Bobcat comeback comes up short

By TONY CASTLEBERRY, Chronicle Sports Editor

It seems unfair that Jason Erickson, on a night when he rarely missed, couldn't hit his final two shots and lead Montana State to a victory.

He did everything in his power to make that happen, but two late 3-point tries didn't fall and Eastern Washington escaped with a 64-61 win Thursday night in Worthington Arena.

"They felt good; it had that feathery touch you get when you're just feeling it, you know?" said Erickson, who led all players with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including five 3s. "But then (the first shot) rimmed out and I just said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'"

It's probably a safe bet that the 3,427 fans in attendance were saying the same thing.

After a dismal first half, the Bobcats (11-10, 3-5 Big Sky Conference) produced one of the most improbable comebacks in recent memory to take their first lead - 52-51 - with four minutes, 20 seconds left to play.

After Brendon Merritt's jumper tied the game at 57-all, MSU forward Calvin Ento hit a tough shot from the baseline to put the 'Cats ahead 59-57 with 49 seconds to go. But Eastern Washington's Marc Axton found himself wide open near the top of the key on the ensuing possession and calmly drained his only 3-pointer of the game to put EWU ahead 60-59.

"If I'm thinking right, I can't believe it," Bobcat coach Mick Durham said, referring to how Axton, an All-Big Sky forward, could go unchecked. "For some reason, I think our guy went chasing the point guard."

But just as Axton got a clear look for a 3, Erickson also shed some Eagle defenders and let loose with a 3-point try that would have given MSU the lead back. The shot rattled around in the cylinder before it popped out and EWU (11-10, 7-1) grabbed the rebound.

Erickson fouled Merritt, who missed the front end of a one-and-one with 22.8 seconds to play. But Alvin Snow grabbed the rebound and attempted a shot that Ento swatted.

However, the Bobcats still couldn't regain possession and Danny Faaborg sent Merritt to the line again, where he drained both foul shots and put the Eagles up 62-59 with 17.1 seconds remaining.

Needing a 3 to tie, Erickson had another pretty good look from long range, but the shot wouldn't fall and Snow corraled the board and was fouled. Snow hit both free throws and EWU led 64-59 with 6.8 left.

Frank Brown got a late layup to produce the final score.

The fact that the Bobcats were even close is amazing considering how poorly everybody in an MSU uniform not named Jason Erickson played in the first 20 minutes. Eastern bolted out to an 11-0 lead to start the game and the 'Cats didn't score until Erickson hit a 3-pointer with 13:30 left in the frist half.

Erickson then hit another triple and MSU came to life, going on an 11-4 run to cut EWU's lead to 15-11 with 9:46 left until halftime. But the Eagles responded and led by as many as 14 before securing a 36-23 lead at the half.

If it weren't for Erickson, it would have been much worse than that. He went 5-for-6 from the field - all 3-pointers - and had 15 at halftime. No other Bobcat had more than four points in the opening half and Eastern outrebounded MSU 20-9.

"They just kicked our tails in the first half," Durham said. "We couldn't get a rebound to run ... We had a lot of disappointing performances in the first half. If we don't have Jason Erickson, it's over by half. Nobody else seemed to have belief for us."

The second half opened with EWU taking its biggest lead - 38-23 - on Snow's only field goal of the night. But the Bobcats quickly seized the momentum by forcing numerous Eagle turnovers and, propelled by an 18-3 run, the 'Cats trailed by only two - 43-41 - after an Erickson jumper at the 9:31 mark.

Eastern maintained the lead until - who else? - Erickson blocked a shot, sprinted to the other end and converted a layup on a full-court pass from Brown to put the 'Cats ahead 52-51.

Despite his team's dominance in the opening half, EWU coach Ray Giacoletti wasn't exactly comfortable to start the second stanza.

"As a coach you're always thinking, 'Stay focused and hungry,'" said Giacoletti, whose team maintained its lock on first place in the Big Sky after its seventh straight league win. "But you could almost see it at halftime. We didn't have that edge. Montana State got us on our heels and they were the aggressor in the second half."

Forward Matt Nelson led Eastern with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Josh Barnard finished with 13 points, including three first-half 3s. Axton had 11 points, five boards, three assists and two blocked shots.

Erickson was the only Bobcat in double figures. Ento had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Josh Barsh led MSU with five boards and Brown recovered from one of his worst halves to record a game-high five assists, all after halftime.

Despite having to be a one-man show again for the Bobcats, Erickson isn't discouraged and says he trusts his teammates to bounce back when MSU hosts Portland State Saturday night at 7:05.

"I'm going to do what I can," the senior said. "I've got six games left in my college career and it means the world to me.

"I won't let us ever relax," he added. "I'm not giving up on anybody and I have confidence in these guys."

E. WASHINGTON 64, MONTANA ST. 61

E. Washington (11-10)

Nelson 7-10 2-7 16, Axton 5-12 0-0 11, Merritt 2-7 3-5 7, Barnard 4-8 2-2 13, Snow 1-7 2-2 4, Pariseau 3-6 2-2 9, Butorac 1-1 0-0 2, Smith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-53 11-18 64.

Montana St. (11-10)

Ento 4-7 0-1 8, Barsh 1-2 2-4 4, Faaborg 3-8 0-0 7, Erickson 10-15 2-2 27, Brown 1-4 3-5 5, Dissly 2-3 0-0 4, Clift 1-3 0-0 2, Owsley 0-2 1-2 1, Towsley 0-2 3-4 3. Totals 22-46 11-18 61.

Halftime-EWU 36, MSU 23. 3-point goals-EWU 5-12 (Axton 1-4, Merritt 0-2, Barnard 3-4, Snow 0-1, Pariseau 1-1), MSU 6-17 (Ento 0-1, Faaborg 1-5, Erickson 5-9, Dissly 0-1, Owsley 0-1). Rebounds-EWU 33 (Nelson 8), MSU 27 (Barsh 5). Assists-EWU 7 (Axton 3), MSU 16 (Brown 5). Total fouls-EWU 19, MSU 16. A-3,427.

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