MISSOULA — The Montana State Bobcats came to Dahlberg Arena riding a waive of momentum as tangible as any during Brian Fish’s three seasons at the helm. But old demons reared their ugly heads here on Saturday night. MSU could not defend the slashing Grizzly guards as an opportunity to maintain momentum in the Big Sky Conference race slipped away.
After a stellar first half defensively, Montana went back to a familiar formula, isolating its talented guards to exploit Montana State’s inability to play on-ball defense. Sophomore point guard Ahmaad Rorie scored 26 of his game-high 28 points after halftime, including 22 in the last nine minutes, 34 seconds to boost UM to a 60-point second half in a 90-84 victory in front of a raucous crowd of 5,546. Sophomore Michael Oguine also proved to be impossible for Montana State’s guards to slow down off the dribble, scoring 15 of his 22 points after intermission. Rorie and Oguine converted a total of five old-fashioned 3-point plays after halftime alone and knocked down 21 of 22 free throws to boost UM to its 13th straight win over its arch rival.
UM guard Michael Oguine (0)/by Brooks Nuanez
The way Montana won looked eerily similar to the way the Griz exploited MSU’s penetration defense in a season sweep of the Bobcats last season. Oguine and Walter Wright diced the Bobcats a year ago, while Rorie, a talented transfer from Oregon, filled the on-ball role this time around.
Logistics and specifics aside, the result had an impact on the Big Sky race along with the trajectory of both teams. Montana State entered the action on a five-game winning streak, its longest this decade and its longest in Fish’s tenure. Conversely, the Griz entered the game on a four-game losing streak playing the same opponents as Montana State. But the upstart Bobcats could not earn a landmark win, instead falling to 6-5 in conference play, 11-13 overall, both marks identical to the Griz.
“A loss is a loss and it hurts,” Montana State star sophomore Tyler Hall said after scoring 22 points in the loss. “Having that momentum coming in and having them taking from us, that’s motivation into next week and for the rest of the season. We get to play them again and we will look forward to that.”
When playing at its highest level, Montana State is an up-tempo, perimeter-oriented team that can score in bunches while fighting for transition opportunities and rebounds despite one of the league’s smallest rotations. When the Bobcats struggle, it’s usually because of putting the opponent on the free throw line too frequently, not rebounding well and struggling to slow down penetration.
Saturday, the Bobcats put Montana on the line for 40 free throw attempts; the Griz knocked down 33 from the stripe. The Griz owned a 32-28 lead on the glass despite employing a smaller lineup that included Rorie, Oguine, freshman swingman Sayeed Pridgett, lanky sophomore Bobby Moorehead and junior post Fabijan Krslovic, the lynchpin of Montana’s pack-line defensive scheme, for most of the second half. Oguine, a hyper-athletic 6-foot-2 jumping jack, led the charge on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds. UM’s penetration led to the prolific free throw totals as well as 32 points in the paint despite Krslovic only making two field goals.
“We didn’t guard and we put them on the line,” Fish said after his fifth loss to the Griz in as many tries. “That’s been the Achilles heel when we lose. It’s always been three things. During the win streak, those were things we got turned in our favor. They outscored us 15 at the line and they were 15-of-21 in the second half scoring. You are not going to beat anybody doing that and they beat us on the boards. They beat us in every hustle play. They were just tougher than us.”
Montana used patience to create isolation opportunities for Rorie and Oguine. Senior Quinton Everett and sophomore Devonte Klines are Montana State’s two best on-ball defenders. The Griz were able to draw a total of nine fouls on the duo. The hosts were also able to run through their offense before finding a matchup in which either Hall or true freshman point guard Harald Frey were guarding the ball.
UM guard Michael Oguine (0)/ by Jason Bacaj
“They were the tougher team,” said Frey after scoring 22 points in his Cat-Griz debut. “They kept attacking and we couldn’t get back. We couldn’t maintain after the first half. We have to correct that.”
Everything from team chemistry to a lack of an inside presence to players playing out of position to rumblings of internal conflict played factors in Montana’s four-game skid. The Griz gave up 88 and 92 points during the road swing through Portland State and Sacramento State, respectively. Wright did not play in the first half of the loss to the Hornets. Back home, DeCuire suspended Wright and Rorie as Montana fell 72-60 to Eastern Washington.
The losing streak came to a head with an 85-77 loss in overtime to rival Idaho, putting Montana in an unfamiliar position. Against the Bobcats, penetration, aggressive play and a return to what DeCuire called “Grizzly D” helped UM get back on track.
“We had a really good week of practice,” Rorie said. “We got after it and split the teams up really evenly and it was just really coming together as a team. We were doing some really good team activities outside practice just because we felt that’s really good for our team. I think it showed today. The bench was really good. Guys were handing each other towels when they were coming in and out of the game. It definitely feels good to get back in the win column. “
With UM clinging to a 51-50 lead with 9:34 left, Rorie drilled his only 3-pointer of the evening with Hall’s hand squarely in his face. On the next possession, Rorie got into the paint, converted through contact and sunk the free throw to push the UM advantage to 57-52, at that point the Grizzlies’ largest. Rorie had two other stretches in which he scored six consecutive Griz points.
“Good player,” Fish said. “He went one-on-one, made his free throws and was very good in what they were doing. He is a very smooth player, very effective. Oguine is the same way. They got going there. We put them on the line 22 times. Those two guys shot as many as we did. We have to stay away from fouling them. But give them credit. They forced the issue and drew the fouls.”
Stay with the ‘Cats & the Griz at Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada March 5-12
As they have for the duration of Big Sky play, Hall and Frey carried MSU. Hall scored 17 of his 22 after halftime. Frey scored 22 points on 11 shots, drilling 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The duo’s 44 was not enough to offset the 50 from Montana’s powerful guard pair.
“It definitely gives us a new challenge, another obstacle to overcome,” Frey said of the win streak ending. “I think we will come out just fine. We just have to get back to work and focus in on next week’s road trip.”
Montana State plays at Northern Arizona on Thursday and at Southern Utah on Saturday. The Bobcats then have a three-game home stand that brings PSU and Sac to town before a rematch with the Griz in Bozeman. Fish did not buy the notion that the rivalry loss would affect his young team’s psyche.
“What’s our options? We have no choice but to come back Monday and go to work,” Fish said. “We are in the middle of three on the road. We lost the first one on the road. We have to go back to practice, get after it and go. If you win this game, I don’t think it changes what you do. We are both in the same situation. We are both 6-5. We have to find a way to dig down. We have to go and get back to who we are.”
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