Montana State University
13-17,8-9Big Sky
Sacramento State
7-23,3-14Big Sky
Patterson’s Career Night Powers Cats to Road Win
3/1/2025 8:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State comfortably downs Sacramento State 87-60 in first game of March
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A career night for Tyler Patterson helped lead Montana State men's basketball to a commanding 87-60 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night at The Nest in Sacramento, California.
Patterson dropped a career-high 26 points, connecting on 8-of-12 from beyond the arc to tie the program record for most made 3-pointers in a game.
"This is such a roller-coaster of a journey," head coach Matt Logie said. "We've had a lot of peaks and valleys and a lot of tough things to respond to, but you've got to credit these kids for continuing to be coachable and hanging together. They really care about one another and they really care about Montana State. We haven't been perfect by any means, but we've been continuing to grow and continuing to stay faithful, and we're in March now. This is when we hope to be playing our best basketball and I think we got a really good look at that tonight."
Playing in his Big Sky record 157th game, Patterson needed just one point to cross the 1,000 point threshold for his career.
The graduate student from Snoqualmie, Washington, did much more than that, coming out firing and never letting up. After passing his former coach Danny Sprinkle for third on the all-time career 3-pointer list on Thursday, Patterson passed Harald Frey for second all-time on Saturday night.
With his eight threes against the Hornets, Patterson now owns 272 for his career, behind only Tyler Hall (431).
The last player to hit eight threes in a game was Hall in 2019 against Sacramento State. The record for most 3-pointers made in a game belongs to Danny Sprinkle, who hit nine against Sacramento State in 1991.
"The whole team deserves credit for that tonight—Tyler's always made shots, we just haven't done a great enough job of getting him enough," Logie said. "Obviously when the ball moves and we screen well and we get out in transition, he's able to have nights like tonight. No one is more deserving of that."
Saturday's win was Montana State's largest against a Division I opponent since defeating Northern Arizona 79-50 last season in Bozeman on Jan. 11, 2024.
Montana State (13-17, 8-9) was looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat at Portland State on Thursday, and got just what they needed against a pesky Sacramento State side that had played plenty of close games despite what their 7-22 record would indicate.
Patterson's childhood friend Jabe Mullins also had a big night, going for 20 points in his first start since Jan. 16. Mullins connected on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, adding three rebounds and three assists.
Together, the "Snoqualmie Splash Bros" as the duo from Snoqualmie, Washington, is nicknamed, combined for 46 of the Cats' 87 points.
Patrick McMahon scored 13 off the bench on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting night, adding five rebounds.
Jed Miller recorded eight assists, four rebounds, and six steals on the night. The six steals were tied for the eighth-most in a game in program history.
Bryce Zephir chipped in six points, while Sam Lecholat, Brian Goracke, and Max Agbonkpolo put up five points each.
Brandon Walker did not play due to what Logie termed postgame a "coach's decision."
Montana State found success in transition, turning over the Hornets 14 times and earning 24 points off those turnovers.
The Cats led 45-34 at halftime and poured in 42 more points after the break, limiting the Hornets to just 40% shooting from the floor out of the locker room.
Patterson's eight 3-pointers were part of a three-point shooting barrage from Montana State, who connected on 14-of-26 from distance.
UP NEXT
Montana State returns to Bozeman on Monday for the regular season finale against Idaho.
Tip on Senior Night is slated for 7 p.m. from Worthington Arena.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
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