Brian Goracke’s buzzer-beater lifts Montana State Bobcats to OT win against Southern Utah

While Tuesday’s 89-88 overtime win against Southern Utah at Worthington Arena doesn’t make up all of that ground, it’s a step in the right direction.

“Our mantra tonight was ‘It takes what it takes,’ and whether it takes 40 minutes or 45 minutes, we’re committed to doing whatever it takes to win,” Bobcats head coach Matt Logie said.

MSU’s Eddie Turner III had a layup roll off the rim in the waning seconds of regulation, and the teams went to overtime tied at 76-76. Two of MSU’s losses this season — at Seattle U and against Green Bay — have featured similar layups not falling at the end of the game, both by Brian Goracke. But the transfer from Point Loma, where he played for Logie before this season, supplied the game-winner on Tuesday.

With 2.5 seconds remaining and down by two, MSU’s Tyler Patterson inbounded the ball across the court to John Olmsted, who was freed in the paint by a screen from Robert Ford III. Olmsted jumped to catch the ball and, before landing, kicked it out to Goracke, who was sprung free on the perimeter by a screen by Sam Lecholat. Goracke pump-faked to get SUU’s Braden Housley out of the way, and his ensuing shot was pure as time expired.

“We’ve had that play prepared for a long time,” Goracke told MSU Sports Information after the game. “Coach drew it up, trusted me to hit the shot, I visualized it and made it happen.”

MSU didn’t lead for any part of overtime except for the very end. The final shot of the evening gave Goracke 23 points to go with nine rebounds in the win that gave MSU (5-5) consecutive victories for the first time this season. The Bobcats defeated SAGU American Indian College 106-81 on Saturday, thanks in part to 29 points from Goracke.

“Brian’s a clutch player. He’s made big shots for me for the last three years,” Logie said. “You’re not going to make all of them. You’ve just got to step up with confidence, have a short memory on those, and he did that tonight.”

The Bobcats also received 17 points from Brandon Walker in the win. Ford had 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Chika Nduka had his finest game as a Bobcat with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists before fouling out. He shot 6 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the foul line.

“He was phenomenal,” Logie said. “Just with his ability to find open teammates, and then he’s improved finishing around the basket. He shot free throws well. I’m really proud of him.”

Patterson had eight points, Jaden Geron added seven points and Turner had two points to round out the scoring for MSU. It was just the second game of the season for Geron, who missed the first eight games with an injury. He made his debut against SAGU AIC, scoring three points to go with three rebounds. On Tuesday, he played 24 minutes, hit a 3-pointer and had three rebounds with two assists. Geron also fouled out and committed a somewhat misguided foul late in overtime, but on the whole Logie felt the Rice transfer provided “great minutes.”

“He’s probably got 10 practices under his belt at best,” Logie added, “so really proud of his mentality to stay ready and be able to come into a game like this where we had foul trouble and needed him, and he certainly delivered.”

It all added up to be just enough to beat Southern Utah (3-8), which was led by Dominique Ford’s 25 points and Housley’s 21. Parsa Fallah (14 points) and Zion Young (13 points) also scored in double figures.

The Bobcats led 40-37 at halftime after shooting 15 of 30 in the first half, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.

Four different Southern Utah players scored in the game’s opening minutes, and the Thunderbirds used a 10-0 run to build a 14-4 advantage.

The Bobcats responded with a 10-0 run of their own, helped along by 3-pointers by Ford and Goracke. Nduka had the final two points of that run, sparking him to a 10-point first half.

Montana State led by as many as six points in the second half, only letting the Thunderbirds take the lead with 2:08 remaining on a three-point play by Housley.

That sequence put SUU ahead 74-73. On the next possession, Nduka drove from the perimeter into the paint and spun around to find Goracke for an open 3-pointer, which he banked off the glass. That shot came with 1:49 left, and MSU was scoreless for the rest of regulation.

Dominique Ford’s bucket down low came with 31 seconds left to tie the game at 76-76 before Turner’s last-second drive came up empty and sent the game to overtime.

In the extra period, SUU went ahead by four points four separate times. Each time, MSU had an answer. For the last one, with 37 seconds remaining, Robert Ford responded with a 3-pointer to make it 86-85. Young made two free throws for SUU, pushing the lead back to three.

Walker split a pair of free throws for MSU with 6.5 seconds left. To preserve the clock, MSU fouled Housley intentionally, and he missed both attempts. The Bobcats rebounded the ball and raced down the floor before calling a timeout. Goracke’s heroics followed.

“We have a plan. Our guys executed that play terrifically well, and we got to see the results from it,” Logie said. “So hopefully that’s something that we can build off from here.”

The Bobcats narrowly won the rebounding battle, 42-41, but did permit the Thunderbirds to collect 18 offensive rebounds which led to 17 second-chance points. MSU committed 13 turnovers, several of which were due to a full-court press after SUU’s made free throws. And Southern Utah made 33 of 39 foul shots, so the Bobcats faced the press quite a bit.

But MSU shot better from the field (46.9% to 34.7%) and made 9 of 21 3-pointers, the last of which proved to be the most important.

The game marked MSU’s final outing at home in 2023. The Bobcats face Cal State Northridge on the road at 2 p.m. Friday before playing at Idaho State on Dec. 28 and at Weber State on Dec. 30 in the first two games of Big Sky play.