Montana State Falls in Missoula After Late Rally Comes Up Short

Sunday, February 27

Missoula, Mont.

3 p.m.

Montana State University

21-7,13-4Big Sky

Montana

18-11,11-7Big Sky

Montana St.

Montana

Xavier Bishop

Photo by: Jack Murrey

Montana State Falls in Missoula After Late Rally Comes Up Short

2/27/2022 7:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Xavier Bishop scored 27 points and Jubrile Belo 21 in a losing effort

By: Bill Lamberty

Josh Bannan scored 23 points and Montana shot 51% from the floor, beating Montana State 80-74 in Missoula on Sunday.

"I thought Bannan was terrific, especially early, and actually he was terrific all game," said Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle. "Especially when we cut it to four (late in the second half). He hit a big-time shot."

Struggling on both ends of the floor for much of the afternoon, Montana State cut a 17-point second half deficit to four with 2:34 to play on layups by Nick Gazelas, and after a UM basket by Xavier Bishop. The Bobcats forced a turnover and possessed with a chance to cut it to a one-possession game, but an MSU turnover followed by Bannan's jumper with 48 seconds to play effectively ended the game.

"I'm disappointed in our effort but I have to give it to them," Sprinkle said of Montana's attacking mindset. "They made us play like that with their aggressiveness."

The first half played out much the way as the second half. Montana built a big lead, and the Cats fought back.

MSU cut UM's 12-point first half lead in half 90 seconds before halftime, but sloppy play by the Bobcats allowed the Grizzlies to restore the lead to 11. MSU committed a personal foul with eight seconds remaining and Lonell Martin Jr.'s free throws pushed the Griz lead to eight. Before MSU advanced the ball into the frontcourt an Abdul Mohamed offensive foul allowed the Griz hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.

"The end of the first half for us we inexcusable from a discipline standpoint," Sprinkle said. "We talked about getting back in transition on defense. I think there were nine seconds left and we had two guys on the ball and fouled them. We give up two free throws, then we get an illegal screen. They hit the big three at the end of the half, and instead of a six point lead it goes to 11."

Coupled with an 8-2 run coming out of halftime, UM gained control at that point that it maintained most of the rest of the game. But Bobcat coach Danny Sprinkle said he saw a difference much earlier.

"Their energy was way better than ours. They came out with a purpose today and we didn't. They got us on our heels from the jump, and their guys stepped up and made plays. Give them credit – Bannan, Beasley, Whitney – they made plays."

Montana dominated the game at the three-point arc. The Grizzlies shot 11-28 from deep, holding the Cats to one triple on eight attempts. "They were 11 for 28 (from three-point range) and the 17 they missed were wide open," Sprinkle said. "We didn't give them much resistance today. They've got guys that drive the basketball so they don't always take a lot of threes, but they have guys that can make threes."

Montana State kept the game close at the free throw line. The Bobcats knocked down 25 of its 29 free throw attempts, and got to the line as often as it did by Xavier Bishop's penetration and Jubrile Belo's strength inside. Bishop scored a season-high 27 points, one off his career best, and dished out four assists. He was 10-11 at the line.

Belo scored 21 points on 6-7 shooting, 9-11 from the free throw line. His 16 rebounds marked a career high, and he blocked one shot. While the Cats shot 51% from the floor, making two less baskets but eight more free throws than UM, the Grizzlies outscored MSU from the arc by 30 points. Bishop made the only Bobcat triple while six different Grizzles connected from deep.

Bishop said that Montana State's second half comeback was heartening, but didn't change his team's mistake. "We're always confident, no matter how much we're down. We cut it down to six and there were a couple loose balls that didn't bounce our ways, but that's basketball," Bishop said. "We definitely started being aggressive, but it was too late. We already dug ourselves a deep hole in the first half and when you're trying to play hard and come back you tend to run out of gas. We definitely dug ourselves in a hole and it was hard to get out of."

Montana State falls to 13-4 in Big Sky play, 21-7 overall, and faces its biggest regular season game in 20 years when Southern Utah comes to town Tuesday for a 7 pm tipoff. The Thunderbirds stand 12-5, one game off the pacesetting Bobcats. An MSU win clinches a share of the Big Sky regular season crown, while a Thunderbird leaves the teams tied with two regular season games left.

Sprinkle said he looks forward to the opportunity to compete for a title, and that Sunday's game will fuel his team. "I tell these guys all the time, the basketball gods reward you for what you've done," he said. Montana deserved it today. As hard as it is to say, they deserved it. We need to change our mindset by Tuesday."

#GoCatsGo