Montana State University
3-4,0-0Big Sky
Abilene Christian
4-3,0-0WAC
Bobcats Catch Fire From Deep, Dominate Abilene Christian
11/26/2024 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State hits 17 three-point field goals in 85-59 victory on Tuesday night in Bozeman
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A torrential downpour of 3-pointers lifted Montana State to a dominant 85-59 win over Abilene Christian on Tuesday night in Worthington Arena as the Cats wrapped up a perfect showing at the Basketball Travelers' Invitational.
Montana State (3-4) knocked down 17 3-pointers on 26 attempts (65.4%) highlighting a night where everything seemed to go in.
The 17 made threes are tied for the fourth-most in program history against a Division I opponent, and are the most since 2017.
Seven different Bobcats made multiple three-point field goals.
"We talk all the time about how the percentages come out in the wash over the course of time," head coach Matt Logie said. "I don't look at stats in the first three or four games because the sample size is too small. What comes out in the wash is the work they've put in during the offseason and we believe in all these guys. We know that we have a very good shooting team. The thing I was most pleased about was our recognition of where the help was coming from and our ability to find those open shooters and play together."
The Cats knew it was going to be their night early—they connected on 13 of their first 16 tries from beyond the arc including nine of their 11 first-half attempts.
The ball flew around on the offensive end as the Bobcats were able to penetrate and pitch to capable shooters.
Montana State finished the game 29-of-50 (58.0%) from the floor, dishing out 20 assists on their 29 made shots.
Jabe Mullins finished with 14 points and seven assists on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Max Agbonkpolo broke out of a mini shooting slump by going 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep, recording 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
Brandon Walker finished one rebound shy of his second career double-double, contributing 12 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
On the defensive side, Montana State held Abilene Christian (4-3) to just 59 points on 41.4% shooting, including a 3-of-18 clip (16.7%) from deep.
Following Montana State's 79-59 win over Southern Miss on Sunday, Tuesday marked the second time this week that the Cats have held an opponent more than 20 points under their season scoring average.
"I thought our guys were really dialed in to the scout and the gameplan," Logie said. "These last two opponents were teams that really get out in transition and we talked about having our offense helping our defense so that we could get set. That comes from getting good shots and taking good care of the basketball—we did that for the most part tonight. We take great pride in defending the three-point line, but when you play teams like that that are trying to punish the paint, you've got to adjust and I thought our guys did a really good job this week of adjusting to these opponents."
Montana State blitzed Abilene Christian from the jump, with Tyler Patterson and Max Agbonkpolo each hitting 3-pointers before Patrick McMahon buried one from the corner while getting fouled—converting on the four-point play just a few moments later to make it 14-0 in favor of the Bobcats by the time some fans were settling into their seats.
Seven minutes into the first half, the Bobcats had firmly taken control of the game as BJ Kolly slammed home an alley-oop pass from Mullins for a dunk to give Montana State a 21-2 lead.
Another Agbonkpolo three made it 32-13 MSU 13 minutes into the game, and the 6-foot-9 graduate forward went on to hit his third three of the half just before the halftime horn sounded to give Montana State a 47-30 advantage at the break.
Montana State finished a season-best +10 on the boards, out-rebounding Abilene Christian 32-22.
"That was a huge step for us," Logie said about the rebound margin. "Our goal the last few games has been eight or fewer offensive rebounds and we held them to seven tonight. If we can do that, it just queues so much of our transition game and our ability to get out and run. Offensive rebounds are momentum-builders for the offense too, so that was a great step for us."
Brian Goracke added ten points and Tyler Patterson finished 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to chip in nine points.
After missing Sunday's game with an injury, Bryce Zephir returned to the lineup and knocked down two triples on the way to eight points.
Patrick McMahon added seven and Sam Lecholat ended the night with six.
UP NEXT
Montana State continues the homestand with an important non-conference clash against Cal State Northridge on Saturday afternoon.
Tip is set for 1 p.m.
Tickets are available here.
#GoCatsGo
