Montana State University
1-4,0-0Big Sky
Northwestern
4-1,0-0Big Ten
Cats Push Northwestern to the Brink in 72-69 Road Defeat
11/19/2024 10:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State leads for over 15 minutes in game with 13 lead changes, 15 ties
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Montana State men's basketball went toe-to-toe with an NCAA Tournament regular out of the Big Ten on Tuesday night, falling 72-69 to Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
In a battle between two squads that both appeared in March Madness last year, Montana State (1-4) led for 15:29 of game action in a contest that had 13 lead changes and 15 ties.
The back-and-forth battle went all the way down to the wire before being decided on the last possession.
"I'm extremely proud," said head coach Matt Logie. "I've said it before, but this team has great potential. I thought our response [after Denver] was exactly what you would ask for. We couldn't quite close it down the stretch, but I'm extremely proud of our response and extremely proud of the product we put out. In many ways, that is the standard of Bobcat Basketball to go out and play against Big Ten opponents on the road and compete like that. I think this is a great step in the right direction."
A Jabe Mullins 3-pointer in the corner in front of the Bobcat bench off an assist from Jed Miller tied the game at 67-67 with 46.9 seconds left, forcing a Northwestern (4-1) timeout.
The Wildcats then took back the lead on an alley-oop dunk with 36 seconds remaining, leading to a Montana State timeout.
After an empty offensive possession, Northwestern made enough free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Mullins notched his best game as a Bobcat, recording 17 points and six assists while being tagged with just one turnover from the point guard position.
The grad transfer scored ten in the second half alone, including five in the last 40 seconds in the game.
"Jabe has started to turn the corner and it was great to see him be aggressive and find his opportunities to touch the paint and to shoot the basketball," Logie said. "I thought the ball moved well today with the 19 assists. We just fell a little short, but I'm really proud of these guys. The best is yet to come."
Montana State dished out 19 assists on their 25 made field goals, consistently making extra passes to create great shots out of good ones.
The Bobcats led 39-34 at halftime, shooting 15-of-29 (51.7%) from the floor, including 4-of-10 (40.0%) from beyond the arc.
Brandon Walker followed up his first career double-double on Sunday with a 14-point outburst on Tuesday.
Max Agbonkpolo tallied 13 points and ten rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor.
"I thought Max played with great pop and great energy," Logie said. "He was attacking early and that gave our guys a lot of confidence. He did a great job on the glass. I think you're starting to see him get comfortable out there—he's a guy that has only played games in the last year-and-a-half or so. We had a lot of guys that played closer to the best versions of themselves today. When we're all playing towards the top of our ceilings and what our roles are, we can be a very dangerous team."
BJ Kolly provided stellar rim protection and hustle on the glass off the bench, chipping in eight points and four boards.
Northwestern was able to collect 15 offensive rebounds on the night, helping lead to 20 second chance points.
UP NEXT
After playing four of their first five games away from home, Montana State returns to Bozeman this weekend for the three-team Basketball Travelers' Invitational.
The Bobcats will host Southern Miss and Abilene Christian Worthington Arena from Sunday, Nov. 24, to Tuesday, Nov. 26, taking on Southern Miss on Sunday and Abilene Christian on Tuesday.
Southern Miss and Abilene Christian will also play a neutral site game at Worthington Arena on Monday, Nov. 25.
#GoCatsGo
