by GREENSBORO, N.C. – With junior guard RaeQuan Battle hot early, the Montana State defense turning Kansas State over eight times in the first half and several big threes late in the second half that nearly precluded a comeback, the Bobcat basketball team gave its fans reasons to believe that a 14-seed could upset a 3-seed in an NCAA Tournament filled with monumental upsets.
That dream of MSU making the second round would be deferred. A big opening to the second half from Kansas State (24-9) eventually closed the book on Montana State’s (25-10) season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. on Friday night.
“We just kept battling back and battling back and battling back,” Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “We couldn’t get over that hump tonight. I thought we had some decent looks from three, but I give [Kansas State] credit. They guarded us well.”
The Bobcats certainly had their chances. Yet the nine first-half turnovers, six missed free throws and a five-minute scoring drought in the second half prevented the Bobcats from pulling an upset.
In the teams’ first meeting since 1974, Kansas State leaned on Third Team All-Americans Markquis Nowell (17 points, 14 assists, six rebounds) and Keyontae Johnson (18 points, eight rebounds) for big shots, then relied on forwards Nae’Qwan Tomlin (13 points) and David N’Guessan (10 points) wearing out the Bobcats underneath late in the second half. MSU now has a 1-3 record all-time against the Wildcats.
RaeQuan Battle, however, was the hottest-shooting player on the floor on Friday night with 27 points (on 9-for-17 shooting), with 13 of them coming in playing just 13 minutes in the first half after being saddled with foul trouble. Making his second start of the year, Great Osobor sparked MSU’s offense with thunderous dunks en route to notching an 11-point, 7-rebound, three-block and two-steal stat line.
“All the little things that entail a great player and go into being a great player, [Osobor] has it in him,” Sprinkle said. “He has to continue to develop his habits, but I’m really excited about his future.”
Shades of last year’s NCAA Tournament game were apparent as Kansas State took a 7-2 lead, but the Bobcats hung with the higher seed for the first half thanks to 13 first-half points from Battle. MSU took its first lead of the night at the 14:51 mark when Great Osobor blocked Nae’Qwan Tomlin on one end, then made a transition layup from Darius Brown II. To his credit, Brown II also finished with a dozen points and nine assists.
The lead was short-lived. Kansas State tried speeding Montana State up, yet the Bobcats hung with the Wildcats. Battle got fouled by Tomlin on a three, then made the bonus to put Montana State up 12-10, which not only provided the Bobcats their first lead of the night, but also gave him eight quick points. Save for picking up his second foul with seven minutes to play, Battle never cooled off.
Trailing by two points with 12 minutes left in the half, Montana State turned to the 1-3-1 zone that has fared well all season, yet Johnson responded with back-to-back midrange jumpers to pull ahead. Nowell canned a three, but Battle answered with one of his own to make it a two-point game once more.
“I love to attack the defense, make sure I find the open gaps and make sure I can get to the hoop and find an open three,” Battle said. “I always trust what our game plan is from the coaches and go from there, and then I’ll take what the defense gives me.”
Johnson’s transition dunk made it 25-21, then from that point forward, the Wildcats looked like they would pull away. To make matters worse for MSU, Battle was on the bench with two fouls. Yet MSU got within three off a layup from Osobor and the Bobcats dictated the tempo by slowing the game down and working the ball around the horn. The threes wouldn’t fall. The Wildcats built up a nine-point lead with under a minute to go.
Then the Bobcat backcourt sparked some life into MSU’s offense. Brown II finished a tough layup with 27 seconds left, then Robert Ford III picked Nowell’s pocket and drew a shooting foul at the other end. He split the free throws to make it a 34-28 game at halftime.
In a foreboding sign for the Bobcats, the Wildcats got an easy basket, albeit one aided by the team’s athleticism and skill, on their first possession of the second half. Desi Sills’ alley-oop pass to Tomlin was short, but he cradled it and made a reverse layup. But Battle nailed back-to-back midrange jumpers for four quick points, keeping MSU’s comeback hopes alive.
However, Kansas State would go on a 6-0 run to take a 10-point lead — its largest of the night — at the 16:37 mark, prompting an MSU timeout.
Osobor and Ford III continued to make hustle plays and grab offensive rebounds, plus the Bobcats as a whole crashed the defensive glass well in the second half. The Montana State offense had trouble getting anything going until free throws from Belo and a transition layup from Battle on back-to-back possessions helped the Bobcats pull within 10.
Eight points felt like a mountain. A Nick Gazelas corner three cut Kansas State’s lead to eight with 8:26 left, but the Wildcats immediately responded with a Nowell three well beyond the three-point line.
Montana State wouldn’t go quietly. An Osobor dunk, two free throws, and Brown II’s corner three made it a 58-50 game with 6:10 remaining. Two more Kansas State free throws pushed the deficit back to 10. Belo rattled in a hook shot. Brown II found Osobor for an alley-oop. To the detriment of the Bobcats, Kansas State answered each time, with the biggest blow coming from a three-point play from Tomlin that put the Wildcats up 67-56 with 3:03 to go.
Although Brown II nailed a three to pull within eight again, KSU went on an 8-0 run in the final two-and-a-half minutes to pull away for good.
The Bobcats’ 2022-23 campaign ends with a 25-10 record, a 15-3 record in Big Sky play and a Big Sky Tournament Championship. This year marked the first time MSU has had consecutive 25-win seasons since 1927-29 and the program’s first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
