Montana State University
15-17,9-9Big Sky
Idaho State
15-15,10-8Big Sky
Bobcats Earn Statement Win Over Bengals to Advance in Boise
3/10/2025 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State hammers Idaho State 80-60 to earn tenth consecutive victory at Big Sky Tournament in Boise
BOISE, Idaho – Montana State clubbed Idaho State with its offensive efficiency in the first half and strangled the Bengals with defensive intensity in the second, cruising to an 80-60 Big Sky Tournament victory in Boise on Monday.
The win advances Montana State to the semifinal round, where they'll face top-seeded Northern Colorado on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a game televised nationally on ESPNU and streaming on ESPN+.
"We just kept believing," head coach Matt Logie said. "I think a lot of people were ready to write us off, and these kids aren't done yet. They've stuck together, they've leaned more into each other and into our framework and concepts, and they're playing at a really high level right now at just the right time."
The win is Montana State's tenth straight victory in Boise dating back to 2022 and improves the Bobcats to 13-2 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament since it moved to Idaho Central Arena in 2019.
The Cats shot 63.5 percent in the first half, including 10-of-24 from three-point range, and led 23-12 after the game's first eight minutes. After Idaho State scored the first basket of the game, Sam Lecholat hit a short jumper for MSU to tie the score, then Bryce Zephir's dunk and a Lecholat triple gave MSU a 7-2 lead. The Bengals closed to 13-12 at the 11:31 mark, but after an 11-0 Bobcat run the Bengals would never seriously challenge again.
After carrying a 41-29 lead into the second half, the Bobcats held ISU scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the second stanza. The Bengals missed their first seven shots, and 12 of their first 14. Idaho State's third made field goal after halftime came at 11:07, and cut MSU's lead to 58-41.
Montana State's defensive focus started with ISU's Dylan Darling, the 2025 Big Sky Most Valuable Player. The junior sharp-shooter finished with 16 points, tied with teammate Jake O'Neil for game-high honors, but Darling's shooting inefficiency ended with a 5-16 effort from the floor, including 0-4 in the second half and 0-6 from three-point range. What little offensive traction he found came at the free throw line, where he finished 6-9. For good measure, the suffocating Bobcat defense forced him into four turnovers.
The defensive effort only started with Darling. Other than a late spurt from O'Neil, MSU played stifling defense. The Bengals shot 33.3 percent in each half, and finished the game 5-23 from three-point range. Idaho State turned 16 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points, but the Cats swatted seven ISU shots, second-most in MSU's Big Sky Tournament history.
"Our defense was outstanding," Logie said. "We did a really good job defending the three-point line and getting in [Dylan] Darling's space—if he did get threes, we wanted them to be heavily contested. Our guys followed the gameplan really well. Once we started to get a few more defensive rebounds, we were able to get out in transition and run our offense."
ISU's field goal percentage of .333 was the fourth-lowest MSU has allowed in a Big Sky Tournament game
The Bobcats' shooting dipped only marginally late in the game, as MSU shot 61.5 percent in the second half and 63.5 percent for the game. That figure easily eclipses Montana State's Big Sky Tourney shooting record of 57.9 percent vs. Cal State Northridge in 1999. The team's 33 field goals on Monday tied its tourney record, which also occurred vs. the Matadors in 1999.
Montana State's scoring ledger was balanced. Patterson and Patrick McMahon each scored 14.
Sam Lecholat scored a season-high 13 points with six rebounds and four assists, and Jed Miller scored 11 while grabbing a team-high six rebounds and chipping in four assists. Jabe Mullins' five assists led all players.
The victory advances the Cats into Tuesday's semifinal round against top-seeded Northern Colorado. Tipoff is 7 pm, and the game airs nationally on ESPNU and ESPN+ and locally on the Bobcat Radio Network.
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