POCATELLO, Idaho — Montana State trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half Thursday night at Idaho State but rallied to take a four-point advantage with a little more than three minutes to play.
In the end, the Bobcats couldn't complete the comeback as ISU secured a 70-67 victory in Big Sky Conference men's basketball.
A layup by Blake Daberkow with 12:48 remaining gave Idaho State a 56-42 advantage. But MSU embarked on a 24-6 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Tyler Patterson, to take a 66-62 lead with just 3:14 to go.
Patterson's shot turned out to be Montana State's final made field goal. Consecutive jumpers by Dylan Darling and Evan Otten put the ISU up 68-66 with 1:32 left and the Bengals held on.
"Offensive and defensive execution is what it comes down to," head coach Matt Logie stated in an MSU press release. "We worked really hard to get a four-point lead. If we had taken care of some business earlier and executed what we had sought out to, maybe that four-point lead is a seven- or eight-point lead.
"At the end of the day you have to get good shots down the stretch and we're not doing that right now. We've got to find guys that can help us do that and we need some guys to step up, bottom line."
Idaho State's Connor Hollenbeck led all scorers with 22 points while making four 3-pointers. Darling added 19 for the Bengals (7-8, 2-2 Big Sky).
Patterson and Brandon Walker, who each had 18 points, led the way for the Bobcats (6-12, 1-4). MSU has now dropped seven of its past eight games. The Cats visit Weber State on Saturday.
