OGDEN, Utah – Desperately needing a win, Montana State men’s basketball went on the road and earned one in one of the toughest places to play in the Big Sky Conference, defeating Weber State 70-61 at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah, on Saturday night. 

Montana State (7-12, 2-4) had won just ten times in 66 previous trips to see the Wildcats dating back to 1964, but threw the history aside to secure a crucial conference victory. 

The result earned head coach Matt Logie his 300th career victory. 

“I’m just so happy for these kids, man,” Logie said. “They’ve been through a lot and they’ve stayed together.” 

Jed Miller scored a career-high 20 points, going a perfect 12 for 12 at the free throw line and adding six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and no turnovers in 24 minutes off the bench.

“Jed’s earned this,” Logie said. “He’s the epitome of ‘Attitude.’ When he wasn’t playing and getting DNP’s, he had a great attitude, supported his teammates, and learned. He’s a very bright kid in terms of his basketball knowledge, he’s very self-aware, and he works at it. He’s so easy to root for that when the success in practice started to come, you just saw it every day. His assist-to-turnover ratio is always 3-to-1, he understands what we’re trying to accomplish, he makes people around him better, and so I’m really happy for him.” 

Miller spearheaded a second-half charge for Montana State as they scored 52 points after halftime on 57.1% shooting from the floor. MSU had struggled in Big Sky play holding onto late leads, but turned it over just twice in the final twenty minutes while going 14 of 16 at the line in the second half. 

A big part of that was the play of the junior point guard from Agoura Hills, California, who scored 15 in the second half alone—including a perfect ten of ten at the charity stripe to help ice the game. 

“It feels amazing,” Miller told sideline reporter Meghan Robinson postgame. “It’s not just me, it’s our team—this was a great game for us, a great win that hopefully allows us to get some momentum going. When our team plays together, we’re the best offensive team and the best overall team in the conference. Our record does not show what we are capable of right now, and all of us that play for Montana State believe that.” 

Miller’s 12 makes at the free throw line tie him with former teammate RaeQuan Battle for the most in a single game without a miss in Bobcat history. Battle also went 12 for 12 against Sacramento State on Jan. 28, 2023. 

Entering Saturday having lost seven of their last eight—suffering five defeats by five or fewer points–Montana State changed the starting lineup for the first time this season and shifted a few rotations to try to create a spark. 

“I think the best thing that came out of us tweaking the lineup and rotation was the confirmation of our team’s attitude and togetherness,” Logie said. “They really don’t care who starts. We’re trying to find how the puzzle fits the best, and I thought we saw a really good version of Pat McMahon in the second half. That was terrific and we were able to go to him down the stretch. Brandon Walker has continued to make really good decisions with the basketball. He’s growing every game. Max Agbonkpolo has been growing.” 

Walker continued his strong stretch of play with 18 points and seven rebounds on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor. Agbonkpolo added 15 points and six rebounds, knocking down three triples and scoring ten in the second half alone. 

McMahon also scored ten after halftime, finishing with 12 for the game. 

“Despite the fact that we haven’t had results lately, we’ve seen the growth,” Logie said. “The results have been frustrating for sure, but this was a step that we thought could maybe give us a spark. I thought everyone stepped up and made good plays today.” 

A physical first half ended with Weber State clinging to a 29-28 lead thanks to a late bucket on the final possession of the frame.

Out of the break, the Bobcat offense found its’ rhythm with a lethal combination of paint touches and efficient outside shooting. 

Montana State outscored Weber State 32-22 in the paint, and finished 10 of 22 from beyond the arc for the game.

Just under ten minutes into the second half, the ‘Cats trailed 51-49 before rattling off a 10-0 run to take a 59-51 lead on a McMahon turnaround jumper with 6:33 to play. 

MSU then stretched it to a 66-55 advantage on a Miller steal-and-score with 3:59 to go, and never let the margin get closer than seven the rest of the way. 

UP NEXT 

Montana State will play their third game in five days on Monday, returning to Bozeman to square off with Eastern Washington at Worthington Arena. 

The Bobcats will be looking for revenge after falling 68-63 to the Eagles two weeks ago in Cheney on Jan. 4 during the opening weekend of Big Sky play. 

Tip is set for 7 p.m. 

The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play carried on the Bobcat Sports Network. 

#GoCatsGo