Bobcats Fall at Sac State Wednesday

Wednesday, December 19

Sacramento, CA

7:05 p.m.

Montana State University

2-7, 0-2Big Sky

SACRAMENTO STATE

6-3, 1-0Big Sky

Montana State

Sacramento State

Xavier Blount led the Bobcats with 15 points at Sac State

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

12/19/2012 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Hornets use hot-shooting second half to topple MSU

By: Bill Lamberty

Another furious second-half rally fell short, as Montana State dropped a road decision to Sacramento State 62-57 on Wednesday.

"I really liked our effort tonight," said Bobcat coach Brad Huse. "We were close, we just didn't make the shots when we needed to make them."

The Bobcats never led in the game, facing a halftime deficit of seven after holding Sac State to 34.6% shooting in the first half while shooting just 32%. But the Hornets opened the second half with an 8-2 run to sieze control of the game. Sacramento State led 39-25 with 17:03 to play before the Bobcats battled back.

A jumper and two free throws by Paul Egwuonwu trimmed the lead to 10, and an Xavier Blount three-pointer cut the Hornets lead to 39-32 at 14:02.The Bobcats pulled to within five several times in the final 10 minutes, and when Antonio Biglow nailed a three-pointer with 58 seconds left the Cats trailed 57-54. But Sacramento State hit five of its six free throws in the last minute to seal the win.

Xavier Blount led the Bobcats with 15 points, while Egwuonwu added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. "We need Xavier on the floor," Huse said. "He competes so hard. I thought Paul had a good game with hustle, effort, and athleticism in the zone (defense). I was pleased overall with our effort."

Mikh McKinneyscored 21 points for Sacramento State to lead all players, while Konner Veteto added 19. The Hornets picked up the shooting pace in the second half, hitting 10 of 20 shots to raise its game total to 41.3%. MSU shot 32%, and was out-rebounded 43-to-34.

The Bobcats don't play again until Dec. 29, hosting Northwest Indian. MSU falls to 2-7 on the season, 0-2 in the Big Sky, while the Hornets are 6-3 overall, 1-0 in the league, and host Montana on Friday.