Bobcat Men Close Regular Season Saturday in Worthington Arena

Thursday, March 5

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Southern Utah

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Photo by: Garrett Becker

Bobcat Men Close Regular Season Saturday in Worthington Arena

3/6/2020 5:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Harald Frey and Ladan Ricketts will be recognized prior to Saturday's contest as Montana State hosts Northern Colorado

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (16-14, 10-9) vs. Northern Colorado (21-9, 14-5)
Date and Time	Saturday, March 7 - 4 p.m. MST
Location	Bozeman, Mont.
Site	Worthington Arena (6,772)
Television	Pluto TV
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	msubobcats.com/watch \| TuneIn app
Stream	Pluto TV \| WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats	MSUBobcats.com (Statbroadcast)
Tickets	MSUBobcats.com
Montana State	Game Notes \| Men's Basketball Home Page
Northern Colorado	Men's Basketball Home Page

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State hosts its final regular season game of the 2019-20 season when the Bobcats take on Northern Colorado at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in Worthington Arena. MSU is set to recognize its two seniors, Harald Frey and Ladan Ricketts, prior to the game.

The Bobcats defeated Southern Utah, 73-65, on Thursday in Bozeman. The victory helped MSU clinch the No. 5 seed in the upcoming BIg Sky Conference Championships presented by My Place Hotels. The 'Cats are slated to face Portland State in the quarterfinals Thursday. It's the first time MSU has earned a bye in the conference tournament since the league moved to a neutral site. The Bobcats have previously earned byes in Big Sky tournaments in 1988, 1996, 2002 and 2005.

Senior Harald Frey recorded 22 points in the Bobcats' victory over the Thunderbirds and moved to third in program history in scoring (1,875 points) in the process. The Oslo, Norway, native also ranks second all-time among Bobcats in assists (510), free throws (447) and 3-pointers (270), as well as fifth in steals (136). His expected appearance in Saturday's game would set a new program record of 127 for games played and consecutive starts.

Jubrile Belo recorded his second consecutive double-double, and fifth of the season, with 25 points and 11 rebounds against the T-Birds Thursday. Belo upped his season point output to 382 through 30 games. It's the most by a Bobcat newcomer since the freshman seasons for Frey (406) in 2016-17 and Tyler Hall (578) in 2015-16. Both players earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors.

MSU and Northern Colorado previously met this season with the Bears picking up a 68-59 victory in Greeley on Jan. 2. The Bobcats shot 63.6% in the second half, but a 12-5 edge in the turnover battle and a 10-point Bears halftime lead was too much to overcome. Amin Adamu scored his career-high 26 points to lead the Bobcats while UNC was led by Jonah Radebaugh's 17 points and Kai Edwards's 11 rebounds.

Northern Colorado enters Saturday's game in the hunt for the Big Sky Conference regular season title. The Bears defeated Montana, 71-64, in Missoula Thursday to remain a game behind Eastern Washington in the league standings at 14-5. The Eags, 15-4 in Big Sky play, close out their regular season at home versus Weber State.

Montana State holds a 40-26 lead in the all-time series against Northern Colorado. Neither team has won more than three straight against the other since 2008 when MSU had a nine-game win streak snapped. UNC has since won 15 of the last 24 head-to-head meetings.

MSU held its 20th opponent of the season to under 70 points or less on Thursday. The Bobcats are 16-4 overall this season when doing so. That mark is nearly one of the best for the program since the start of the 21st century. The 'Cats held 23 foes to 70 or less during the 2001-02 season, their last Big Sky Championship regular season campaign.

The Bobcats led by head coach Danny Sprinkle enter Saturday with one of their best win outputs under an MSU coach in their first season. The 16 victories this year are the most by a first-year coach in nearly a half century. Hank Anderson guided the 1972-73 team to a 17-9 mark.

Saturday's matchup will be televised by SWX Montana. SWX Montana can be found on channel 199 or 503 for Charter Spectrum subscribers, while it can also be found through digital antenna offering which can be found here. The game will be streamed on the Pluto TV app and on WatchBigSky.com. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network and airing locally on KMMS 1450 AM. Tickets for Saturday's game are available for $5 for the Senior Day matchup. All tickets for home games are available at msubobcats.com/tickets, by calling 406-994-CATS or by visiting the Bobcat Ticket Office.