BOZEMAN — With the arch rivals in town, Montana State sold out Brick Breeden Fieldhouse for the first time since 2003. Tyler Hall was not about to miss a chance to put on a show.
Hall has been one of the elite scorers in the Big Sky Conference since he stepped on MSU’s campus in 2015. He has scored more than 30 points on nine different occasions and he is the fastest player in league history to reach 1,000 points. He entered Saturday’s showdown with Montana averaging 22.3 points per game and his 101 3-pointers this season ranked fourth in all of Division I.
On Saturday with a capacity crowd of 6,772 on hand, Hall put forth his most spectacular scoring display to date. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard hit shots from all angles, swishing 3-point jump shots off crossovers, showing newfound post moves, hitting fade-away shots from inside the arc, finishing through contact and ripping the net any chance he could.
Hall’s night could not have come at a better time for the Bobcats. The silky smooth Big Sky MVP candidate scored 37 points, including 24 after halftime as he hit all seven of his field goal attempts and all four of his 3-point tries to lift Montana State to a 78-69 victory.
MSU guard Tyler Hal (3)
“Honestly, I was just being aggressive and attacking,” Hall said after his first rivalry game victory in six outings. “The rim looked big at times but really, it was attacking just like they did to us last game.
“It was important to me and it was important to our team. We feed off that. Just to see that, it looked pretty packed, didn’t see many seats open. That’s pretty cool.”
As Ahmaad Rorie’s final 3-point attempt careened off the rim and Hall skied for his sixth rebound, Quinton Everett did not even bother crossing half court for the final possession. Instead, Montana State’s only senior stood under the Griz basket in front of the MSU student section and soaked in his final moments at the Brick.
The Bobcats had just snapped a 13-game losing streak to their fierce rivals, a streak that dated back to February of 2010. The victory ensured MSU kept the all-time lead in the series 148 to 147 in the 295th matchup in a competition that began in 1905.
“It felt good to be able to celebrate the win, especially against the Griz,” said Everett, who finished with six points and six rebounds in his final home game. “I just wanted to let the students know we really appreciate them showing up and cheering all game long for us.”
Treasure State bragging rights aside, the victory proved a pivotal one in the arc of Brian Fish’s program. The Bobcats have steadily increased their attendance and popularity in Bozeman during Fish’s third season. Saturday’s win was MSU’s 15th this season, one more than the ‘Cats managed a season ago. The triumph moved Montana State to 10-6 in Big Sky Conference play, MSU’s first 10-win league campaign since 2010.
“We needed to find a way to 10 league wins and working for Coach (Dana) Altman (at Creighton and Oregon), if you get 10 league wins, that’s a benchmark of a good season,” Fish said after his first win over Montana. “We got the 10th one tonight with two left to play.”
MSU guard Harald Frey (5) defended by Montana forward Fabijian Krslovic (20)
The Bobcats are now in a tie with Idaho for fourth place in the league standings. First-place North Dakota posted an 84-81 overtime win at Northern Colorado moved UND to 13-3 and within one win of the regular-season title. Eastern Washington’s 89-77 win over Idaho State sewed up the second first-round bye as the Eagles sit alone in second place at 12-4. Weber State has now lost four of six after falling 83-78 at Idaho on Saturday; the Wildcats are 11-5 in league, alone in third with the Grizzlies and the Bobcats coming to Ogden next weekend.
“The steps we have taken to where we are now have been great,” said Everett, a native of Lakeland, Florida who had his girlfriend, two daughters, brother and an assortment of other family in Bozeman for his Senior Night. “For the past two years, we’ve been trying to get to this point where we give ourselves a chance in the conference tournament, compete and be in the top four. It’s a great feeling knowing we can go out and compete.”
Hall was red hot from start to finish. He drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with UM 6-foot-7 sophomore Bobby Moorehead’s hand in his face on the first possession of the game. Hall hit another 3-pointer, scored on a hesitation move in the post and hit a sweet reverse lay-up to give him 10 points just 12 minutes into the game.
