montana St.

Montana

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

2/1/2020 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Montana State guard Harald Frey scored a career-high 37 points, but Montana used an 23-8 first-half run fueled by torrid shooting to beat the Cats 78-64 in Missoula on Saturday

By: Bill Lamberty

MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana State guard Harald Frey scored a career-high 37 points, but Montana used a 23-8 first-half run fueled by torrid shooting to beat the Cats 78-64 in Missoula on Saturday.

The Grizzlies got 24 points from Sayeed Pridgett and 14 from Kyle Owens, but the story of the night was UM's first half shooting. The Grizzlies shot 63% in the opening stanza, hitting 10 of their 14 three-point tries. Frey scored 26 before the intermission, including 12-13 from the line, but his efforts weren't enough. The rest of the Bobcat squad combined for 13 points before halftime and 27 in the game.

Montana jumped to a 13-5 lead early, but two free throws and then a three-pointer by Frey pulled the Cats within three. MSU trailed 17-15 after Borja Fernandez hit a short hook shot with 13:32 to play, then took an 18-17 lead on one of Frey's seven triples less than a minute later. After a Fernandez jumper with 11:01 remaining in the first half, Pridgett turned an offensive rebound into a layup and Montana was off on its game-deciding run. UM was 8-11 shooting during that run, while MSU shot 1-7 from the floor and 4-8 from the line during that stretch.

From the end of that long run until the end of the game, with MSU outscoring the Grizzlies 34-32 from that point on. The Bobcat still had fight in them, but the battle was uphill.

Frey opened the second half scoring with a layup, and after a Timmy Falls basket for Montana Frey hit a triple, Fernandez a layup, and Frey another three-pointer to trim the lead to seven, 56-49, with 13:58 to play. Another three-pointer and then two free throws by Frey, sandwiched around a Pridgett basket, drew MSU within five, 63-58, with 7:52 remaining. But that's as close as Montana State would get. Derrick Carter-Hollinger's three-pointer triggered a 16-4 UM run that sealed the team's victory.

The Grizzlies shot 50% from the floor after a considerably cooler 33% in the second half, but converted 11 of their 19 three-point attempts. UM out-rebounded the Cats 34-28, while each team committed 10 turnovers.

Montana State falls to 11-10 overall, 5-5 in Big Sky play, with the loss. League-leading Montana is 12-10 overall, 8-3 in the conference. The Cats host Idaho on Thursday in Worthington Arena at 7 pm.