Montana State University
3-4,0-0Big Sky
Rocky Mountain College
2-0
Cold Shooting Hurts Cats in Loss to Rocky Mountain
11/30/2023 10:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bobcats stung by Battlin' Bears, 70-62, in home defeat on Thursday
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cold shooting night put Montana State in a tough position on Thursday night, with visiting Rocky Mountain College taking advantage to hand the Bobcats a 70-62 defeat at Worthington Arena.
Montana State (3-4) finished 7 of 31 from beyond the arc (22.6%) and could not quite put together a comeback after falling behind early as Rocky Mountain College (6-1) led for nearly the entire contest.
"We had a hard time getting ourselves going," head coach Matt Logie said. "Credit Rocky Mountain on that. They're an experienced group that's played together and well-coached—they certainly earned the victory. As someone who's been at the small-college level for a long time, I have the utmost respect for the quality of those teams. This is a tough lesson for some of our guys to learn, but rent's due every day. We've got to play better."
Brian Goracke led the Bobcats with 14 points and five rebounds, while Eddie Turner III saw his first real action after missing most of the previous four games with an injury, scoring 11 points and adding six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Montana State forced 17 Rocky Mountain turnovers, scoring 19 points off those miscues, but was out-rebounded 43-31.
Robert Ford III led the Cats on the glass, snagging nine boards and adding eight points and three assists.
The Battlin' Bears, ranked No. 21 in the NAIA National Poll, came into Thursday averaging 93.3 points per game and got out to a quick start, building a 13-6 advantage on an Elliott Brooks 3-pointer at the 16:39 mark and leading 22-13 with 11:29 left in the first half.
Montana State recovered and started to get some shots to go down, with a Ford 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the half cutting the deficit to just four at 27-23.
However, Rocky Mountain would lead 38-30 at the break, shooting 15 of 31 from the floor (48.4%) and 6 of 10 from three (60%).
Goracke scored 12 of his 14 points and Brandon Walker scored all eight of his points in the first half, helping keep the Bobcats within striking distance.
Montana State matched Rocky Mountain possession for possession in the second half, but could not get enough stops to give the comeback attempt traction.
A Tyler Patterson mid-range jumper cut the Battlin' Bear lead to 58-52 with 9:25 left to play, but the Cats would not get closer than that six-point margin the rest of the way.
John Olmsted provided a boost off the bench for Montana State, chipping in eight points and four boards, including a pair of dunks, across 18 minutes on the floor.
UP NEXT
Montana State will travel to Seattle next Tuesday for the second time this season, facing the University of Washington at 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT.
The Bobcats knocked off California in Berkeley on Nov. 16, 63-60, their first win over a Power Five foe since 2018. Their first trip to the Emerald City on Nov. 11 resulted in a tight loss to Seattle U, 71-68.
Tuesday's game will air on Pac-12 Network, with live radio play-by-play carried on the Bobcat Radio Network.
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