Montana State University
9-10,4-2Big Sky
Idaho State
7-13,2-5Big Sky
Bobcats Power Ahead for Home Win Over Bengals
1/22/2024 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Robert Ford III finishes with sixth double-double, Bobcat bench output highlights 77-70 victory over Idaho State on Monday night
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Big bench contributions helped Montana State bounce back with a 77-70 win over Idaho State on Monday night at Worthington Arena, closing out a 3-1 homestand against Big Sky opponents.
Montana State (9-10, 4-2 Big Sky) got 28 points and nine rebounds from their bench, with Chika Nduka, Sam Lecholat, Jaden Geron, and Jed Miller each providing a needed spark in a game disjointed by foul trouble.
It's the 11th straight win in the series for the Bobcats over Idaho State (7-13, 2-5 Big Sky), and closes the book on a 3-1 homestand that featured wins over Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, and now the Bengals.
Robert Ford III notched his sixth double-double of the season, pouring in 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. The redshirt senior went 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 at the free throw line against his former team, turning in another stellar performance in what has been a career year for the Portland native.
Brandon Walker scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding seven rebounds across 22 minutes of action.
Montana State never trailed and led by as many as 17 with 15:45 left in the second half, but Idaho State rallied and chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to a six-point game at 73-67 with 26 seconds left.
Miller knocked down all four of his free throw attempts to ice the win and move the Bobcats to 4-2 in conference play.
"I thought with the different styles of play, in both contests against Idaho State it's been really important that we got off to good starts where we built a lead and could kind of control the tempo and pressure level that we wanted," head coach Matt Logie said. "That gives you a little buffer down the stretch to absorb whatever craziness happens. I thought our guys got better at press break as we went along. Obviously we have to figure out how not to foul so the clock gets stopped as much as it did."
The Bobcats raced out to leads of 7-0 and 20-11, with Nduka and Walker combining for ten of the Cats' first 20 points. The home side led by multiple possessions all the way through halftime, up 34-25 at the break as Ford found Nduka under the hoop for a layup at the horn.
The Bobcats had 17 fouls called on them in the second half alone, leading to Geron and Lecholat both fouling out. Walker, Ford, and Brian Goracke all finished with four fouls each. The Bengals were whistled for 14 fouls themselves in the second twenty minutes, leading to a fragmented rhythm and pace as the game continued towards the final buzzer.
Nduka finished with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, adding a pair of assists. The junior was solid in the post defending all-conference forward Brayden Parker, who finished with ten points.
Lecholat played a season-high 23 minutes, finishing with five points, five rebounds, and four assists before fouling out.
"Idaho State is a very physical team that draws a lot of fouls on a lot of people, but I thought we got great contributions off the bench," Logie said. "Jaden Geron with 26 minutes, Sam Lecholat with four assists, five rebounds, banged a three, and then Jed [Miller] coming in with all the foul trouble and taking good care of the basketball, making free throws. That's conference play—you have to stay ready because you never know when your name is going to get called."
Montana State shot 58.7% as a team, their fourth consecutive game shooting above 55% from the floor. The Cats struggled uncharacteristically at the free throw line, going 17-for-27 at the charity stripe after entering Monday ranked top-50 in the country in free throw percentage (75.3%).
Montana State outscored a physical Idaho State squad, 34-26, in the paint.
UP NEXT
Montana State will hit the road to face Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
#GoCatsGo
