Following their 74-68 victory against the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, the Highlanders were looking to keep the good times going on the road against Montana State. This would be no easy task as the Bobcats entered this season looking for their third straight Big Sky championship.
It was clear that UCR head coach Mike Magpayo and the Highlanders were wary of redshirt senior guard Robert Ford III. In Ford III’s last game against Green Bay, he finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Although impressive for the 6-foot guard, the Highlanders were determined to make his life difficult in this game.
It didn’t matter which UCR guard matched up with Ford III. The Highlanders played tight defense on Ford III from the inbound. With their star point guard struggling to bring the ball up the court, the Bobcats couldn’t get their offense going early on. However, UCR failed to take full advantage of the sluggish Bobcats. The officials in this contest weren’t afraid to set the tone. Constant whistles killed the offensive flow for both teams.
The Highlanders finally got going after senior forward Wil Tattersall found junior center Ben Griscti on the pick-and-pop 3. The Australian duo were followed up by a transition three-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Isaiah Moses. UCR entered the first TV timeout with a 10-6 lead.
After the break, Mike Magpayo dipped into his bench and put out his hustle line. The move paid off. Tattersall completed a 3-point play, and Moses drilled a pullup jumper after a couple of offensive rebounds. After another Moses 3-pointer, it looked like the Highlanders were about to pull away. Montana State needed a spark, and they got it from junior forward Chika Nduka.
Coming off the bench, Nduka set hard screens to help set up himself and his teammates for easy buckets. This was extremely problematic for the Highlanders since Ford III found a lot of success in the pick-and-roll with Nduka. With Nduka’s help, Ford III had finally found his rhythm. Ford III’s offensive prowess, which had previously been shut down by the Highlanders, had been unleashed.
Ford wasn’t the only Bobcat to find his groove. Junior guard Tyler Patterson’s shot was cold, but his fast hands forced a few turnovers against the Highlanders. A 3-point play from sophomore forward Brandon Walker cut the Highlander lead to 1. After UCR’s redshirt freshman Kaleb Smith and Brandon Walker traded threes, a pair of free throws from Robert Ford III gave Montana State their first lead of the game. The Highlanders would retake the lead before halftime, but back-to-back blocks from Montana State’s junior forward Sam Lecholat kept the momentum with the Bobcats.
Determined to hang onto the lead, redshirt freshman Barrington Hargress took the reins of the offense. Working with his teammates, Hargress was able to assist the other Highlanders on the fastbreak, pick and roll and backdoor cuts. While UCR was sharing the rock, Montana State’s second-half scoring was coming from one player.
After starting ice-cold in the first half, Tyler Patterson caught fire in the second half. Constant off-ball movement and off-ball screens set up Patterson for open shots. He didn’t miss and the Montana State crowd loved it. After a deep 3-pointer from Patterson, Mike Magpayo had no choice but to call a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Montana State looked to trap UCR’s ball handlers with double teams. It forced some long possessions and bad shots from the Highlanders, but hustle plays helped make up for these errors. Junior Niyi Olabode brought UCR within two after turning an offensive rebound into a three-point play.
UCR briefly took back the lead after three-pointers from redshirt junior Vladimir Salaridze and Isaiah Moses. However, another 3-pointer from Patterson and a steal from sophomore Jed Miller put Montana State back in front. In the final moments, the Bobcats were able to inbound to Robert Ford III before the Highlanders could get a steal. With ice in his veins, Ford III put Montana State up by 4. As time expired, Isaiah Moses knocked down a deep 3, but it was too little too late.
The Highlanders lose to Montana State and fall to 2-4 on the season. The record is disappointing but not discouraging. This game really exemplified how deep this year’s roster is. Mike Magpayo called upon 11 different Highlanders in this game, whereas the Bobcats only used a 7 man rotation. The team’s strong depth will pay dividends later this season, and it almost made the difference against Montana State. The loss concludes a tough 5 game road trip that included two Power 5 matchups. The Highlanders are back in action against Bethesda University on Nov. 26.
