by POCATELLO, Idaho – Two late jumpers from RaeQuan Battle in the last two minutes helped the Montana State men’s basketball team hold off the Idaho State Bengals in a low-scoring, 58-52 Big Sky Conference win on Saturday night.
With both teams struggling to score in the second half, MSU made four of its eight second-half field goals in the final two minutes — two of which came from Battle. Free-throw shooting helped the Bobcats pull away, as MSU went 13-for-17 (76.5%) from the charity stripe while ISU went 10-for-16 (62.5%) in the second half.
“I’m proud of our guys for coming together,” Montana State Head Coach Danny Sprinkle told Bobcat Sports Radio Network. “When they pulled within two and the fans were rocking, RaeQuan really took over for us. He had some big-time shots.”
Relying on an effective sideline trap, the Bobcats (18-9, 11-3 Big Sky Conference) forced a season-high 18 turnovers against the Bengals (9-17, 6-7 Big Sky Conference) — 13 of which came in the first half. Yet both teams struggled shooting, as ISU out-shot MSU 39.1% to 35.3% from the field. Both teams finished with 34 rebounds.
RaeQuan Battle led MSU with 15 points, while Great Osobor notched his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, the latter of which tied his career-high. Darius Brown II finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals, plus he went a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.
