Montana State University
5-10,0-2Big Sky
Eastern Washington
5-10,1-1Big Sky
Cats Go Cold in Road Defeat to Eastern Washington
1/4/2025 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In game that came down to "makes and misses," Eagles hand MSU a 68-63 setback to close five-game road trip
CHENEY, Wash. -- Montana State men's basketball braced through a cold shooting performance in Cheney on Saturday, suffering a 68-63 defeat at the hands of Eastern Washington at Reese Court in the 100th meeting all-time between the two programs.
The Bobcats (5-10, 0-2) generated plenty of good looks but struggled to find the bottom of the net, finishing the day shooting 37% from the floor and 27% from beyond the arc.
"We got better today," head coach Matt Logie said. "We played the right way today. Our guys responded to what we taught and what we talked about in the last 36 hours in a really positive way. It's disappointing. This game came down to makes and misses. Over 80% of our shots were good-to-great shots, and that's a great amount but they just didn't go down tonight. Some of those were threes, some of those were at the rim—those would have changed the whole complexion of the game. When you hold your opponents under 70 on the road, you have a really good chance to win."
Tyler Patterson scored a season-high 16 points, becoming a big factor in the second half as the Cats traded blows with the Eagles.
The graduate student starting his school-record 131st game in a Bobcat uniform missed his first five shots of the day before turning things around and making five of his last seven attempts. The Snoqualmie, Washington, native's five total field goals included a trio of scores in the paint--not the normal source of production for a sharpshooter who has made the fourth-most 3-pointers in school history.
Brandon Walker was the only other Bobcat in double-figures, scoring 12 points with five rebounds. Jabe Mullins and Max Agbonkpolo each contributed nine points, while Brian Goracke and Patrick McMahon both chipped in six points apiece.
Montana State's defense was disruptive throughout the afternoon, making possessions uncomfortable for Eastern Washington (5-10, 1-1), who shot 1-of-14 from beyond the arc (7.1%).
After connecting on just six of their first 18 shots, Montana State appeared to find their footing with a flurry of points just before halftime, scoring eight of the final ten points in the half to take a 32-31 advantage into the break.
The Bobcats stretched the lead to seven, their largest of the game, after Patterson was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to make it 46-39 with 15 minutes to play.
However, the Eagles immediately rattled off an 8-0 run to take the lead back, preceding a seesaw of lead changes.
The Bobcats got a layup from Max Agbonkpolo to go up 50-49 with 10:50 to play, but would not see the lead again the remainder of the game.
With 3:46 and counting, an offensive rebound from Patrick McMahon led to a kickout 3-pointer for Tyler Patterson from the corner, tying the game at 58-58.
Coming out of the timeout, the Eagles rattled off another run—this time with seven straight points, to take the lead for good.
UP NEXT
After 33 days away from home, Montana State now returns to Bozeman next week to prepare for their first home game since December 7, a win over Kansas City.
The Cats host a pair of 2-0 Big Sky teams starting Thursday, taking on Northern Colorado before facing Northern Arizona on Saturday night.
"We're excited to get back to the Brick," Logie said. "We have to put some work in and get those shots going down, which we will do. I'm proud of the way the ball moved, proud of the way we stayed committed to each other, and it's a long season. These percentages typically play out. It hurts right now because we didn't make enough plays, but our intent was really high and really good. This is a really competitive league. No one's boat-racing this thing. There's a lot of basketball to be played, we just have to hang in there and stay together. When that ball does go down, there can be an avalance factor there too. Hopefully we can get back to the Brick, get in front of our fans, and get this thing going the right way."
Both games will stream on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
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