by By Andrew Pedersen, MSU Communications
BOZEMAN, Mont. – All 13 players that entered the game for Montana State scored and the Bobcats shot over 56% from the field en route to a 108-63 exhibition victory on Monday, Oct. 25, over Providence in front of 1,713 fans.
The MSU men’s hoops team shot 62.5% in the opening half and held a 35-point edge on the scoreboard after 20 minutes as the ‘Cats took a 62-27 advantage into the break. The Bobcats had 21 assists on 25 made shots during that stretch.
Providence hit 5 of the squad’s 7 3-pointers during the second half to only be outscored by 10 points over the final 20 minutes, but MSU kept the Argonauts to just 34.4% from the field throughout the contest.
“We had some breakdowns, they got going in the second half a little bit, made some threes and broke us down off the dribble,” Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “We’ve got to be able to guard that and a lot of that was our young guys who haven’t played at this level.
“I was really proud of the way our guys shared the ball and played together. They didn’t force shots, they let the ball find the open shot which we talked about before the game.
MSU out-rebounded Providence 52-30 and the ‘Cats forced 16 Argo turnovers.
The Bobcats were led in the scoring column by RaeQuan Battle (Tulalip Tribe) who registered 20 points. He was joined in double digits by Tyler Patterson (12), Patrick McMahon (11) and Great Osobor (10).
“We were going to scrimmage, so I was actually glad that we could play in front of our fans,” Sprinkle said of the matchup against Providence. “I think it’s good, especially for our young guys, to get those jitters out and play in front of them. I appreciate (Providence) coach (Steve) Keller, who was my high school coach, for bringing his team down here on such short notice.”
Montana State returns for its final exhibition contest ahead of the Bobcats’ season opener on Nov. 3 when MSU hosts Yellowstone Christian in Worthington Arena. There will be no stream or radio coverage for the exhibition ahead of MSU’s first game of the regular season at Colorado on Nov. 9.
