On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated ran a story about Tyler Hall’s NBA potential. By and large, the writer Chris Johnson did not get a full taste of the sweet-shooting guard’s skill set after watching the Big Sky Conference preseason MVP score just eight points in 16 minutes before fouling out against Denver earlier this month.
On Thursday, Hall put his full repertoire on display, helping Montana State earn revenge in the process.
The MSU junior hit three straight 3-pointers and four triples total in a 16-point first half in Cedar city. In the second half, the NBA prospect put forth his slickest shooting display of his junior season, drilling seven of his nine shots, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in scoring 20 points after halftime. Hall finished with 36 points, sophomore point guard Harald Frey scored 30 and Montana State posted a 104-99 over Sothern Utah in Cedar City on Thursday night.
Montana State’s Keljin Blevins, No. 2, and Southern Utah’s Christian Musoko/ SUU athletics
The Rock Island, Illinois native hit 12-of-19 shots, including 8-of-14 from deep as the Bobcats hit 14 3-pointers in 28 tries. The shooting effort — MSU shot 54.1 percent overall — offset a hot night from the hosts. The Thunderbirds hit 12 3-pointers in 29 attempts and shot 50 percent overall.
Montana State moved to 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play, 8-6 overall, avenging last season’s 109-105 triple overtime loss in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in Reno in the process.
RELATED: Montana State 104, Southern Utah 99 (box score)
Hall scored 33 points that night last march, one of eight 30-point games during his sophomore season, but Montana State fell short in an exhausting loss that ended an up and down season. Thursday marked Hall’s third 30-point effort this season but snapped one of the first cold streaks of his career. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has struggled with a busted ankle since the third game of the season. He was held scoreless for the first time in his Bobcat career on December 5 in a lopsided loss to Central Michigan.
He bounced back with a 19-point effort against UC Santa Barbara but the Bobcats lost their first Division I home game of the season 91-69. With Johnson from SI in attendance, Hall played just 16 minutes and scored just eight points before fouling out against Denver.
Hall hit rock bottom in MSU’s non-conference finale. He made just two shots in 18 tries and missed 10 of his 12 3-point attempts in an 84-71 loss at Omaha. Thursday, Hall poured in shots to keep SUU at arm’s length as Montana State won in Cedar City for the second straight year. As a freshman, Hall had a resounding Big Sky debut by scoring 36 points in a loss at SUU. This time around, Hall’s jumper with 2:51 left pushed the Bobcat advantage to 93-89. His layup with 22 seconds left gave Montana State a 100-96 lead.
Montana State sophomore Harald Frey scored a career-high 30 points on Thursday/ by Brooks Nuanez
Frey, the reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year, has picked up the scoring slack during Hall’s cold streak. He scored 30 points for the first time in his career on Thursday, hitting four of his seven 3-point attempts and 9-of-15 from the floor overall.
The southpaw’s 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining extended the lead to 96-91. He hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 1:06, and 8-of-11 overall from the stripe, the keep the Thunderbirds at bay.
Southern Utah entered the game with an RPI of 89, the second-best in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds won all five of their home games during a 6-5 non-conference slate. Thursday, Jadon Cohee led a balanced scoring effort with 20 points. He hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Sharp-shooting lefty James McGee scored 19 points and hit four 3-pointers, while Dwayne Morgan added 15 points. Although the game was a single-digit deficit for the duration of the second half, Southern Utah did not lead for the final 23 minutes of the game.
Montana State plays at Northern Arizona on Saturday. Southern Utah hosts Montana. The Griz won at NAU, 87-69, on Thursday night.
Photos by SUU athletics and contributed. All Rights Reserved.
