Two days before his team hosted North Dakota, Montana State head coach Brian Fish remembered the battles his team seems to always have with UND. Fish declared his anticipated a “knock-down, drag-out” matchup once again at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Fish got exactly what he expected.
MSU and UND went toe to toe in an exciting, energetic battle in front of 2,629 in which neither side ever led by more than nine points. North Dakota’s explosive 3-guard lineup of seniors Quinton Hooker and Corey Baldwin and sophomore Geno Crandall combined for 58 points, but MSU countered as sophomore Tyler Hall netted 23 while Montana State’s bench poured in 38.
Montana State head coach Brian Fish
Although Fish’s prediction came true, when the dust finally settled, Montana State’s third-year head coach could not believe his eyes as he looked at the stat sheet in the post-game press conference. His Bobcats shot 53.2 percent, including 56.7 percent after halftime. The undersized hosts out-rebounded UND by three and saw the reemergence of sixth man Joe Mvuezolo. In the end however, Fish sat and stared at a record that read 6-12 as Montana State lost for the 10th time in 11 outings Thursday night.
“I don’t think we are a 6-12 team. It’s hard for me to say those numbers because I think we compete, I think we get after it and we are very, very close,” Fish said falling to 1-4 in Big Sky Conference play following his team’s 90-85 loss to the surging Fighting Hawks. “I think they are the best team in the league and they compete. We stood in there and we fought with them.”
Crandall’s aggressive play on both ends — he ended the night with four steals and played stellar defense throughout — led to a torrid start to the game as UND largely controlled the pace. Montana State turned the ball over three times in the first four possessions, leading to a quick 7-0 UND lead before the Bobcats settled in.
Hooker’s first of three 3-pointers followed by his first two of what would eventually be seven made free throws helped North Dakota build a 29-21 lead with eight minutes, 29 seconds to play before halftime.
“When we start fast and aggressive, we finish a game fast and aggressive,” Crandall said. “That was one thing we really focused on.”
Montana State sophomore Tyler Hall, right, battles Quinton Hooker
Montana State answered with a 16-3 run sparked by Mvuezolo’s return after a month away due to a misdiagnosed heart ailment. The 6-foot-6 swingman scored 11 of his 15 points before halftime, banking in his first shot from about 17 feet, knocking down a corner 3-pointer and converting four of his five free throw attempts.
“I felt pretty confident but I’m not up to conditioning so I have to keep running to get back in game shape,” the native of Great Britain said in his press conference debut. “I had energy because I haven’t played a game in a month.
“I could’ve been more of a presence on the defensive end. I made some mental errors and I could’ve helped more on the defensive side.”
A 3-point play by Hall less than two minutes into the second half gave Montana State its largest lead, 48-40 before UND came storming back. MSU clung to a one-possession lead for most of the next 10 minutes. Baldwin’s steal and dunk tied the game at 66 with 8:03 left and his layup in transition 17 seconds later gave UND the lead for good.
Sophomore Conner Avants scored 14 of his 20 points in the game’s final 7:45 to help UND win its fourth straight and move to 4-1 in Big Sky play, 9-6 overall.
“This was really just us being able to dial back in and knowing our defense is what got us that lead and bringing that energy,” Hooker said. “Once we get back to our defensive principles, we got out in transition. Geno played great on-ball defense, so did Corey and we were able to finish in the other end, whether it was layups or free throws.”
UND senior Quinton Hooker
Avants converted 7-of-9 shots and all six of his free throw attempts. For the last eight minutes of the game, most of UND’s half court sets focused on getting Avants the ball in the post. He was the catalyst in fouling out MSU junior Benson Osayande and sophomore Sam Neumann.
“He’s big-time for us,” Hooker said. “Especially when they are flying out at shooters or coming down on drivers, having someone who can finish around the rim and go up strong is something we definitely need.”
Hall buried his second 3-pointer of the night with 56 seconds left to cut the UND lead to 87-83. But Avants converted an easy layup on UND’s next possession after a nice feed by sophomore Cortez Seales to end any Bobcat comeback hopes.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you throw it at us inside,” Fish said.
Hooker was a model of efficiency as he usually is. The preseason Big Sky MVP scored 24 points on 12 shots and added eight rebounds and three assists. The hyperactive Crandall scored 15 points in the first half and 22 for the game. He also dished out seven of UND’s 17 assists and his four steals marked a career high.
“They can attack,” Hall said. “They like to spread us out and attack. We have to keep people in front. IT’s the same thing we’ve been talking about all year. We have to change it and we have to change it now.”
Montana State junior Joe Mvuezolo
Lately, it seems no matter what accomplishment Hall adds to his already decorated career, the Bobcats can’t find team success to help him celebrate. Thursday, Hall’s 23 points pushes him to 1,012 points in his career. He is the 37th Bobcat to score 1,000 and the fastest to reach the milestone, taking only 49 games.
“It’s an honor, put in a lot of work and back to what I always say, my teammates have confidence in me and so does my coaches,” Hall said. “I give the credit to them.”
Hall has scored at least 20 points in 13 of MSU’s 18 games this season. He has five games of at least 30 points and a season-high 42. All those performances came in Montana State losses.
Thursday, Hall chipped in 11 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes despite battling an illness. For the sure-fire All-Big Sky selection, the frustration continues to mount.
“We keep praising, we are almost there, little things, but we are started to get tired of that,” said Hall, who is now 20-29 in his MSU career. “That’s on us. We need to break that and have some games go our way.”
Hall pointed to Montana State’s 15 turnovers as a key factor for UND’s winning spurt. Crandall nabbed four steals, while Hooker and Baldwin snared two each as UND notched 10 steals and scored 23 points off turnovers. At least six of UND’s steals led to open layups or dunks in transition.
UND sophomore Geno Crandall
“We are pretty evenly matched talent-wise,” Crandall said. “They are well coached, we’re well coached. After a couple of close games, it develops that type of feel where you want to give each other your best shot. I’m not mad at it – I love games like this.”
Montana State struggled at the free throw line down the stretch. MSU shot 13-of-25 from the stripe, including 6-of-13 after halftime. MSU missed two front ends of one-in-one chances, pushing the disparity even greater.
“We had too many turnovers, and they turned them into layups,” Fish said. “We put them on the foul line, and when we had free throws we didn’t do a very good job. Those two areas hadn’t been Achilles heel’s for us, but they were tonight.”
Montana State hosts Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
“This team is resilient, this team keeps fighting,” Fish said. “The losses probably bother me more than they bother them. They are laying it on the line, fighting, competing. Maybe it’s because I’m the head coach, but if anybody thinks this team isn’t giving it 1,000 percent out there, they aren’t watching it very close. They keep competing and playing. It’s going to break through here soon and good days are ahead.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
