For a time earlier this season, one could walk into a Montana State men’s basketball practice and hear a single booming voice resonating through Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
That voice belonged to third-year head coach Brian Fish, the definitive face of the Bobcat program and the architect of a rebuilding process he hopes is getting close to taking the next step. For most of November, Fish’s Bobcats did not have much to say, at least on the hardwood, as the collection of new faces tried to mesh.
Walk into a Montana State practice these days and the communication seems to be improving. The echo of a dozen voices fill the Brick rather than just Fish’s aggressive commands.
During games, Montana State’s defensive communication has improved, evidence in MSU’s first road sweep in nearly two years last weekend. The Bobcats are not on the game-day level of teams like Weber State, Idaho or Montana, each with noticeable defensive directions hollered out by their pivot men in the heat of competition. But progress is certainly being made and the results are there to prove it.
MSU head coach Brian Fish
“We were more vocal, buying into what (Fish) is saying and trusting each other as teammates,” said MSU sophomore guard Devonte Klines, a starter the last nine games and one of the catalysts defensively for MSU. “That was our main problem. Some people would yell out switch and we wasn’t switching on the defensive end. It felt like it was a handoff or something. We would say switch but not do it. He kept telling us we had to trust each other and buy in on the defensive end.”
All of a sudden, a Bobcat team that was once mired in a streak of nine losses in 10 games is on a three-game winning streak. Montana State earned its first road sweep since February of 2015 with wins at Sacramento State and Portland State last weekend. The Portland State victory, the first over the Vikings in Fish’s tenure, boosted MSU to 4-4 in Big Sky Conference play, alone in seventh with a crucial home stand against Idaho and Eastern Washington beginning on Thursday.
“Offense, if it’s ugly, it’s very easy for everyone to see because points don’t go on the board,” Fish said. “Defense is just as much harmony and in unison as anything is. We haven’t always been that way. That’s where we’ve made our biggest strides. We are more of a cohesive unit on defense and it’s resulting in us starting to play and guarding and looking like a defensive team.”
MSU’s team defense statistically has improved during conference play. The Bobcats are giving up 73.5 points per game tied with first-place Weber State for fifth in the league. Montana State is third in the Big Sky during conference play in field goal percentage defense (43.9 percent allowed), fourth in rebounding margin (+1) and fourth in defensive rebounding percentage (75 percent).
After giving up 87 in a 12-point home loss to Weber, 82 in an 18-point road loss at Eastern Washington, 83 in a two-point overtime loss at Idaho and 90 in a five-point home loss to North Dakota, MSU has given up 66 points per game during its three-game winning streak.
MSU guard Harald Frey (5)
“It is taking off,” Fish said of his young team’s progress. “It’s getting buy in. Young people want two things: they want instant success and they want to look and see what’s in it for them. Offensively, it’s easy to see. If you score, you get notoriety. Defense, there’s not a lot of things that show up.
“If you look at us defensively, we are doing a much better job of getting charging fouls, a much better job of getting loose balls. You guys are screwing my team up because you are not writing about that (laughs). No, but they are starting to get it, take credit for it and understand that points are not all that matters. They are finding that the defensive end is how you win games.”
The Bobcats earned a hard-fought 74-65 win in Sacramento to snap a road losing streak that stretched 10 regular season games — 11 games total including the loss to the Hornets in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament — and nearly a calendar year. MSU held the hosts to 42.6 percent shooting and hung tight with the bigger Hornets on the boards.
Portland State drilled Montana on Thursday, building a 26-point second half lead before hanging on for an 88-77 win. Two nights later, the momentum looked like it was still flowing as the Vikings jumped out to a 9-0 lead that included two transition dunks for the Vikings. But the Bobcats clawed back in, taking their first lead two minutes before halftime and winning the second half by six points to post a 71-65 victory.
“We knew what we had to do,” said Klines, who hit two clutch 3-pointers, scored 10 points and played hard defense throughout. “At halftime, Fish talked about we got beat on the boards so we had to grab rebounds and lock down.
“We are all talking more. That’s mainly what it was. We are talking more on defense. Our confidence level is really high now that we trust each other. We know who has help, when to switch. We didn’t have that early on in the season.”
MSU guard Devonte Klines (10)
Montana State earned a 53-37 advantage against the Vikings, including 15 offensive rebounds that led to a slew of crucial second-chance points. MSU sophomore Tyler Hall grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 22 points. Junior center Benson Osayande continued to prove his game-changing ability when he plays well, coming off the bench to score 10 points and grab nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action. He had four crucial second-half put backs to keep the Viks at bay.
“I feel more comfortable the more I play,” said Osayande, a transfer from Casper (Wyoming) College. “Coach is trusting me so I have more confidence and I’m playing with maximum effort. My confidence grown little by little during the season.
Another piece of progress for the Bobcats has come in the form of playing defense while not fouling as frequently. Idaho posted an 83-81 victory in overtime thanks to sinking 35 free throws compared to MSU’s 18 makes at the line. Vic Sanders hit 15 of his 17 freebies, including three with less than 10 seconds in regulation to send the game to overtime.
The Bobcats have been +8 at the stripe during the three-game winning streak.
Montana State will try to continue that trend Thursday night with Sanders and the Vandals coming to town. The 6-foot-5 guard has shifted to playing on the ball with a season-ending injury to senior point guard Perrion Callandret. Sanders is averaging 23.4 points per game during conference play and he is 53-of-59 from the free throw line (89.8 percent) in seven league games.
“He’s No. 1 in our conference in drawing fouls at the free throw line and he got one at the last minute,” said Klines, who will start out guarding Sanders. “That was pretty big. But I’m up for the challenge.”
Fish has not questioned his team’s effort at any point during this season. He said his team has bought in from the team for the duration of the campaign. The Bobcats’ starting lineup features true freshman point
MSU forward Benson Osyandu (21)
guard Harald Frey, a trio of sophomores in Hall, Klines and forward Sam Neumann and a junior in forward Zach Green. Quinton Everett is the only senior. Osayande and Joe Mvuezolo are both juniors but are in their first Division I seasons.
The showdown with the Vandals is a crucial one if you look at the standings. Idaho sits at 4-3 in conference play. The winner of Thursday’s matchup can take a big step toward the hunt for a top-five seed in the Big Sky Tournament and the first-round bye that comes with it.
“I think it’s crucial just because it’s the next game,” Fish said. “This team is a young team. I had a question today about the conference tournament. I’m just trying to have a good practice at one o’clock today, nobody break up with their girlfriend, nobody get something wrong on Twitter and we’ve made steps in the right direction.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