The Rock Island, Illinois native scored 13 points in the first half but Rorie’s 12 offset the effort and helped Montana take a 32-31 lead into halftime. But Hall again provided the spark for MSU out of the locker room, converting in the lane on a designed play to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish.
MSU locked in defensively after halftime, shooting the gaps on ball screens, denying Montana sophomore Michael Oguine the ball and locking in on Rorie from beyond the arc. After Hall’s go-ahead bucket, the Bobcats got the first of many second half stops. MSU held the Griz to 37 percent shooting after halftime.
Montana guard Ahmaad Rorie (14) defending MSU guard Tyler Hall (3)
“We were determined to get stops and we were determined to get in front of them,” Everett said. “We practiced all week long on our perimeter defense, staying in front. We went out there, stayed in front of ball, made them shoot over us and that’s the difference.”
The initial second half stop kicked Hall’s hot streak into overdrive. As the shot clock wound down on the next possession, Hall hit a fade-away 3-pointer in Moorehead’s eye as the buzzer sounded. Hall dished an assist to sophomore Sam Neumann, who finished through contact and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play to extend MSU’s run to 8-0 to open the second half.
“We’ve been struggling to start in the second half,” said Rorie, a sophomore Oregon transfer who finished with a team-high 19 points. “They came out and wanted it more than us.”
Last season’s Big Sky Freshman of the Year would not slow down. Hall hit a mid-range fade-away with a hand in his face, then drilled a step-back 3-pointer on which he was fouled but received no call from the officials. At that point, he was 8-of-10 from the floor and had 23 points.
“When the lights come on, the cream rises to the top and (Hall) was phenomenal,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said after his team fell to 9-7 in league, 14-15 overall. “We did a good job of contesting shots. What you have to do with him is force him to put it on the floor and go to the rim and bring help late and we did not do a good job of that.
“The way they celebrated at the end of the game shows how much they wanted it and how much it meant to them. Our lackluster effort in the first four minutes in the second half showed we didn’t want it enough.”
MSU guard Tyler Hall (3) guarded Michael Oguine (0) and Ahmaad Rorie (14)
With an Orlando Magic scout in the house, the 17th NBA scout to see Hall play this year alone, the virtuoso performance continued. Hall crossed over Moorehead and buried a 24-footer in his face, then banked in a 3-pointer from the wing to give him 29 points, tying Tom Domako’s single-season scoring with 667 points. The banked in 3 put MSU up 57-43 with 8:42 left, MSU’s largest lead.
“They were big shots, but my teammates put me in that position and I just knocked down open shots,” Hall said. “Really, it was our defense. You can talk about all the points or whatever but it was our defense in the second half that allows us to extend the lead.”
Montana junior Fabijan Krslovic, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, scored five points during an 8-0 run as Montana cut the 14-point lead to 57-51 with a shade under seven minutes to play. Senior Jack Lopez’s layup marked his only bucket of the game and capped the run. But MSU point guard Harald Frey’s lone triple of the game halted the spurt.
Hall’s layup through contact and following free throw marked his last field goal with 4:53 left and broke Domanko’s single-season record, set in 1988. Hall would hit five more free throws over the final five minutes and 9-of-11 from the stripe overall to finish with 37, the second-highest of his already decorated career. It also marked the third-most points ever scored by a Bobcat in a Cat-Griz game. Don Rae scored 41 in 1964 and Jack Gillespie scored 40 in 1968.
“I thought his teammates really helped him tonight, moved the ball, recognized he was hot,” Fish said. “I think when you look back at that game when he had (42 in a loss to Milwaukee) earlier in the year, we were standing around and didn’t handle it real well. Tonight, the guys were playing and playing. I loved how everyone chipped in and contributed and kept grinding.”
MSU senior Quinton Everett (24) & guard Harald Frey (5) celebrate as time expires
Montana State will try to take the momentum of the rivalry victory and a recent stretch that has seen MSU win nine of 11 on the road for the final two games of the regular season. The Bobcats play at Idaho State Thursday and at Weber State on Saturday.
“We wanted it bad tonight,” Everett said. “We had to go execute and take it from them. We felt like at their place, they took it from us. We weren’t going to let that happen again tonight.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
