BOZEMAN — In a conference season filled with disappointment and heartbreak, the Bobcats looked like they might close the regular season in triumphant fashion.
Spurred on by Konner Frey and Joe Mvuezolo Jr., a pair of seniors playing their final home games at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, Montana State led for a full 30 minutes of regulation against perennial Big Sky Conference power Weber State.
When the short-handed Wildcats — WSU plays just seven players, two of whom fouled out on Saturday afternoon — did seize control, Montana State had to wait for a replay to avoid the most shattering of heartbreaks.
Weber State guard Ryan Richardson (22) pulls up on the baseline with Montana State forward Joe Mvuezolo Jr. (1) defending/by Brooks Nuanez
Jerrick Harding’s game-winning 3-point attempt at the end of regulation went all the way around the rim before spinning out and into the hands of WSU freshman Doc Nelson. Nelson’s shot found the bottom of the net but no horn sounded even with the clock reading zeros.
Upon review, the buzzer-beater was waived off, sending the game to overtime and setting the table for a more gut-wrenching finish.
After a back and forth first half of the extra five-minute period, Weber State seized control when senior Ryan Richardson drilled a corner 3-pointer and Harding hit another triple on WSU’s ensuing possession to push the visitor’s lead to five.
From there, Montana State missed three free throws in the final two minutes and WSU was able to hold on for a 95-92 win in front of 2,957 in the final home game of the season at Montana State.
“We had a game plan to play hard and we did,” Mvuezolo said. “It wasn’t about no Senior Night. We just played hard. That’s it.”
Harding, the Big Sky’s second-leading scorer, made history at the Brick. The 5-foot-10 sophomore shooting guard used his blinding speed and ability to stop on a dime anywhere on the court to pour in 46 points. The total is the most in Weber State history, breaking Stan Mathew’s 41-year-old school record.
Weber State guard Jerrick Harding (10) splits Montana State defenders/by Brooks Nuanez
“His speed….and he’s kind of crafty, so that was kind of hard because you think he’s about to shoot and he will hesitate and go to the basketball,” Mvuezolo said. “It was hard to stay in front of. He’s a good player.”
Harding’s point total has been surpassed just nine times by four different players in the history of the league. Idaho State’s Willie Humes’ 53-point performance against Montana State in 1971 is the all-time league record. Humes scored more than 46 points five times total.
“We tried to do some things on ball screens to try to slow him down and take advantage of that,” Frey said. “We felt we did pretty well on the other guys but he definitely got really hot and shot a lot of free throws as well. Fouling him caused us some trouble as well.”
Harding scored in a variety of ways. MSU made the sophomore work for everything in a 15-point first half that included 6-of-14 shooting and 1-of-4 from the free throw line. The former Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year scored 22 points in the final 12 minutes of regulation, then scored nine of Weber’s 19 points in overtime to help the Wildcats finish the regular-season with a 13-5 record in league play, 20-9 overall.
“I thought the guys we threw at him kept coming after him and guarding him, he made some tough shots, got to the line a few times, 20 free throws but man did I love how hard my guys played on him,” Fish said. “He made some tough shots. I have a lot of respect for him. Very impressed with his game.”
Montana State forward Konner Frey (22)/by Brooks Nuanez
Frey drilled a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer to cut the final margin of victory in half and extend his career afternoon. The senior forward from Bountiful, Utah scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 36 minutes but Montana State lost for the 12th time in 14 outings.
“In the last 10 games, this is absolutely one of our most complete games,” Frey said. “I felt we were playing up to par to our potential. I think we still have a lot more in the tank. We felt like a different team out there tonight than we have in the last slump for sure. I think we made a lot of progress tonight. It’s never too late to make progress even if it’s the last game of the regular season.”
Mvuezolo hit a contested 3-pointer, his fourth of the day in a 16-point outing, to cut Weber’s lead to 93-89 with nine seconds left. Harding hit two free throws — the 91 percent free throw shooter finished 17-of-20 from the charity stripe in 43 minutes of action — to seal the seventh 20-win season under 12th-year head coach Randy Rahe for the Wildcats.
Montana State finishes the regular season with a 6-12 Big Sky record, an 8-6 mark at home and a 13-18 mark overall. The Bobcats started 12-6, including 4-0 in league play but a plague of shooting woes and flu-like symptoms have plagued the Bobcats ever since a 79-68 win over defending Big Sky champion North Dakota in Bozeman on January 6.
