by Bill Lamberty, MSU Communications
BOISE, Idaho – RaeQuan Battle (Tulalip Tribe) didn’t appreciate the pushups his mother Jacquie made him do for every missed free throw when he was growing up.
“Five or 10 for every miss,” he said, “and I missed a lot back then.”
The pressure and hard work paid off for Battle and the Bobcats on Friday when Montana State beat Weber State 69-66 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament Semifinals to advance to Saturday’s 6 p.m. title game. Battle led the Bobcats with 17 points and made 13 of his 14 free throws.
“He’s a big-time player,” MSU coach Danny Sprinkle said.
Weber State jumped out to an eight-point lead in the game’s first five minutes “and it was like literally claw back the entire 40 minutes,” Sprinkle said. Weber State carried a six-point advantage into halftime after shooting 58% before the intermission, hitting five of their nine triples. Koby McEwen scored 10 in the first half.
But Montana State guard Xavier Bishop, tasked with guarding McEwen much of the evening, was even better. He scored 12 first-half points and hit three long three-pointers. The Bobcats shot 43% in the first half.
Things changed quickly in the second half. “These guys kept battling,” Sprinkle said, “especially in the second half. I thought (Amin Adamu) got us off to an unbelievable start. He got aggressive and he got some post touches, got that thing to the rim.”
Adamu scored MSU’s first four points of the second half, Great Osobor and Sam Lecholat each added a bucket, and then Adamu scored again to cut Weber’s lead to 43-41. When the Wildcats stretched it to 48-41, Adamu hit a driving layup and Bishop drained a three to help the Cats maintain contact. An Osobor free throw tied the score, and after a basket and a free throw by JJ Overton, Adamu hit a three-pointer to tie the game once again.
The game remained close through the middle minutes of the second half, but when Battle was fouled on a three-point attempt, he drained three free throws to push the Bobcats into a 62-60 lead. They would never trail again.
McEwen tied the game with two free throws at the two-minute mark, but on MSU’s next possession, Osobor’s layup gave the Cats a 66-64 lead. Each team got a stop, then Battle was fouled on a rebound with 25 seconds to play. His charity tosses pushed Montana State’s lead to four points, 68-64.
Dillon Jones turned an offensive rebound into a layup with 14 seconds to play, and Battle left the door cracked by converting one of two free throws. Weber State’s final possession was frenetic. McEwen missed a trey, but Jones grabbed the board. He missed a trey, and as the ball was batted around without possession gained, the clock expired.
“This is who we are, we’ve been in games like this all season, from Colorado until now,” Battle said. “We’re kind of used to it. That’s why we schedule those games, when it comes down to the post-season, we want to be prepared if it comes down to the wire.”
His team’s resilience impressed Sprinkle. “What a gutsy win against a really good team, and a great offensive team, too,” he said. “When plays had to be made we made them, and thank God that clock ran out.”
A slow start on Friday wasn’t all Battle overcame this week, he said. “I got sick on Sunday, it was pretty bad, I was throwing up a lot, but it doesn’t hold me back. My mom raised me as a warrior so when the team needs me I’m ready to go. We have a great staff, Brett (Ritter) helped me out, he got me right, our (athletic) trainer, and we’ve got each other’s back.”
The Bobcats raised their record to 26-7 with the win, more victories than any Montana State team except the Golden Bobcats (36-2 in 1927-28 and 1928-29; 30-7 in 1926-27), and by advancing to the Big Sky Championship for the second straight season accomplished something no previous MSU squad has. The Bobcats face either Portland State or Northern Colorado on Saturday at 6 p.m. in a game televised by ESPNU.
