Montana State University
11-13,6-5Big Sky
Northern Colorado
14-9,7-3Big Sky
Bobcats Fall Late on Road at Northern Colorado
2/8/2024 9:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Robert Ford III finishes with 24 points but Bears erase Cats second-half lead in tight 73-70 loss on Thursday
GREELEY, Colo. -- Northern Colorado held Montana State scoreless for a three-minute stretch late on Thursday, holding on for a 73-70 win against the Bobcats in Greeley at Bank of Colorado Arena.
When Eddie Turner III hit a jumper with 3:33 to play, the Bobcats held a 65-60 lead. The Bears stopped MSU on seven straight possessions, forcing four missed shots and two turnovers, building a 69-65 lead. Brian Goracke converted a short jump shot and Jaden Geron a long three-pointer for the Cats in the game's final 10 seconds, but UNC hit all four of it's free throws to seal the win.
The individual brilliance of Robert Ford III couldn't offset Northern Colorado's balance. Ford scorched the Bears for 24 points, grabbing six rebounds and dealing three assists. Five Bears scored in double-digits, though, led by Dejour Reaves' 21 points off the bench. Saint Thomas and Jaron Rillie each scored 12, while Brock Risner and Riley Abercrombie added 11 each.
"I thought down the stretch our inability to just calm down and be organized on offense kind of opened the floor up in transition situations where Dejour [Reaves] is really fast and attacked the rim, got us into some scrambles," head coach Matt Logie said. "I thought our defense was good—Northern Colorado is a really good offensive team, and we hold them to 73, we build two ten-point leads. We did not operate with the experience necessary to close it out down the stretch."
The teams played on even terms for much of the first half. Montana State built a 32-23 lead with 3:26 to play before halftime on jumpers by Chika Nduka and Eddie Turner III, capitalizing on a 1-7 UNC shooting stretch with three turnovers. The Bears answered, though, and when Dejour Reaves hit a layup and a three-pointer UNC led with 14 seconds left in the half. Ford's brilliance flipped the script, though, as he converted a reverse layup as time expired to push MSU in front 36-35 at the break. Ford scored 12 before the intermission, and the Cats forced seven UNC turnovers.
While the Bobcats shot 42 percent from the floor in each half, UNC's 47% shooting after the intermission was enough to fuel its win. The Bears out-rebounded Montana State 39-28 and out-scored the Cats in the paint 44-32.
Sam Lecholat continued his strong stretch of play for the Bobcats, tallying 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Eddie Turner III finished with a balanced box score of six points, six rebounds, a career-high five steals, and four assists.
Montana State falls to 11-13 overall, 6-5 in Big Sky play. The Bears are 14-9, 7-3.
UP NEXT
Montana State heads to Flagstaff to face Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon at the Walkup Skydome. Tip is set for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play on the Bobcat Sports Network.
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