Montana State forward Zach Green (0)/by Brooks Nuanez
“You feel bad for the guys because it’s kind of like the Portland State game here (80-77 loss); if we can find a way to get that win, you might get that turbo boost to move forward,” Fish said. “Golly, did our guys play hard. I’m really proud of them.”
Montana State senior Zach Green appeared to re-injure his previously surgically repaired hip with six minutes to go in the first half. The only four-year player of the Fish era did not return, scoring two points in seven minutes in his school-record 123rd game as a Bobcat.
With Green out, fellow senior Benson Osayande got eleveated minutes, still playing just eight minutes in his final home game. The former Casper College transfer from Elk Grove, California scored one point with his parents in the stands in Bozeman for the first time.
The Bobcats were able to get Weber State posts Zach Braxton, Michal Kozak and Brekkott Chapman into foul trouble, a huge factor in MSU holding the league for 30 minutes of regulation. Chapman, a 6-foot-9 former transfer from Utah who leads the league in blocked shots during conference play, fouled out in 20 minutes with five points and one rebound as MSU won the battle of the boards, 46-41.
Kozak, a highly regarded freshman from the Czech Republic, finished with two points 6:32 left in regulation before fouling out, the first tie down the stretch. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Braxton played the end of regulation and most of overtime with four fouls, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Montana State forward Joe Mvuezolo Jr. (1) defending Weber State guard Dusty Baker (25)/by Brooks Nuanez
“We definitely had a lot of up to get to the rim and make contact at the rim and get to the free throw line,” Frey said. “Obviously, they did the same thing. That was a big difference I think because they have really good bigs and I think two of them fouled out. We were able to be aggressive and that’s a result of being aggressive going to the rim.”
Frey and Mvuezolo were two of five Bobcats to reach double figures in scoring. Junior Keljin Blevins scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds but missed six of his 10 free throw attempts as MSU shot 23-of-34 (67.6 percent) from the free throw line.
Junior Devonte Klines scored 14 points in 23 minutes but fouled out because of having to guard Harding for most of the game.
MSU star Tyler Hall scored 11 points, including a 3-pionter to give MSU a 71-70 lead with 3:43 left in regulation and another triple, his third of the game, to cut the WSU lead to 89-85 with 30 seconds left in OT. Hall became the third-leading scorer in Montana State history, passing Tom Domako despite his 4-of-15 shooting performance.
Bogdan Bliznyuk continued his assault on the Big Sky’s all-time career scoring mark by leading Eastern Washington to a 85-68 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. Bliznyuk enters the Big Sky Tournament with 2,060 points, just 42 points from tying Idaho’s Orlando Lightfoot for the most in league history.
Montana State guard Devonte Klines, Harald Frey and forward Sam Neumann coached by head coach Brian Fish/by Brooks Nuanez
That performance secured the No. 3 seed for the Eagles and lock in Weber State at No. 4. Both teams, along with outright league champion Montana and second-place Idaho will receive first round byes in next week’s tournament in Reno.
Montana State will take the No. 9 seed into the conference tournament. The Bobcats will play North Dakota in the first game of the men’s tournament at 1 p.m. MST on Tuesday. The winner will take on Montana in the opening game of Thursday’s quarterfinals.
“We were able to regain some confidence again, play a little closer to our potential, Frey said. “There is still more in the tank for sure. This is a confidence booster. We know we have a lot of talented basketball players, we know we can be a good team, we’ve shown that before. This was a good boost to send us into Reno. We are excited for next week.”
MSU beat UND in Bozeman to cap the four-game winning streak to begin league play. Montana State lost 75-74 in Grand Forks on February 1.
“The first thing I’d say about North Dakota is they are the defending tournament champions and they have an extreme amount of confidence coming back into Reno,” Fish said. “They have really, really good players, very well coached but it’s a team we’ve seen twice. I haven’t seen them since February 1 so I can’t tell you if they are running anything differently but I know they have talent and that they are going to play really hard.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. Reporting by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
Montana State senior forward Zach Green with his family and athletic director Leon Costello and head coach Brian Fish/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State senior forward Konner Frey with his family and athletic director Leon Costello and head coach Brian Fish/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State forward Benson Osyande with his family and athletic director Leon Costello and head coach Brian Fish/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State forward Joe Mvuezolo Jr. with athletic director Leon Costello and head coach Brian Fish/by Brooks Nuanez
Stay with the ‘Cats & the Griz at Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada March 5-12
