Montana State University
1-0,0-0Big Sky
Northwest Indian College
0-1
Bobcats Cruise to Victory in Season Opener Monday Night
11/6/2023 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Six Bobcats reach double-figures as Matt Logie era begins with 103-63 win over Northwest Indian College
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Six Bobcats scored in double figures as Montana State coasted to a 103-63 win over Northwest Indian College at Worthington Arena on Monday night to begin the Matt Logie era.
Montana State (1-0) never trailed and led by as many as 48 late in the second half.
The win is the first at the Division I-level and the 277th overall victory for Logie, who owns the third-highest winning percentage in NCAA men's basketball history (.827).
Unselfish offense and deadly outside shooting, two calling cards of Logie's tenure at both Whitworth and Point Loma, were on full display Monday night as MSU had 11 players get into the box score and shot 15-of-34 (44.1%) from beyond the arc.
"Winning always feel good," Logie told the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. "Like I told the guys after the game, it's always about the players. These guys have been through a lot over the spring and summer, so to be able to get out under the lights and dust off the nerves and get the win was a good experience."
Redshirt senior Robert Ford III led six in double figures with 15 points, five assists, and two rebounds.
Junior Patrick McMahon scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench, and sophomore Brandon Walker poured in 13 points over just 16 minutes.
Junior Brian Goracke and graduate transfer Eddie Turner III each added 12, and freshman Jaqari Miles chipped in ten in his collegiate debut. Turner added six assists to go along with his dozen points.
Montana State jumped out to a quick start, leading 14-2 just four minutes in on a Turner triple.
After Northwest Indian College (0-3) rattled off a 14-2 run of their own to tie things at 16-all, the Bobcats regathered at the under-12 media timeout and proceeded to build the lead back, forcing 15 first-half turnovers and turning defense into offense with quick fastbreak buckets.
"I thought early on, with it being the first game, I thought there was a little bit of timidness," Logie told the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. "Sometimes that nervous energy comes out very aggressively and sometimes I think it comes out pretty passively. I thought we got better defensively as the game went along, and there was a stretch there in the second half where we really started to look like ourselves defensively. We've got a long way to go, but it's game one and we'll continue to improve."
The Bobcats led 45-27 at the half and kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second twenty minutes, at one point wowing the crowd with three alley-oops for dunks on consecutive possessions.
Nine Bobcats played at least 16 minutes in the win and MSU got 52 points from their bench, pointing to the depth of the rotation that MSU looks to lean on this season.
"I think that one of the cool things about this team is that we have a lot of players that understand who they are and understand what they bring to the team," Logie told the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. "The more that we can kind of get them staying in those lanes, the better we will be—and for the most part we saw that tonight. We've got very clearly-defined roles and ways that guys can help our team be successful, and I was hopeful that we would see that tonight."
UP NEXT
Montana State will be back in action on the road this Saturday as they fly to the Emerald City to take on Seattle U. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Redhawks won twenty games last year and will present a formidable non-conference challenge in a homecoming for head coach Matt Logie (Mercer Island) and several of his players including Chika Nduka (Seattle), Eddie Turner III (Seattle), and Tyler Patterson (Snoqualmie).
#GoCatsGo
