King, Mbatch Shine as Montana State Downs Nobel, 92-55, in Battle at the Beach

Thursday, November 20

Long Beach, Calif.

4 p.m.

Montana State University

2-4,0-0Big Sky

Nobel

0-5

Montana St.

Nobel

Photo by: Boise State Athletics

King, Mbatch Shine as Montana State Downs Nobel, 92-55, in Battle at the Beach

11/20/2025 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Four Bobcats score in double figures in strong two-way showing for Montana State

By: Pershelle Rohrer

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Montana State men's basketball team opened play in the Battle at the Beach with a dominant win on Thursday, defeating Nobel, 92-55, behind career-high scoring performances by Christian King and Waka Mbatch at the Gold Mine on the campus of Long Beach State University.

The Bobcats led wire to wire in the neutral-site contest, shooting an impressive 59.6% from the field while limiting Nobel to 40.0% shooting. Montana State's bench delivered, tallying 41 points in the matchup, and the Bobcats' defense scored 31 points off turnovers in a lopsided contest in Long Beach, Calif.

"I thought our guys came out with a really mature approach today," head coach Matt Logie said. "For the fans at home that see our score today, you might not realize that team was down seven to Long Beach State last night at halftime and is a team that plays really hard. They're scrappy, and I thought our guys did a really good job of having defensive discipline, being in gaps, getting their hands on balls, and in the second half we were able to turn those into transition points."

Montana State tallied the first eight points of the ballgame and never looked back, making seven of its first 11 shots to build the lead to 21-9 at the 11:30 mark following an 8-0 run midway through the period. The Bobcats held the Knights scoreless for over four minutes during that time frame before building their advantage to 40-15 thanks to a 14-0 run capped off by a Jed Miller three-pointer with 5:58 left in the first half. Montana State made 11 of 13 shots over an eight-minute stretch late in the first half and built their advantage to 50-22 on a Mbatch dunk with 2:12 to play before taking a 54-26 lead into halftime.

The Cats shot a scorching 19-of-28 (67.9%) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three-point range, while making all nine of their free throw attempts. Montana State scored 18 points off of nine turnovers and dished 11 assists as eight of 10 players who touched the court in the first half scored a point.

The Bobcats picked up right where they left off in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 45 points in a dominant two-way display at the Gold Mine. After giving up a pair of free throws to start the half, Montana State went on a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to extend its advantage to 71-28 with 15:06 remaining in regulation. The Cats limited the Knights to just 1-of-15 shooting in the first seven minutes of the half to put the game firmly out of reach. Montana State's largest lead came at the 6:59 mark when King hit a three put the Cats up, 83-38, ahead of the third media timeout of the half. The Knights fought back with a 13-2 run to trim the Cats' lead to 85-51 with 2:43 left, but Calum Rutherfurd snapped Nobel's run with a free throw before adding a layup to tally his first three collegiate points. The Bobcats ultimately secured a 92-55 victory as four Bobcats finished the game in double figures.

King matched a career-high 14 points for the third time this season while Mbatch added 13 in the first double-digit scoring performance of his career. Both players shot 5-of-7 from the field, with King adding team-highs in rebounds (6), steals (2), and blocks (2). Mbatch totaled four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in a strong showing in Long Beach. Eleven different Bobcats recorded at least one point in the contest, with Patrick McMahon (12) and Jed Miller (11) joining King and Mbatch as double-digit scorers in Long Beach.

Montana State will play its second and final game of the Battle at the Beach against tournament host Long Beach State on Friday evening. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MT, with the game set to air on ESPN+.

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