Montana State weathered an early storm in Portland before rallying to earn its first road sweep in nearly two years on Saturday night.
The Bobcat men’s basketball team entered the weekend on an 11-game losing streak outside of Bozeman. Montana State’s last road win before Thursday came on February 2 of 2016. MSU earned a 74-65 win at Sac State to open the road swing, avenging its loss to the Hornets in the first round of the Big Sky Conference tournament last spring.
Montana State earned its first victory of the Brian Fish era over Portland State on Saturday night to complete its first road sweep since Fish’s first season. Montana State pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, including 11 in the second half, earning a 53-37 advantage on the glass to secure a 71-65 victory at the Stott Center on the PSU campus.
Montana State sophomore Tyler Hall
The Bobcats lost 80-62 in Fish’s first trip to Stott in his first campaign and 83-68 in Portland last season. MSU also lost 77-70 at home to the Vikings during last season’s 14-17 finish. The win is Montana State’s third straight after a dismal streak that saw the Bobcats lose nine of 10. MSU now sits at 4-4 in Big Sky play, 9-12 overall. The Bobcats return home to face Idaho and Eastern Washington next weekend before playing at Montana the first Saturday of February.
“This whole road trip was about being a tougher team,” MSU sophomore Tyler Hall said. “We knew we had to be tough or we wouldn’t come away with either win. That was a big focus and once we did that, kept our composure and stayed tough, we are a hard team to beat.”
Portland State, an 88-77 winner over previously surging Montana on Thursday, carried the momentum into the first five minutes of Saturday’s action. The Vikings began the game on a 9-0 run thanks to inspired play by seniors power forward De’Seans Parsons and point guard Calaen Robinson. But the Bobcats overcame the hot start and held the hosts to 36.7 percent shooting. The Vikings also missed 12 of their 28 free throw attempts.
“Outside of the first 10 minutes, I thought we were really good,” Fish said. “The last 30 minutes, we had a great mindset.”
Hall found his stroke midway through the first half and helped the Bobcats begin to chip away. The prolific scoring guard netted 14 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer with three minutes, 29 seconds until halftime to tie the game at 31, the first even score of the contest. After a pair of Parsons’ free throws, Hall again tied the game with a pair of his own free throws, then gave MSU its first lead, 35-33, with 37 seconds until intermission with a slashing layup.
Hall drilled a 3-pointer in rhythm to give the Bobcats a 49-44 lead with 12:56 left. He would miss his final four shots and finish 8-of-19 from the floor, 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. But his 22 points in the first 27 minutes coupled with his 10 rebounds, including four after his final field goal.
Montana State won the second half 36-30 thanks to holding PSU to 31 percent shooting, including just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. MSU held a 30-17 advantage on the glass after halftime.
“Defense, it’s something we’ve been getting better at, paying attention to the scouting report,” Fish said after winning his eighth road game in three seasons at MSU. “I think we have a lot of room to grow. When you hold someone to one shot and don’t put them on the line so much. For the second straight game, we didn’t get outscored at the line, which gives us a chance to be competitive.”
Montana State jujnior Benson Osayande
Junior Benson Osayande led the charge on the offensive glass, snaring six offensive rebounds, four of which he converted into baskets. The 6-foot-9 junior finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
“Coach always talks about rebounding the ball so I just tried to make the hustle plays and help our team out on the glass,” Osayande said.
“They were out-rebounding us to begin with so we had to turn that around. I think it was 13-3 and we turned that around. They are not as big but they are very physical and quick so we tried to match their physicality.”
Osayande is now averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 minutes per game during conference play. The junior college transfer has developed noticeably over the course of his first Division I season.
“He was big-time in this game,” Hall said. “Everyone that went up, he came down with. As far as him personally, he struggled trying to find his way earlier in the season but I think he’s finding it now and establishing a presence down there. He’s real athletic and long and he has figured out he can do that.”
Devonte Klines hit two crucial second-half 3-pointers, including a triple with 4:25 left to give MSU its largest lead, 67-56. Junior college transfer Deontae North, who finished with a game-high 23 points, scored five during a 9-0 run as PSU cut the lead to 67-65 with 54 seconds left.
Freshman point guard Harald Frey finished in the lane with 33 seconds left to push his point total to 12 despite an 0-5 performance from beyond the arc. Klines hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to push his total to 10 and seal MSU’s first road sweep since the Bobcats won at Northern Colorado and at North Dakota in mid-February of 2015.
“(Closing games) is something we struggled with early in the season,” Hall said. “A couple of possession difference in the score early in the season, we didn’t really finish games and we didn’t close it out. That was big. Just staying tough, we have to keep that mindset throughout the whole season. It can’t be just one road trip.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
