Defense Stands Out in Bobcat Quarterfinal Victory Over Sacramento State

Thursday, March 10

BOISE, ID (Idaho Central Arena)

12 p.m. (Noon)

Montana State University

25-7,16-4Big Sky

Sacramento State

11-18,6-14Big Sky

Sacramento St.

Montana St.

Photo by: Jack Murrey

Defense Stands Out in Bobcat Quarterfinal Victory Over Sacramento State

3/10/2022 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Sacramento State scored the first eight points of the game, but Montana State picked things up and eventually wore down the Hornets in a double-digit win on Thursday

By: Bill Lamberty

BOISE, Idaho – Even down 8-0, even when Sacramento State hit its first six shots and the Bobcats had yet to score, Montana State point guard Xavier Bishop knew his team just needed to follow its tried-and-true recipe for success.

And the main ingredient in that recipe begins with defense.

"That's what we live by," Bishop said after the Bobcats beat Sacramento State 83-61 in Boise in Thursday's first Big Sky Conference Quarterfinal game. "We're a good offensive team, but we feel like we're a great defensive team. Defense is what we've lived by all year, and we're going to continue to live by that. Defense wins championships and we've got to guard if we want to go where we want to be."

The Hornets clung stubbornly to their lead for the game's first 10 minutes with star forward Bryce Fowler scoring 10 of the team's first 18 points. But Great Osobor hit a layup at the 9:40 mark to tie the game, and after the lead ping-ponged for about two minutes, Amin Adamu and Osobor each collected baskets to extend the lead to 25-22 with six-and-a-half minutes to play.

Sacramento State never led again.

By the time the first half ended, Montana State had topped off an 18-6 run to enter the intermission with a 39-28 advantage. While MSU's offense built what turned out to be an insurmountable lead, Bishop said the important work had been handled by the defense.

"That's the thing," Bishop said, "I don't feel like our problem was offense early on. It was the defensive end. I want to say they started 6-for-6 (4-for-6, actually) and that's just not who we are, especially not on that end. But once we got stops and settled in, our defense dictates our offense. Once we get stops, get the rebound, we're able to push the ball, get in transition, get it down to our bigs, find open shooters and attack the rim."

The first half stats encapsulated the strengths and weaknesses of each team. Fowler and star guard Zach Chappell combined for 20 of the team's 27 points on 8-17 shooting. As a team, Sac State shot 11-28 (39%). The Bobcats didn't have a double-digit scorer at halftime (Osobor led the way with eight), but shot 16-27 (59%).

Bishop was plenty impressed with Fowler. "Fowler's a great player, the way he reacts. You can't really predict what he's going to do, he's an amazing player. It took throwing multiple people at him, it took team defense, getting in the gaps. He got going in the first half but I feel like we kind of slowed him down in the second half, made things tough. He made tough shots."

While Fowler poured in 14 points before halftime, he finished with 20. Chappell added 19, but no other Hornet scored in double digits.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats really got cooking after the intermission. MSU shot 59% in the first half and even better when the team's starters came out of the game around the final media time out. MSU finished the game at 57% shooting, including 6-15 from deep, while holding the Hornets to 40% from the floor and 1-12 from three-point range for the game.

Bishop led the way for the Bobcats with 14, while Osobor added 13. Abdul Mohamed and Jubrile Belo each scored 11, and RaeQuan Battle scored 10. Adamu's six rebounds, Mohamed's three steals and Bishop's three assists each led the MSU in those categories.

While Sacramento State's season ends with an 11-18 overall mark, the Bobcats move on to Friday's semifinal round. Montana State – now 25-7 on the season – plays Weber State in a Friday at 5:30 p.m. MT in Idaho Central Arena. The game is available on ESPN+ and around Montana on the Bobcat Radio Network, and follows the Bobcat women's team's date in the Big Sky Championship Game at 1 p.m.

#GoCatsGo