Montana State scored the game's first 10 points and never looked back, cruising to a 103-54 home win over Northern New Mexico on Saturday.
Erik Rush led six Bobcats in double-digits with 17 points, while Bryan Louff dished out six assists to lead a parade of Bobcats posting career highs. Louff also had five steals, while Danny Piepoli grabbed eight rebounds, Branden Johnson blocked four shots, and Will Bynum grabbed eight boards, all setting new career highs.
Bobcat coach Brad Huse was most interested in what happened on the defensive end of the floor, however. "We don't set goals like (scoring 100 points)," Huse said. "Our goals are mostly on the defensive end. I wanted to see us sustain effort and intensity tonight."
Marquis Navarre scored seven points in MSU's opening 10-0 run, and finished with 16 points. After Eddie Fields' layup made the score 10-2, Bynum scored on back-to-back jumpers, and the Eagles never got to within single-digits again. MSU led 55-26 at halftime, and led by as many as 52 points in the second half.
The game marked Montana State's first time past the 100-point barrier since November 25, 2000, when the Bobcats beat Hawaii-Hilo 100-79.
After a break for finals week, Montana State returns to action on Friday, hosting UC Santa Barbara.
