MSU downs Portland State

By TONY CASTLEBERRY, Chronicle Sports Editor

PORTLAND, Ore. - Montana State fell behind early for the second straight game and for the second straight game, the Bobcats came back to record a victory.

MSU opened Big Sky Conference play with a 61-54 win over Portland State Thursday in PSU's Stott Center and even though it wasn't a thing of beauty, the 'Cats will certainly take it as they extended their winning streak to six games.

"A lot of times in the first conference game, both teams are so determined and they aren't the prettiest games," MSU coach Mick Durham said. "We had 21 turnovers and we forced 24 tonight. But I think we've been playing really well on the defensive end, even if our offense isn't that great at times."

The Bobcat offense was nonexistent for nearly the first four minutes of the game. Portland State scored the game's first eight points and MSU (9-5 overall, 1-0 Big Sky) didn't get on the scoreboard until Danny Faaborg hit a jumper with 16 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first half.

But this wasn't unfamiliar territory for MSU. The Bobcats came back from an early 14-point deficit to beat Colorado State 82-75 on Monday.

Even though he and his team had just been through a similar set of circumstances, Durham didn't necessarily feel comfortable after falling behind again.

"I was definitely concerned about our start," Durham said. "I knew we could come back, but I didn't particularly want to be in that situation again. But we didn't panic and our guys handled it well."

MSU kept chipping away at PSU's lead and Nick Dissly's 3-pointer with 41 seconds left in the opening half gave the Bobcats their first lead - 25-24 - heading into halftime.

Once the 'Cats took the lead, they didn't give it back to the Vikings. Portland State did tie it 27-all early in the second half and they would get as close as one with 16:22 to play. But with center Matt Towsley getting inside buckets and guards Frank Brown and Jason Erickson slashing to the hoop, Montana State was able to extend its winning streak over the Vikes to seven straight.

Despite committing seven turnovers, Brown filled up the stat sheet, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Erickson led the 'Cats with 14 points and grabbed three steals while Towsley had 12 points and two blocked shots. For the second straight game Dissly pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points and two steals.

Even though it wasn't a high-scoring affair, the tempo was pretty fast-paced, which is exactly how Brown and Durham wanted it.

"That's what coach has got us out here for," Brown said. "We want to push it up the floor and get easy buckets."

Added Durham: "We want to be able to score in a variety of ways. I still think we can get better on our fast break opportunities. Those are momentum plays and we're only finishing about half of them right now."

Portland State's Blake Walker led all players with 16 points and tied teammate Seamus Boxley with a game-high 10 rebounds. Boxley also scored 11 points and Antone Jarrell was the third Viking in double figures with 10 points.

Vikings coach Heath Schroyer, who was called for a technical foul late in the game, didn't feel his team played badly. But he was able to pinpoint one thing that made a big difference in his team's loss.

Referring to his squad's 24 turnovers, Schroyer said: "We had three keys coming into this game - defend the (3-point line), rebound the ball and take care of the ball. We did two of the three and it obviously wasn't enough."

MSU will try to stay undefeated in league play when the Bobcats battle Eastern Washington in Cheney Saturday.

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