Bobcats Earn 76-65 Win Over Northern Arizona, Clinch No. 2 Seed in Big Sky Tournament

Monday, March 2

Flagstaff, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Montana State University

18-13,12-6Big Sky

Northern Arizona

10-21,4-14Big Sky

Montana St.

Northern Ariz.

Photo by: Kyleigh Thurmond, NAU Athletics

Bobcats Earn 76-65 Win Over Northern Arizona, Clinch No. 2 Seed in Big Sky Tournament

3/2/2026 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Cats conclude regular season with third victory in five days

By: Pershelle Rohrer

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Christian King led a well-balanced scoring effort for the Montana State men's basketball team in its regular-season finale at Northern Arizona on Monday night, tallying 18 points to lead a group of five Bobcats in double figures as the Cats earned a 76-65 win over the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff.

Montana State led wire to wire to earn its third-straight victory to close the regular season. The Bobcats improved to 18-13 overall and 12-6 in Big Sky play with Monday's win and secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the upcoming Big Sky Championship, which will be held in Boise, Idaho, from March 7-10.

"I couldn't be prouder of a group of people," head coach Matt Logie said. "Staff, players, managers – it's been a complete team effort. We talked about this week the old Bob Green quote that we want to be like woodpeckers in a petrified forest, just keep busy and look for opportunities, and when you do that, you'll be amazed at what might present itself. We wanted this one because we worked really hard to create this opportunity. We've overcome more than anybody else in the conference in terms of injuries. These guys have been just nails in terms of their attitude throughout the entire year and stepping up for one another. We had five guys in double figures today. This is as proud as I've ever been as a coach."

The Bobcats jumped out to an early 15-4 lead, tallying 11-straight points following a 4-4 start to hold a double-digit lead at the 13:36 mark in the first half. Christian King tallied seven of the Cats' first 15 points to lead Montana State early in the contest. The Cats extended that lead to 17 points, 30-13, by the 4:55 mark thanks to another 15-4 run in which five different Bobcats scored. The Cats tallied seven-straight points to open that run and concluded it with another eight-point swing following a pair of jumpers from Diego Campisano. Chris Hodges scored five of his 10 points during that stretch as the Bobcats held Northern Arizona scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes. The Lumberjacks chipped into the Bobcats' lead in the final 3:31 of the half as Oakland Fort scored NAU's final 12 points to close the half. The Jacks outscored the Cats, 12-6, to close the half as Montana State took a 36-25 lead into halftime. Montana State held Northern Arizona to just 9-of-25 (36.0%) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and forced seven Lumberjack turnovers as King led the team with 13 first-half points

Northern Arizona threatened early in the second half, using a 6-0 run out of the break to cut the Cats' lead to six points, 36-31, at the 18:39 mark. Over the next three minutes, the Bobcats' lead varied from five to 10 points as the two teams traded buckets. Montana State then went on a 16-0 barrage, capped off by a Jed Miller three with 11:39 left in regulation, to extend the Cats' lead to a game-high 22 points, 59-37. Northern Arizona pushed back with a 10-2 run of its own to come within 12 points, 61-49, with 6:32 to play, but the Bobcats responded down the stretch as Jaden Steppe and Miller combined for 10 of Montana State's 15 points in the final 6:04 of regulation to lift the Cats to a 76-75 win. Both teams shot over 50% from the field in the second half as Montana State went 14-of-26 (53.8%) from the floor and Northern Arizona made 17-of-33 (51.5%) of its shots in the final 20 minutes.

Montana State outshot Northern Arizona, 50.9% to 44.8%, over the course of the game and outrebounded the Lumberjacks, 33-31. The Cats took good care of the ball, only giving up three points off turnovers while making 13 second-chance points to NAU's 10. Montana State outscored Northern Arizona, 14-2, on the fast break and never trailed in the contest.

King led a group of five Bobcats who scored in double figures with a team-high 18 points, shooting an impressive 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. He added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in his 19^th double-digit scoring outing of the season. Steppe added a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting while adding three boards, one assist, and a team-best two steals. Miller tallied 13 points of a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, draining three triples, while totaling team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (2). Seth Amunrud and Chris Hodges added 10 points apiece, with Amunrud adding five boards and one assist and Hodges tallying two rebounds and a team-high two blocks.

With Portland State's win over Weber State and Eastern Washington's loss to Idaho, the Bobcats clinched second place in the Big Sky regular-season standings and will open the Big Sky Tournament against the winner of Saturday's first-round game between No. 7 Idaho and No. 8 Sacramento State. Montana State plays its tournament opener on Sunday, March 8, at 8 p.m. on Scripps/ESPN+.

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