Montana State University
5-11,0-3Big Sky
Northern Colorado
11-5,3-0Big Sky
Heartbreaker in Big Sky Home Opener
1/9/2025 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Northern Colorado stages massive comeback to steal a win from Montana State on Thursday night in Bozeman
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State men's basketball built a sizable lead but watched it slip away in an 83-82 loss to league-leading Northern Colorado on Thursday night, handing the 'Cats their third straight defeat to open Big Sky play.
Montana State (5-11, 0-3) opened up a 20-point lead with 12:44 to play on a Tyler Patterson 3-pointer that had Worthington Arena rocking, but were the victims of a torrential comeback from Northern Colorado (11-5, 3-0), who went in front just seven minutes later.
The Bobcats led 63-43 after Patterson's triple, but were put on their heels as the Bears stormed back with 31 points in the next seven minutes, outscoring the home side 31-10 in that stretch to lead 74-73 with 5:40 remaining on a Marcell McCreary 3-pointer.
Northern Colorado hit their first eight three-point attempts of the second half after making just one triple in the first twenty minutes.
McCreary keyed the comeback, scoring 18 second-half points while going 7 of 8 from the floor—including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
The Bobcats built their big lead on the back of avalanche offense, hitting their first seven shots after coming out of the halftime break.
A pair of 3-pointers from Tyler Patterson came after a transition layup from Max Agbonkpolo, an assortment of tough jumpers from Patrick McMahon, and inside scoring from Brandon Walker.
Walker led MSU with 20 points and five rebounds, scoring 11 in the second half. The game marked the big man's second 20-point outing of the season.
Agbonkpolo showcased his ability as a three-level scorer, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals, while McMahon ended his productive night with 13 points and three rebounds.
After a physical first half, MSU's defense held Northern Colorado to just 34 points in the opening 20 minutes. Yet, the Bears couldn't miss coming out of the locker room, hitting 20 of their 31 shots in the second half, including 8 of 12 from beyond the arc to put up 49 points in the second frame.
"You get 82 points, you should win the game," Logie said. "We just couldn't get key stops. Obviously missed a couple layups here or there around the paint in the second half that you'd like to finish, but this wasn't an offensive loss. Both teams were well over fifty-percent from the floor and they made one more shot than we did."
After UNC closed the gap and took the lead back at 74-73 with just under six minutes to go, the teams traded baskets through the final moments.
Montana State went in front 82-81 on a Jabe Mullins driving lay-in with 56 seconds left, then got a defensive stop and rebound on the other end. However, a Mullins miss on the ensuing possession followed by an offensive rebound and kick-out to McMahon for a contested wing 3-pointer didn't go down, and UNC's Langston Reynolds raced the other way to lay-in the go-ahead bucket with four seconds to go.
The 'Cats called timeout and drew up a play for a Patterson game-winer, but the veteran's corner 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.
"The message was for us to stick together," Logie said of his message to the team postgame. "The best is yet to come, obviously. We've just got to push the boulder over the very end—whether that's getting key stops or getting a big shot. It will happen for this group. [UNC] might be the most talented offensive group in the conference. We held them to 34 points in the first half and had a 20-point lead, but then they got hot. There's only one choice for us, and that's to stay together and get ready for Saturday. That's the next opportunity for us."
Jabe Mullins recorded eight points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Brian Goracke and Tyler Patterson each scored nine points.
UP NEXT
Montana State faces Northern Arizona (10-6, 1-2) on Saturday night at Worthington Arena.
Tip is set for 6 p.m.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Tickets are available here.
#GoCatsGo
