Field Level Media
Dec 9, 2018
Harald Frey had 31 points and Tyler Hall had 24 as the Montana State Bobcats pulled off a 95-90 road upset over Washington State on Sunday night at Friel Court in Pullman, Wash.
Robert Franks had 25 points, CJ Elleby had 17 and Carter Skaggs added 14 for the Cougars, who fell to 5-3 on the season.
The teams traded leads in the second half, with Montana State going ahead 55-47 early in the half before the Cougars came back to lead 71-67. The Bobcats regained the lead over the last 10 minutes and led by as much as eight in the final minute before settling for the six-point margin.
Franks helped the Cougars' cause with 15 second-half points but he missed a last-minute 3-pointer that would've made it a one-possession game.
Montana State owned the perimeter, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 52 overall, with Frey and Hall both hitting six threes, and Ladan Ricketts added four threes and 18 points overall. The Bobcats (3-6) out-rebounded the bigger Cougars, 33-27, in winning their first road game on the year (1-5) and snapping a two-game losing streak.
Washington State shot 51 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range but doomed itself by shooting 61 percent from the free-throw line. The Cougars' bench outscored Montana State's, 32-8, but two of Washington State's starters -- center Jeff Pollard and guard Ahmed Ali -- combined for just six points.
Frey had 18 points, including five 3-pointers, in a competitive first half for both teams. The Bobcats jumped to an early 22-10 lead on the strength of their outside shooting, hitting 9 of 17 3-pointers, but Washington State bounced back behind Skaggs' 14 points and Elleby's 10. MSU led for much of the half until the Cougars eventually took a 42-40 lead until it went into halftime tied at 43.
--Field Level Media