BOZEMAN — As Joe Mvuezolo Jr. hammered the rim for his second thunderous dunk in the final two minutes of the game, Tyler Hall winked at Brian Fish before looking out onto the sea of people at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse and waiving on the crowd into an ovation resonated throughout the arena.
Little did most of the 2,883 in attendance here on Saturday afternoon know, the cheers helped Mvuezolo celebrate his birthday as much as it helped Montana State celebrate its first 4-0 start to Big Sky Conference play in 13 years.
Hall put on a show with two of his high school friends playing for opposing North Dakota, scorching the nets in the first half and dishing two crucial dimes to Mvuezolo late in the second half that helped the Bobcats put the reigning league champions away.
On his birthday, Mvuezolo celebrated in style with one of his best games as a Bobcat. The senior scored 14 points off the bench, including the three jams in the second half and two in the final one minutes and 54 seconds to boost Montana State to a 79-68 victory in Bozeman.
Montana State forward Joe Muvezolo Jr. (1) throws down a dunk vs. North Dakota
“It’s big time that we started out on the road, got the road sweep (against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona) and then came home and took care of business,” MSU senior Zach Green said. “We are 4-0 and in a good position.
“Joe is amazing. You see how athletic he is with all those dunks he had and he effects us on defense because of his length and that length helps with our rebounding as well.”
North Dakota’s roster features Rock Island, Illinois natives Cortez Seales, last season’s Big Sky Top Reserve, and Marlon Stewart, a Creighton transfer who sat out last season. The UND duo grew up with Hall and their presence in Hall’s home arena seemed to spur on the preseason Big Sky MVP.
Hall scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. The junior drilled his first shot of the night from the “E” in Montana State near mid-court on MSU’s first possession of the game. Hall hit a 24-foot 3-pointer on a second chance after a Sam Neumann tip. He hit a 25-footer in transition. He drilled a 3-pointer with both his feet on the Bobcat head at center court, at least eight feet behind the top of the 3-point line.
“We are about 80 games into this (Hall’s career) and he’s hit plenty out there before,” Fish, MSU’s head coach, said. “He had (two) really, really good friends out there tonight. Every time he goes home, he’s with Cortez and Marlon so that was a little bit of a rivalry game.”
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5) passes through a North Dakota trap
That 3-point spree combined with a smothering defensive effort with MSU operating a 2-3 zone defense helped MSU take a 45-31 lead into halftime. In the second half, MSU showed off its cultivated depth as 28 bench points, including eight from senior Konner Frey and six from Green helped the Bobcats finish the sweep of their first home stand in 2018.
“Everyone is starting to buy in more and more for what we are doing as a team and what the coaching staff is trying to do to work with us,” Frey said. “Every game is another step that we are trying to take toward winning the Big Sky.”
Two nights after suffering a 109-79 loss in Missoula to red-hot Montana, North Dakota played fast and efficiently in the first 10 minutes of the game. MSU sophomore point guard Harald Frey showed early initiative, attacking UND freshman Trae Buchanan and sophomore Billy Brown. He scored 11 of his 14 points in the first 9:39 of the game, hitting three 3-pointers but MSU held just a 22-19 advantage because of UND’s flow and pace.
Fish put seldom-used senior Benson Osaynade into the game with Mvuezolo, junior Keljin Blevins, Hall and Harald Frey and switched into the 2-3 zone. UND struggled to score the second 10 minutes of the first half, helping the Bobcat advantage swell to the 14-point intermission lead.
Montana State guard Devonte Klines gets a loose ball from North Dakota guard Trae Buchanan (30)
“We just locked up on defense,” Green said. “The first 12 minutes, we weren’t playing that good of defense. In the last half of the first half, I think we got two shot clock violations on them, blocking their shot attempts. We really stepped up on defense to pull it out.
“They couldn’t score against (the zone). That first half zone was crazy.”
Meanwhile, Hall continued putting on a shooting display, continuing his move up the Big Sky all-time 3-pointers made list in the process. Hall hit four of his first five from deep only to make 1-of-7 beyond the arc down the stretch. Still, the five made triples gives him 279 for his career, moving him past former Northern Arizona sharpshooter Steve Sir into fourth all-time in league history.
Weber State’s Jeremy Senglin, a senior last season, hit 345 3-pointers in his career, the most ever for a Big Sky player.
Hall’s 25-point outing gives him 42 20-point games in 79 career starts for the Bobcats. The effort also helped Montana State move to 11-6 during a pivotal season, Fish’s fourth at the helm.
Montana State guard Tyler Hall (3) looks for space vs. North Dakota
“When he starts doing that, what’s going through my mind is it’s Tyler time,” Green said. “He’s going off. In the first half, he started cooking. When he gets in that mode, he’s really good.”
North Dakota began the second half by once again pushing the pace, ripping off a 9-1 run to cut the lead to 46-40. All-Big Sky point guard Geno Crandall scored five of his nine points during the burst.
Fish called a time out, then ran a designed play for Hall, who buried his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Four minutes later, Hall drew his second foul on a 3-point try, drilling all three free throws for his final points to give MSU a 60-46 advantage.
“I thought a really big key was they got us to take some quick shots and we got some offensive rebound tip-outs that resulted in some big 3s and that’s what separated that game from a four to six point game to 12 or 14,” Fish said. “We didn’t quit on the ball and guys created multiple possessions.
UND fought for the final 12 minutes, never letting the Bobcats extend the lead past 12 points. Seales, who finished with 15 points, and Stewart, who finished with 10, combined for 10 points during the stretch but key buckets from MSU’s three senior reserves helped the Bobcats secure the win.
Montana State forward Sam Neumann (4) blast through North Dakota forward Conner Avants (32)
Mvuezolo, Green and Konner Frey scored 13 of MSU’s final 19 points and the Bobcats played multiple stretches with their three leading scorers — Hall, Harald Frey and Blevins — on the bench simultaneously.
“I brought everyone in at the start of the year and everybody was going to have to take a few fewer minutes because our depth is better,” Fish said. “It has improved our depth and you see the second half of a Saturday game, you see the depth come through and Joe scores 14 points because there’s more guys to throw at people and I think that’s huge.”
Buchanan hit four of UND’s eight 3-pointers and scored a team-high 19 points to lead the reeling reigning champs. UND has now lost eight straight.
“I thought we came out and really competed, a big improvement from Thursday night,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We got off to a good start, but again it was the finish to the first half that cost us.
“We had the deficit down to five and were making a run, but we gave up nine points on three second-chance opportunities down the stretch.”
Montana State guard Tyler Hall (3) looks for space vs. a North Dakota trap defense
For the second straight outing, the Bobcats owned the glass. Less than 48 hours after posting a 44-28 advantage on the boards in a 76-64 win over Northern Colorado, MSU owned a 42-29 advantage on Saturday. Blevins led the way with 11 rebounds in 20 minutes while Konner Frey added seven in 15 minutes off the bench.
“Our biggest key is to try to win the battle of the boards because that does have such an impact on the outcome of games,” Green said. “We beat both of these teams by 1o, 12 boards each and that’s huge toward the win.”
MSU will hit the road again next week with games at Portland State Thursday and at Sacramento State on Saturday night. Saturday’s win means 4-0 in the league standings for the first time sine the 2003-2004 season under former head coach Mick Durham. Montana State won at least its first four Big Sky game six times since the league formed in 1963.
“It’s an 18-lap race, got four laps done, have 14 laps to go and I’m fat and it’s hard to run 18 laps,” Fish joked. “I’m going to go home tonight, eat, maybe sleep and think about my next profession (laughs).”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
