Montana State University
12-17,7-9Big Sky
Portland State
17-12,9-7Big Sky
Bobcat Offense Limited in Road Defeat to Portland State
2/27/2025 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cats held to 52 points in loss to Vikings on Thursday night
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland State showed why they've been the top defensive team in the Big Sky on Thursday night, handing Montana State a 69-52 defeat at Viking Pavilion in Portland.
The Cats were held to their second-lowest point total of the season, shooting 42.0% from the floor and 21.1% from beyond the arc.
Against Portland State's length and size, Montana State (12-17, 7-9) struggled to find sustained offensive rhythm and hold their own on the glass.
Portland State (17-12, 9-7) improved to 11-1 at Viking Pavilion this season thanks in part to a big advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Montana State by a margin of 43-25.
"We came into a boxing ring that a lot of teams have struggled to come into and got punched in the mouth a couple different times," head coach Matt Logie said. "To beat Portland State, you've got to protect the paint and they had 48 points in the paint and 21 second-chance points—that was pretty much the story of the game. They imposed their will on us and you've got to give them credit for that."
Brandon Walker led Montana State with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Max Agbonkpolo and Patrick McMahon each added eight points, with Tyler Patterson contributing seven points.
Brian Goracke knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to finish with six points and Bryce Zephir added two points and four assists.
Playing in his Big Sky record 156th career game, Tyler Patterson knocked down a 3-pointer with 18:13 left in the second half to pass his former coach Danny Sprinkle for the third-most career threes in program history.
Patterson's 264 career 3-pointers now trail only Harald Frey (270) and Tyler Hall (431) for the most by a Bobcat.
Montana State got their first seven points of the game from Brandon Walker, who hit a couple spinning layups in the paint before connecting on a straightaway triple to help the Cats keep pace early.
After a Brian Goracke 3-pointer with 8:43 to play in the first half, MSU trailed by just a possession at 19-16.
However, Portland State would step on the gas from there, finishing the half on an 18-9 run and taking a 37-25 lead into halftime.
The Vikings turned it over just five times on the game and created multiple second-chance looks with 15 offensive rebounds.
PSU led by as many as 21, with Montana State making a brief charge to cut it to 12 with 12 minutes left on a Walker layup.
Yet, a hungry Portland State team got the ball to playmakers and thrived with the return of Tre-Vaughn Minott from injury, as their big man contributed 12 points and 17 rebounds. Isaiah Johnson scored a game-high 16 points.
"We're certainly capable of a much better performance as we saw the first time we played them," Logie said. "My message after the game was pretty simple—garbage in, garbage out. We've got 40 hours before our next opportunity and it's really important that these seniors finish well. Tip your hat to Portland State, they played a really spirited game coming off two road losses and they deserve all the credit."
UP NEXT
Montana State continues their West Coast road swing with a visit to Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon at The Nest.
Tip from Sacramento is set for 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
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