Bobcats Hold Off Furious Sac State Rally for Key Win

Thursday, February 18

Bozeman, MT

7:05 pm

Montana State University

Sacramento State

Will Bynum's big plays late in the game Thursday sealed MSU's win over Sac State

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

2/18/2010 10:44:06 PM | Men's Basketball

Montana State grabbed its ninth Big Sky win to seal home playoff game

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State couldn't keep Sacramento State from making three-pointers in the first 19 minutes of the second half, so on two key possessions in the last 90 seconds MSU kept the Hornets from shooting them.

Sacramento State entered the last two minutes of the second half on a 9-for-10 three-point shooting tear, but the Bobcats forced back-to-back Hornet turnovers to squelch a furious Sac State rally and seal an 80-74 win. MSU converted six of its last seven free throws.

"We were fortunate that we made the plays we had to make," Bobcat coach Brad Huse said after watching his team's 15-point lead disintegrate beneath the force of Sacramento State's blistering long-distance shooting. "They really shot it tonight."

The Bobcats jumped out to a 9-2 lead, with four different Bobcats scoring in that stretch, and maintained control for most of the night. The team led by as many as 14 in the first half, and took a 38-25 margin into the intermission, matching the team's biggest halftime advantage against a conference opponent this season.

"Offensively we were playing pretty good," Huse said. "We didn't have as good a second half as the first, but they played extremely loose and made their shots."

The teams' shooting halves mirrored each other. MSU shot 58% in the first half, while the Hornets struggled to a 26.5% shooting half. While MSU made six of its nine triples in the first half, Sac State limped to the break at 2-for-10. But roles reversed during the break, with MSU shooting 47% from the floor and 29% from the arc in the second half while the visitors fired away at 59% from the field and 9-for-12 from the circle.

Sac State's red-hot shooting half culminated with Duro Bjegovic's layup with just less than two minutes remaining, giving the Hornets their first lead at 72-70. Bjegovic's basket set up late-game heroics by a pair of Bobcat seniors.

On the ensuing possession, Branden Johnson tied the game at 72 with a pair of free throws with 1:28 to play. At the other end of the floor, MSU forced a shot clock violation with 42 seconds to play. Branden Johnson fed Will Bynum underneath. Johnson's classmate bobbled the ball under the Bobcat basket, gathered it, and laid it in to give MSU the lead.

Moments later, Bynum swiped a pass Hornet pass and converted the layup to give MSU a four-point lead with 20 seconds to play. Two Sacramento State possessions, two turnovers forced, and Montana State converted six of its last seven free throws to seal the 80-74 win.

"(Bynum) did some big things for us," Huse said. "He made the basket off the nice pass from Branden, the steal and (layup). He made some strong moves for us."

The win raises MSU's record to 14-12 overall and 9-6 in Big Sky play. The ninth Big Sky win is the team's most since posting a 9-5 mark in 2005. Sacramento State falls to 9-18 overall, 3-10 in the league.

The Bobcats host San Jose State in an ESPN Bracket Buster game on Saturday night at 7 pm in Worthington Arena. The Spartans, a Western Athletic Conference entry, bring a 12-12 record to Bozeman. SJSU is led by Adrian Oliver, who is sixth in the nation in scoring with 22.5 points per game.