Of the 11 teams in the Big Sky Conference in men’s basketball, 10 of them competed on Thursday night. Southern Utah was the only team that did not play.
Montana State assumed first place all alone after staying undefeated this calendar year. Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Northern Colorado each earned wins Thursday as well.
THE RESULTS
Montana State 77, Portland State 74
The Bobcats stayed undefeated in 2022, winning for the 10th time in a row and the 15th time in the last 16 outings. MSU is now 19-5 after a 1-3 start to the season. MSU’s 10 straight victories are its most since head coach Danny Sprinkle was a freshman player at MSU back in 1996. The Bobcats are also knocking on their first 20-win season since that year 26 seasons ago, the last time MSU went to the NCAA Tournament. Montana State now sits at 11-2 in league play, alone atop the Big Sky Conference standings with six games left on the regular-season schedule.
Eastern Washington 75, Weber State 67
Weber State bolted to an 11-1 start in conference play, but have now lost two straight after getting whipped 78-57 in Ogden, Utah by surging Montana State Saturday, then turning around and losing in Cheney, Washington on Thursday. The Eastern Washington win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Eagles and avenged a 90-84 loss at Weber State on January 31.
Northern Arizona 72, Montana 67, overtime
Montana lost for the third time in four outings, including for the first time at home this season. The Grizzlies’ 12-game home winning streak was snapped thanks to a stagnant offense that never found rhythm. The hosts shot 28 percent in the first half and 38 percent for the game. Nick Mains drilled five of NAU’s seven 3-pointers, including a dagger with 1:41 left in OT to give the visitors a two-possession lead. His 21 points helped Northern Arizona move to 5-8 in league play while the Griz dropped to 9-5. UM lost at Weber State (80-75) last Thursday and at Idaho State (86-63) on Saturday before beating Southern Utah 78-67 on Monday.
Idaho State 79, Idaho 70
The Bengals posted their first road win of the season, moving to 3-10 in conference play in the process. ISU is now 5-17 overall following completing the season sweep of the rival Vandals. Idaho is 2-11 in league, 5-18 overall.
Northern Colorado 79, Sac State 61
Northern Colorado won for the third time in a row to keep pace in the conference standings. The Bears moved to 8-4 in league play, dropping Sac State to 2-11 in league contests.
THE BIG SKY MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
| SCHOOL | CONF | PCT | OVERALL | PCT | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana State | 11-2 | 0.846 | 19-5 | 0.792 | 9-1 | 8-4 | 2-0 | W10 |
| Weber State | 11-3 | 0.786 | 18-7 | 0.720 | 8-4 | 7-3 | 3-0 | L2 |
| Southern Utah | 9-3 | 0.750 | 15-7 | 0.682 | 10-2 | 3-5 | 2-0 | L1 |
| Northern Colorado | 8-4 | 0.667 | 13-11 | 0.542 | 6-3 | 6-7 | 1-1 | W3 |
| Montana | 9-5 | 0.643 | 16-9 | 0.640 | 12-1 | 4-8 | 0-0 | L1 |
| Eastern Washington | 6-7 | 0.462 | 12-12 | 0.500 | 5-3 | 7-8 | 0-1 | W1 |
| Portland State | 6-7 | 0.462 | 8-13 | 0.381 | 4-7 | 4-6 | 0-0 | W4 |
| Northern Arizona | 5-8 | 0.385 | 9-15 | 0.375 | 5-7 | 4-7 | 0-1 | W1 |
| Idaho State | 3-10 | 0.231 | 5-17 | 0.227 | 4-6 | 1-11 | 0-0 | W1 |
| Sacramento State | 2-11 | 0.154 | 6-14 | 0.300 | 3-7 | 2-7 | 1-0 | L4 |
| Idaho | 2-11 | 0.154 | 5-18 | 0.217 | 4-6 | 1-10 | 0-2 | L4 |
FIVE STARS
Raequan Battle, Montana State
Battle, a former transfer from Washington who has transformed into arguably the most electric reserve in the Big Sky Conference, hit all three of his tries from beyond the 3-point line in the first half. After halftime, Battle had just two points, but that final bucket came with 20 seconds left and proved to be the final dagger to put pesky Portland State away as MSU stayed undefeated in 2022.
Daylen Kountz, Northern Colorado
In his second year in the program, the former Colorado transfer has blossomed into one of the best and most powerful guards in the league. The Big Sky’s leading scorer notched his sixth straight 20-point outing while pouring in 27 on Thursday. The lefty also had six rebounds, four assists and a block in 39 minutes of playing time.
Carson Towt, Northern Arizona
The high-motor, physical player is one of the more unique front-court talents in the league. He is fearless while also possessing strong passing skills. Thursday in Missoula, he showed off his full arsenal.
Towt scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists to help NAU to one of its biggest wins of the season. Technically a freshman despite redshirting at Cal Baptist and playing as a redshirt freshman last season, Towt scored six points in overtime, including a dunk for NAU’s final converted field goal.
Tarik Cool, Idaho State
Cool hit five 3-pointers and shot 10-of-19 overall on the way to 30 points, his most in a Big Sky game in his three years at ISU and the most in the league on Thursday night. His point total surpassed his previous career high of 27 points set earlier this season against Portland State.
Linton Acliese III, Eastern Washington
For the 13th straight game, the former San Francisco State transfer scored in double figures. Thursday, he was 5-of-12 from the floor on the way to 15 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds. He hit both of his 3-pointers.
QUOTABLE
“We talked about being tough the whole night. Montana is a hard place to play. I knew they were undefeated here this year (12-0)…We had a couple of opportunities to say ‘Here we go again’ but we didn’t do that. We kept going. We are a young program, building and this kind of win can flip the whole season for you.”
Northern Arizona head coach Shane Burcar
“It’s funny. We simulated a situation in practice two days ago where our starters were down five with four minutes to go, we have to come back and win the game…It’s funny how it works out. We were prepared for it and our players were locked in and believed.”
Eastern Washington head coach David Riley
“What I am most proud of is when they made a run we stayed poised and found a way to win the game. I am happy for our guys tonight. It was a huge growth moment for our team.”
Idaho State head coach Ryan Looney
“We don’t win that game without the way those two played in the first half. They (Tyler Patterson, RaeQuan Battle) combined to go 7-for-7 (from 3-point range) and that was big.”
Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle
“The gym is small and hot and that gym is fun to play it. It was hot and sweaty tonight. That thing was popping. You could feel the energy and our guys responded to it well. We came out and played well and I’m really proud of our guys’ effort once again.
Northern Colorado head coach Steve Smiley
SOCIAL
WHAT’S NEXT
| Away | Home | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arizona | Montana State | 12:00 p.m. MT | Bozeman, Mont. (Conf.) |
| Southern Utah | Sacramento State | 1:00 p.m. PT | Sacramento, Calif. (Conf.) |
| Idaho State | Eastern Washington | 2:00 p.m. PT | Cheney, WA (Conf.) |
| Weber State | Idaho | 2:00 p.m. PT | Moscow, ID (Conf.) |
| Portland State | Montana | 7:00 p.m. MT | Missoula, Mont. (Conf.) |
