Montana State Bobcats

Will Bynum led all players with 18 points and six steals to lead Montana State past the University of Saskatchewan 82-68 in the team's exhibition opener on Tuesday.

Montana State finished the game with 15 steals. Erik Rush added five pilfers, and he and Bynum, the Big Sky steals champion a year ago, keyed a pressure defense that allowed the Bobcats to limit Saskatchewan to 44% shooting in the second half.

"I thought the pressure was really the strength of our defense," said MSU coach Brad Huse. "That pressure on the perimeter, I thought, wore them down."

When Bryan Louff hit a pair of free throws with 7:35 to play in the first half, the Bobcats held a 16-point lead. Saskatchewan immediately launched a 16-2 run to draw to within two, and Showron Glover's three-point field goal at the end of the half gave Saskatchewan a 39-38 lead at halftime.

"We got a big lead in the first half," Huse said, "but we got a bit complacent. That's a good team with a lot of seniors. We gave them some confidence and they took advantage. We'll learn from that."

The Huskies led for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Austin Brown's steal and layup with 8:53 left gave MSU its first lead of the half, and Bobby Howard's three-pointer at 8:02 gave the Cats a lead they would not relinquish. In the game's final seven minutes, MSU held Saskatchewan to 3-for-12 shooting with six turnovers.

Troy Gottselig led all players with 13 points, blocking a pair of shots and scoring 14 points for Saskatchewan. The Huskies shot 55% in the first half, and out-rebounded MSU 37-to-30.

Montana State plays its second and final exhibition game on November 9 against Valley City in Worthington Arena.