Montana State University
6-6,1-0Big Sky
Idaho State
4-8,0-1Big Sky
Cats Lead Wire-to-Wire in 74-66 Win Over Idaho State
12/28/2023 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State defeats Bengals on the road in Pocatello in Big Sky Conference opener on Thursday night behind 29 points from Brian Goracke
POCATELLO, Idaho – Montana State jumped out to a fast start and never looked back, leading Idaho State from tip to final buzzer in a 74-66 win on the road in Pocatello on Thursday night at Reed Gym.
Brian Goracke delivered a masterpiece performance, dropping 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. The junior from Monroe, Oregon, known as a long distance sharpshooter, did most of his damage in the paint, knocking down nine 2-point field goals to go along with a pair of triples.
Montana State (6-6, 1-0 Big Sky) won its tenth in a row against Idaho State (4-8, 0-1 Big Sky) while securing the first conference win for first-year head coach Matt Logie.
"Conference road wins are never easy, and I'm really proud of the way our guys prepped for this obviously coming off of a little break and having some time off," head coach Matt Logie said. "We really had to lock in and get prepared, and I thought our guys executed the gameplan really well and played with great effort. You could see our blueprint kind of frustrate them and come to fruition."
The Cats never trailed and led by as many as 14, holding the Bengals at arm's length and out-scoring in the paint an Idaho State team that boasted one of the larger frontcourts in the conference.
Montana State hit just five 3-pointers, but spread the ball around created 14 fastbreak points off 15 Bengal turnovers.
Eddie Turner III poured in a career-high 18 points in the win, going 6-of-12 from the field.
That Rob and Eddie connection ????@R_E_F_3 x @EddieTurnerIII pic.twitter.com/EFKJy4JidP
— Montana State Men's Basketball (@MSUBobcatsMBB) December 29, 2023
"The way Idaho State plays defense is they make you earn it," Logie said. "You've got to be able to hit the roll—I thought we had a couple opportunities off ball screens in the first half where we didn't quite hit paydirt, but our guards were able to play with confidence. I thought Eddie Turner was terrific tonight in his first time playing without the mask, so that was good for him. Obviously Brian [Goracke] had a great night, and when you play a power team like that, one of the styles of play is going to pan out, and I thought our ability to space the floor and move the basketball didn't necessarily lead to assists, but we got good shots."
It was the Goracke and Turner show in the early going, as Montana State jumped out to a 14-4 lead on a Goracke steal and layup with 13:03 to play in the first half.
Goracke scored ten of the Cats' first 14 points and had 12 at the under-12 timeout.
Turner started to get going shortly after, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers and a triple, and ended with 13 in the first half.
Goracke and Turner combined for 29 of the Bobcats' 33 points in the first half, as Goracke's 16 added to Turner's 13 and four points for Chika Nduka, making up the only three Cats to score over the first 20 minutes of action.
Montana State led 33-27 at the break as Idaho State ended the opening frame on a 6-0 run, creating two turnovers that led to fastbreak baskets and gave the home side momentum going into the locker room.
In the second half, Goracke continued his torrid pace while Robert Ford III punished his former team to the tune of 15 second-half points. The redshirt senior did all of his scoring in the second half, adding two rebounds and two steals to finish with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Montana State withstood a couple hot Idaho State runs but never seemed to feel threatened, answering each surge with a timely basket or stop to keep the lead at multiple possessions and stretching it to 60-46 with 6:05 to play in the game.
The Bengals would rip off one more run to cut things to 65-60 with 1:52 to play, but Ford and Goracke each hit a big 3-pointer before Ford and Turner hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win on opening night for the Big Sky.
Montana State finished 19-for-22 at the free throw line, with the trio of Goracke, Turner, and Ford, going 15-for-16 at the line.
Goracke's 29 points matched the season-high 29 he dropped against SAGU American Indian College on Dec. 16. Over his last four outings, the transfer from Point Loma is averaging 23.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
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— Montana State Men's Basketball (@MSUBobcatsMBB) December 29, 2023
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UP NEXT
Montana State heads to Ogden, Utah, on Saturday afternoon for a date with preseason Big Sky favorite Weber State. The Cats and Wildcats will tangle at 2 p.m. from Dee Events Center.
Weber State defeated Montana on Thursday night, 93-63.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly airing on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network.
#GoCatsGo
