Memphis Charges Past Bobcats

Wednesday, December 9

6:00 pm MST

Montana State University

Memphis

Marquis Navarre recorded four steals at Memphis

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

12/9/2009 9:08:50 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Bill Lamberty

Memphis jumped out to a 19-5 lead and never looked back, beating Montana State 76-51 in the FedEx Forum Wednesday night.

Elliot Williams scored 22 points to lead the Tigers, but Memphis' best work came on the defensive end. Memphis held the Bobcats to season lows of 51 points and 34.5% shooting.

"It's difficult to contend with what they do defensively," said Bobcat coach Brad Huse. "The most (points) they've given up is 57 to Kansas, everything else is in the 40s. They make it really hard to get good looks at the basket, they really guard, and they turn their pressure into fast break opportunities."

After MSU closed to within 8-5 with 13:23 to play in the first half, Willie Kemp hit a three-pointer to trigger an 11-0 Memphis run that put the game on ice for the Tigers. The Bobcats would not come within single digits again.

Senior forward Branden Johnson led the Bobcats with 12 points, while Bobby Howard grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for MSU. Marquis Navarre, facing an athletic and talented guard corps, snagged a career-high four steals.

Montana State falls to 4-4 on the season, while Memphis, which stood just outside this week's national top 25 polls, is now 6-1. MSU hosts Northern New Mexico Saturday night at 7 pm in Worthington Arena.