Montana State University
0-1,0-0Big Sky
Wisconsin
2-0,0-0Big Ten
Cats Fall 79-67 at Wisconsin in Season Opener
11/7/2024 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four Bobcats finish in double-figures as Montana State keeps Wisconsin within range throughout first game of the 2024-25 season
MADISON, Wis. -- Montana State went punch-for-punch with their perennial Big Ten contending opponent on Thursday in the season opener, but fell to Wisconsin in Madison, 79-67.
Montana State (0-1) led five times in the first half, with the last time coming on a Jabe Mullins 3-pointer with 4:24 left in the first frame to make 25-24 in favor of the Bobcats.
The Cats trailed by just two inside a minute to go before halftime, but a mini 4-0 spurt by Wisconsin (2-0) made it a 39-33 game at the break inside the Kohl Center.
"I thought it was a real positive experience for us on the whole," head coach Matt Logie said. "We are exactly who we thought we are. We didn't play great tonight--I thought we had some opportunities in the first half. We got great shots. 25 of our 30 shots in the first half were good-to-great shots, but we weren't able to make enough of them to build a lead and put some pressure on them. Wisconsin is such a solid team and program that your margins are real small. You've got to shoot well and you can't have 14 turnovers."
Wisconsin stretched the lead to as many as 17 at 69-52 with just under five minutes remaining in the game, but the Cats continued to fight.
Two 3-pointers from Brian Goracke sandwiching triples from Jabe Mullins and Patrick McMahon cut the Wisconsin lead to 73-63 with 2:58 remaining, keeping things tight and giving the three-time defending Big Sky champions a chance.
Goracke finished with a team-high 14 points, connecting on 4-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc.
The senior was one of four Bobcats to finish in double-figures and one of five Cats to record at least nine points as part of a balanced scoring attack.
"This isn't going to be a team that is reliant on one or two scorers every single night," Logie said. "We have a lot of different types of weapons and it's going to be different guys at different times and I think we have a lot of balance with that. That showed tonight. We didn't quite capitalize on some of the defensive tendencies that we had intended to, and certainly we'll grow from that."
Max Agbonkpolo ended his Bobcat debut with 13 points and was responsible for the first basket of the 2024-25 season—a pure three-point stroke from the top of the key.
That triple was the first of 12 3-pointers made by Montana State, who went 12-of-26 from deep (46.2%).
Jabe Mullins finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists from the point guard spot in a stellar first game as a Bobcat.
Patrick McMahon, playing in his first game since suffering an injury on Nov. 16, 2023, scored nine points in the second half to finish with 11 for the game on 5-of-7 shooting, adding four rebounds.
Montana State held their own on the glass against a Wisconsin team that prides itself on rebounding. The Badgers, who were a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, narrowly won the battle on the boards, 32-27.
"I thought we did a good job defending the paint," Logie said. "[Wisconsin] was 13-for-31 from two-point range, but we allowed their two best shooters to get off 17 threes and that was not part of our gameplan. There's definitely a lot of things to clean up, but this is a group that is on the right track."
Brandon Walker recorded nine points and three rebounds dealing with a physical Wisconsin frontcourt. Chika Nduka provided good minutes off the bench, coming up with three offensive rebounds on one possession early in the first half and ending the night with three assists as well.
"Our guys' fight was really good," Logie said. "Our spirit was good. We shared the ball. It's very early, so it's only up from here."
Wisconsin, who received multiple votes in the Week 1 AP Top 25 Poll, is the first of three teams on Montana State's non-conference schedule that were single-digit seeds in last year's NCAA Tournament (No. 9 Northwestern, No. 9 TCU).
UP NEXT
Montana State travels to face Wichita State on Saturday at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita.
Tip is set for 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live audio play-by-play carried on the Bobcat Sports Network.
#GoCatsGo
