Montana

USC men’s basketball continues to hit stride with blowout of Montana State

Published

1 year ago

December 16, 2024

LOS ANGELES — Everything he says in front of a microphone, Eric Musselman smirked Sunday, is calculated. And he speaks, firstly, not to the general public. He speaks, firstly, to his own program.

Two weeks ago, USC reeling amid a three-game losing streak, head coach Musselman told reporters “I don’t know how many Big Ten games we’re gonna win” after a loss to Oregon. It was not the work of loose lips, fueled by emotion. It was planned. It was a coach who was fully aware his players had eyes and ears and social media, and would no doubt see a clip of their head coach questioning his program’s very ability nine games into their season.

And in the weeks to come, as guard Desmond Claude affirmed Sunday night, Musselman’s players have wanted to hit the hardwood and show him.

“I would say,” wing Saint Thomas said Sunday, with a smirk of his own, “I definitely seen what he said.”

There is life in this USC program yet, and life in the Galen Center, life created by the media-manipulation mind games of a 60-year-old HC who was forged amid the drama of the NBA.

A week after the Trojans followed up that Oregon loss by bludgeoning Washington on the road, they returned home to blitz Montana State on Sunday night in an end-to-end 89-63 win.

“I mean, we were playing bad basketball a couple games ago, and that’s the real,” Thomas said. “And him speaking up like that, I think, kind of got us out of our funk.”

Claude continued a three-game stretch of immaculate play, finishing with 19 points on 6-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-8 on free throws. Thomas added 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

USC never once trailed, and the ballgame was all but over by the 10-minute mark. Thomas drained a three to put the Trojans up 27-5 early on an overwhelmed Big Sky opponent.

Suddenly, in a conference known for plodding big men and gritty offense, free-flowing USC (7-4, 1-1 Big Ten) looks like the kind of program that could give a host of Big Ten schools fits.

“We’re starting to turn it around,” Claude said postgame. “And — yeah, we just wanted to prove everybody wrong.”

The team’s “only problem” at the moment, as Thomas said postgame, was guarding the ball and playing team defense. Maybe not only. But regardless, it had bit USC for weeks, and with his ideas already exhausted Musselman turned to his roots.

He and staff, after the Oregon game, reached out to a host of NBA teams and coaches for ideas on defensive drills, Musselman said after Sunday’s game. Since then, they’ve drilled two-on-two pick-and-roll actions for 14 days straight.

“We just needed to put them in some different situations,” Musselman said postgame. “And I thought it really helped us.”

For minutes, to open Sunday’s game, Montana State had difficulty even getting a shot off before red zeroes blared. MSU started just 2-of-13 from the floor, and USC’s defensive rotations and help in the paint look massively improved. And on the other end, a team that had played a sort of discombobulated your-turn, my-turn offense swung the rock as if they’d been buddies since childhood.

One possession with about nine minutes remaining in the first half was pure symphony. First came a slew of DHOs to get Thomas driving off a pick-and-roll. Then came a baseline cut by Matt Knowling and a find by Thomas. Then came a touch-pass to the corner from Knowling to Clark Slajchert. Then came an immediate drive-and-dump by Slajchert to big Rashaun Agee, a slew of split-second instinctive reads culminating in a thunderous jam from Agee.

After USC took a 47-21 halftime lead, Claude kept his program afloat in the second half, repeatedly breaking down bigs off pick-and-roll actions and attacking downhill relentlessly to the tune of 15 points after the break.

“He’s become a really, really hard player to defend,” Musselman said postgame.

Two weeks ago, in front of that microphone at Oregon, Musselman could’ve taken a wildly different route. They’d lost in the final minutes to the then-12th-ranked team in the nation, after all. It was a sign of progress.

But the man was thinking steps ahead and dropped the words that have sparked a turnaround.

“The truth hurts sometimes,” Thomas said, on Sunday. “But hey, the truth got us to where we are now.”

Originally Published: December 15, 2024 at 8:16 PM PST

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Montana

Encore of the Heart: Montana Performer Makes Comeback After Heart Attack | AHA

Published

7 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Encore of the Heart: Montana Performer Makes Comeback After Heart Attack | AHA

Frankee Angel, a lifelong performer, found her world upended when she suffered a sudden medical emergency just before playing piano at St. Patrick’s Church. Unaware that she had already survived one heart attack, she was shocked to learn she was in the midst of a second. The damage was severe—her heart’s ejection fraction had fallen to 15%, indicating advanced heart failure.

Under the care of the cardiology team at Intermountain Health St. James Hospital, Angel began a long journey toward stabilizing and strengthening her heart. Providers monitored her closely, adjusting medications and helping her manage complications like fluid buildup. Their goal was to prepare her for an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), a device that could protect her from dangerous heart rhythms. In July 2025, once her body was ready, the device was successfully implanted.

Angel immediately felt renewed energy and affectionately named the ICD “Minerva,” after her old stage persona. “It’s a miracle! I’m able to live like the person I am meant to be,” she said.

With the support of cardiac rehabilitation and her dedicated care team, Angel gradually reclaimed her identity as a performer. She returned to playing piano during mass and is now preparing for a role in Macbeth. Her story highlights the broader impact of St. James Hospital’s “Hearts in the Mountains” initiative, launched in 2022 to expand heart-failure care in rural Montana—a program that has helped reduce cardiology readmission rates from 30% to 11.4%.

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Montana

Montana State announces spring football schedule; Nolan Askelson joins coaching staff

Published

19 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Montana State announces spring football schedule; Nolan Askelson joins coaching staff

BOZEMAN — Montana State will begin spring football practices March 24.

The reigning national champion Bobcats will hold 12 practices, two scrimmages and the Sonny Holland Spring Classic over the course of five weeks. The Sonny Holland Spring Classic is scheduled for Saturday, April 25.

Also on the schedule is the MSU Pro Day, which will be held April 2.

In addition to releasing the spring practice schedule, Montana State confirmed the addition of Nolan Askelson to the coaching staff. Askelson, a Billings Senior High School alum, will be an assistant defensive line coach for Bobby Daly, who is returning as Montana State’s defensive coordinator after spending last season at UTEP.

Askelson was a standout linebacker for the Bobcats, capping his MSU career with first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2023. He played in four games as a true freshman in 2018 before becoming a regular rotation player in 2019. An injury shortened his 2021 season, but he played 11 games in 2022 and finished with 64 tackles.

As a senior in 2023, Askelson wore Montana State’s legacy No. 41 jersey and led the team with 84 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss and two sacks.

In high school, he was a two-time all-state selection for Senior and helped the Broncs win Class AA state championships in 2016 and 2017.

Montana State spring football schedule

Tuesday, March 24 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, March 26 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Friday, March 27 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Monday, March 30 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Wednesday, April 1 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, April 2 — Pro Day (no practice)

Friday, April 3 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Saturday, April 4 — Practice, 10:05 a.m.

Tuesday, April 7 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.