Montana State University
13-17,8-9Big Sky
Eastern Washington
20-10,14-3Big Sky
Eagles Take Overtime Thriller in Cheney, 108-104
3/2/2024 6:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Short-handed Cats go the distance with Big Sky regular season champion Eastern Washington on Saturday but come up just shy of monumental win
CHENEY, Wash. -- In one of the more thrilling games of the year, Montana State went punch-for-punch with Big Sky regular season champion Eastern Washington at Reese Court in Cheney, but came up just short, 108-104, in overtime on Saturday.
Montana State (13-17, 8-9 Big Sky) got a cold-blooded 3-pointer from Eddie Turner III with ten seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 89-89 and send it to overtime. In the extra period, the two teams combined for 34 points in five minutes, but Eastern Washington (20-10, 14-3 Big Sky) went 7-for-7 at the free throw line in the last 34 seconds to split the season series with the Bobcats after Montana State handed them their first conference loss back on February 1 in Bozeman, 70-60.
The instant classic on Saturday saw a Bobcat squad play short-handed throughout, as Brandon Walker was ejected in the first half and Sam Lecholat and John Olmsted each fouled out late. Five technicals, the ejection, and 51 combined fouls were symptomatic of the intense and chippy nature of a game that had 20 ties and 21 lead changes.
"I'm really proud of our guys," head coach Matt Logie said. "We played a really good basketball game. They're continuing to get better every week. Obviously you're playing on Senior Night on the road in a hostile environment and you need to have your poise, and obviously there's a situation there where we lost that, but I thought the way we responded to that, the way guys stepped up, the way John Olmsted came in and impacted the game in Brandon's absence was tremendous. I couldn't be prouder of the guys."
Olmsted scored a career-high 15 points off the bench with four rebounds and three assists in a career-high 28 minutes. The graduate transfer from Arizona State finished 7-of-8 from the floor including four dunks and his first made triple as a Bobcat.
Eddie Turner III torched the Eagles for a game-high 24 points with nine assists, eight rebounds, and three steals. The graduate transfer from Columbia scored 13 points in the second half alone, including the game-tying triple off an assist from Robert Ford III as the clock ticked under ten seconds in regulation.
Montana State led 36-31 at halftime, hitting five threes in the first stanza and getting 11 points from Brian Goracke, who would finish with 22 on the night.
The second half turned into a shot-making track meet, as Eastern Washington put up 58 points and Montana State scored 53 with both teams shooting above 60% from the floor and above 55% from beyond the arc.
Olmsted scored 13 points in the second half alone on 6-of-6 shooting, doing damage in the paint and even knocking down his first career three from the top of the key to springboard the Cats' offensive explosion.
Neither team led by more than five the entire night until the Eagles hit a pair of free throws in the final minute of overtime to go up seven at 102-95.
Robert Ford III scored ten points in four minutes of overtime, including a step-back three with four seconds left to make it 106-104 and put pressure on the Eagles to hit free throws. However, the home side would go 7-of-7 at the line to keep the Cats at a four-point deficit.
Ford would finish with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals while also dealing with foul trouble.
Tyler Patterson converted on three triples and finished with 13 points. In the second half, the junior from Snoqualmie, Washington, became the fourth Bobcat ever to make 200 career three-point field goals, joining Danny Sprinkle, Tyler Hall, and Harald Frey.
Montana State finished 15-of-34 (44.1%) from three-point land, with three different Bobcats hitting three or more triples: Patterson, Turner, and Ford.
"This was great to be able to play the outright champion right before the tournament and see where we're at," Logie said. "We played really good basketball against them both times, and came up a little bit short tonight, but our guys are continuing to get better each week and the best is yet to come."
UP NEXT
Montana State closes the regular season on Monday night at home against Weber State.
Tip is set for 7 p.m.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, with live radio play-by-play airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Robert Ford III and John Olmsted will be honored pre-game as part of Senior Day festivities.
Tickets are available by visiting www.msubobcats.com/tickets.
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