Montana State University
10-11,5-3Big Sky
Portland State
13-8,4-4Big Sky
Montana State Falls in Heartbreaker to Portland State
1/27/2024 7:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Robert Ford III’s big night in his hometown not enough as Vikings erase late deficit
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Montana State men's basketball saw a late lead evaporate on the road Saturday night, falling to Portland State, 94-91, at Viking Pavilion in Portland, Oregon.
The Bobcats (10-11, 5-3 Big Sky) led 85-70 with 4:25 left in the game on a Robert Ford III step-back three, but the Vikings (13-8, 4-4 Big Sky) would finish the game on a 24-6 run over the final stretch to hand the visitors a heartbreaking defeat.
After the Ford triple, the Cats would not score a field goal the rest of the way.
Montana State led, 91-86, with a minute left, but Portland State rode a wave of momentum and took advantage of three costly Bobcat turnovers while securing a pair of big offensive rebounds to score eight points in the final 47 seconds.
"We didn't get it done," head coach Matt Logie said. "We needed to be stronger and tougher, and for 39 minutes our guys did a heck of a job, and then didn't finish the deal."
Montana State was hampered by the absence of Ford, who fouled out of the contest with 1:08 remaining after lighting up Portland State in his hometown for 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
"Rob was awesome," Logie said. "Rob's been awesome all year. It was a shame that we didn't have him down the stretch. We needed him. In those moments you have to have somebody that can step up and get a rebound, that can handle the basketball, that can be strong and not allow that momentum to continue to snowball."
Led by Ford, the Cats had six finish in double figures, shooting 54.5% from the floor and going 11-of-20 (55.0%) from deep.
Brandon Walker scored 16 points with four rebounds, going 7-of-9 from the field in 19 minutes. 14 of the big man's points came in the first half.
Tyler Patterson knocked down three three-pointers in the first half, finishing 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the game with 12 points.
Brian Goracke, Montana State's leading scorer this season, ended the night with 12 points and five rebounds, playing just 22 minutes while dealing with foul trouble for the second game in a row.
Off the bench, Sam Lecholat contributed 11 points and five rebounds, continuing his best stretch of the year, while Chika Nduka added ten points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Montana State led 45-42 at halftime after a breathless first half that saw both teams exhibit high-octane offense and shot-making.
The Bobcats started to create some separation in the second half with a 14-3 run from the 15:33 mark to break a 53-53 deadlock and lead 67-56 on a Patterson three-pointer from the top of the key, forcing a Viking timeout with 12:15 to go.
Portland State would chip away and make it 69-65 with 9:36 to play—then Ford got hot.
The Portland native knocked down four threes in a span of four minutes, the last of which came on an isolation step-back play well outside of the arc to put the Cats up 85-70 with 4:25 to play.
Even after the big Portland State run, the Cats had the ball in a tie game, 91-91, with 40 seconds to play and a chance to drain clock.
After running it down to fifteen seconds, Montana State turned it over, leading to a Viking fastbreak and a made free throw to take the lead. The second free throw went off the mark, but an offensive rebound forced another foul and two more made free throws.
Brian Goracke's three-point attempt at the buzzer came up empty, giving Portland State the come-from-behind win.
UP NEXT
Montana State returns home next week to face league-leading Eastern Washington on Thursday, Feburary 1, at 7 p.m. The Cats then host Idaho on Saturday, February 3, at 6 p.m.
Tickets are available here.
#GoCatsGo
