Montana State University
10-15,5-7Big Sky
Northern Colorado
18-7,10-2Big Sky
Bobcats Hang Tough in Road Defeat at Northern Colorado
2/8/2025 8:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mullins scores 24, Bobcats fall 73-66 to the league-leading Bears on Saturday night in Greeley
GREELEY, Colo. -- Montana State men's basketball leaned on a stellar defensive effort but had their upset attempt thwarted on the road, falling 73-66 to Northern Colorado on Saturday night at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.
Montana State (10-15, 5-7) held the Big Sky's top offense to more than nine points below their season average, but Northern Colorado (18-7, 10-2) separated themselves in the final two minutes to get the win.
"We missed some things at the rim and we've got to be able to convert through contact, but our fight tonight and the focus that our guys had, I am proud of that," head coach Matt Logie said. "Thursday wasn't us, and that was the message to our guys. If this tonight is what we do for the rest of the year, we're going to win a lot of games from here on out. I'm really proud of their effort and really proud of their bounce back. I'm disappointed for them—there's some things we need to clean up for sure, but UNC is a really good basketball team. They're very difficult to defend and we held them to 40% from the field. We did a really good job, and hopefully we get to see them again."
Playing on his birthday, Jabe Mullins poured in 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting to tie his career-high. The graduate guard scored 13 of the Bobcats' 15 points over a hot eight-minute stretch in the second half, capped by a driving scoop layup that tied the game at 60-60 with 4:47 to play.
A Brandon Walker one-hand push shot tied the action at 62-62 with 4:05 to go, but the Bears re-took the lead on the ensuing possession and held on.
Montana State had 24 fouls whistled to Northern Colorado's 15 on the night.
"This was not like the rest of the games that we've lost in close situations," Logie said. "This was much more in line with who we are and what we're about. We had the same amount of field goals as them, we had the same amount of 3-pointers as them, the entire game came down to the free throw line. They shot 31 free throws and we shot 17."
The two teams finished with nearly identical offensive stat lines—both squads went 6 of 16 at the three-point line, with MSU shooting 23 of 56 from the floor overall and UNC shooting 23 of 57 from the floor.
The difference came at the foul line, where the Bears attempted 14 more free throws and made seven more than the Bobcats—the final margin in the score.
Mullins' 24 birthday points were the most for the newly minted 23-year-old since putting up 24 while playing for Washington State in 2022. The native of Snoqualmie, Washington, poured in 19 in the second half alone on Saturday on 6 of 7 shooting, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
It followed up a big performance in Thursday's loss for Mullins, who scored 16 off the bench with eight rebounds in Flagstaff.
"Jabe played great," Logie said. "He played with passion and energy. We've got a lot of guys who have about 30 days left in their college basketball experience. That's what we've been talking about in the last 48 hours is that they have to leave it out there and fight for peace of mind and have no regrets. We haven't always done that this year, but I thought we took a positive step today."
Montana State asserted themselves defensively from the jump, forcing Northern Colorado into misses on their first nine shots from the floor and limiting the Bears to just 3 of 14 from the field through the first nine minutes of play.
At the under-12 media timeout, Montana State held a 15-6 lead.
Bryce Zephir converted on his first four shots and had nine points as part of the early burst, knocking down a 3-pointer and getting to his spot on the low block with tough floaters.
The junior's 11 points on the night were the most for the product of Carson, California, since a 14-point outing at Denver on November 17.
However, Northern Colorado chipped away and went into the halftime break up a bucket at 30-28.
From there, neither team led by more than five until the final minute. The Cats' got big play after big play from Mullins, with complementary baskets from Brandon Walker, Max Agbonkpolo, and Patrick McMahon.
Walker finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Abonkpolo and McMahon each contributed six points.
Chika Nduka provided a lift off the bench, adding four points and four rebounds with a steal and stout defense that helped limit the Bears' leading scorer Isaiah Hawthorne (17.6 ppg) to just one point.
"I can't wait to get back to the Brick, and if we continue to play like this there's good things to come," Logie said.
UP NEXT
Montana State returns to Bozeman to begin a three-game homestand beginning Thursday night against Weber State at 7 p.m. at Worthington Arena.
The game will air regionally on SWX and stream on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Tickets are available here.
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