Last week, Brian Fish talked about the need for his team to play in front of a crowd. Following practice on Monday, he told his players no matter how many fans showed up for Tuesday night’s exhibition, it might feel like the Super Bowl. Fish also had a concern about his team’s conditioning level. He knew once the bright lights of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse were shining down, his team would have a tough time catching their breath.
MSU guard Tyler Hall pulls up for a jumper vs. NWIC
So despite the lopsided nature of the Montana State men’s basketball team’s season-opening 114-57 win over Northwest Indian College, Tuesday night’s exhibition game was exactly what the Bobcats needed.
“I wish we had a FitBit on a guy tonight, I bet they put in five, six, seven miles,” Fish, MSU’s second-year head coach, said with a chuckle following the win. “We got up and down. That was what I wanted. No one complained when they came out. Everyone said they wanted to play 30 minutes last week. Guys who were around 20 were like, ‘I’m good coach, thanks for that.’ It was what we needed.”
Senior power forward Danny Robison grabbed the first Bobcat rebound of the season. True freshman guard Tyler Hall hit the first jump shot. Sophomore wing Zach Green had the first dunk and true freshman forward Sam Neumann drilled the first 3-pointer. All 10 Bobcats who dressed played and all 10 scored, including freshman guard Cooper Olson. The walk-on from Class C Westby-Grenora High finished with three points in seven minutes.
“We’ve had some injuries that have limited us in practice so we haven’t been able to scrimmage and get up and down as much so it was a little bit of an eye-opener for how fast the game is,” MSU senior point guard Marcus Colbert said. “I know that wasn’t a Division I team, but it was still an idea of how the game will be played. The first couple of minutes were tough but after you catch your second wind, it’s not as bad. And the media timeouts helped us.”
MSU guard Marcus Colbert finishes in the lane against NWIC
Junior college transfer Quinton Everett had hand surgery and is out for the next month. Sophomore forward Quinn Price is out indefinitely after having his knee scoped. True freshman guard Mandrell Worthy is out for the season after having knee surgery. Junior college transfer power forward Shy Blake was suspended for a violation of team rules. As a result, seven different Bobcats played at least 20 minutes, including 29 for Colbert and 28 for Hall.
“No disrespect to Northwest Indian and I appreciate them coming over but we haven’t, with our limits and injuries right now, had a chance to scrimmage so this became a scrimmage,” Fish said.
Hall put forth an impressive debut, showing great pace and a smooth shooting stroke in his first college action. The highly-recruit freshman from Rock Island, Illinois knocked down 10-of-14 shots from the floor, including two 3-pointers. He scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
“He played exactly what I thought. The kid can play. He can definitely score,” Colbert said. “But just like the rest of us, he has to get up to that Division I level of shape and defense and communication is key for him as well.”
MSU guard Nahjee Matlock & head coach Brian Fish talk
Colbert finished with 23 points and seven assists. Robison scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Junior college transfers forward Sarp Gobeloglu and point guard Nahjee Matlock each scored 10 points in their Bobcat debuts. Gobeloglu added 10 rebounds. Montana State shot 53.4 percent overall on 73 field goal attempts. MSU show 29-of-34 from the free throw line.
“We really wanted to run and obviously our conditioning is not up to par but it will come, we have until November 13,” said Robison, who’s team opens up in Hawaii in 10 days. “We need to continue to work on our defense and rebounding. I don’t think we played that well defensively. We still have a long way to go between now and when we start conference play after Christmas.”
In a game with a frantic pace, Montana State conducted 91 possessions as the Bobcats pushed the ball relentlessly. The ‘Cats notched 60 points in the paint, mostly in transition and turned 21 offensive rebounds into 26 points. The up and down game pushed the Bobcats’ conditioning level from start to finish.
MSU guard Zach Green dunks in transition
“Guys had to play more than normal and there was no one complaining when they came out, I can tell you that,” Fish said with a laugh. “They were finding oxygen and Gatorade pretty quick.”
Northwest Indian College, a Native American tribal college in Bellingham, Washington, fell to 0-7 on the season. NWIC had a pair of losses at Montana Tech and a loss at Montana Western last month. Senior guard Mike Schang scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 38 minutes to lead Northwest Indian.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
