Bobcat basketball weekly update

Bobcat basketball has hit the midway point and the season is starting to heat up. With the women on the road and the men hosting two games in the Brick, Cats fans have been treated to plenty of basketball. Let’s check in with the teams and roll back the past week.

Women’s

The women’s team was on the road last week with stops in Ogden, Utah and Pocatello, Idaho to take on Weber State and Idaho State, respectively. The Cats struggled to get going throughout the first half against Weber State. They ended the half down 11 points. A strong second-half surge led by senior forward Claire Lundberg lifted the Cats to a win — outscoring the Wildcats 43-26 in the second half. The Cats won by a final score of 66-59. Lundberg lead the team with 23 points.

The Cats then traveled to Pocatello on Jan. 26 to face off against the Idaho State Bengals. The Bengals came into the game at 6-2 in conference play. MSU came out blazing with junior guard Martha Kudurer scoring an impressive 18 first half points to push the Cats to a 29-27 lead at halftime. The Cats offense fell flat in the second half only amassing 14 total points while the Bengals raced past the Cats to win the game 61-43.

Looking Ahead

The Cats now own a 10-9 overall record with a 5-4 conference record good for fifth in the conference. Next up, the Cats host the University of Montana (10-8 overall, 5-4 in conference) in the first basketball installment of the Brawl of the Wild Series on Saturday, Feb 2. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

Men’s

The men’s team stayed home this week, welcoming the Weber State Wildcats on Jan. 24. Weber State got off to an early lead in the first half as the Cats struggled to score. Despite a second-half comeback effort by MSU, the Wildcats proved to be too much in the end as the Bobcats fell 93-84. Senior guard Tyler Hall led all scorers with 28 points on 48 percent shooting from the field.

Next, the men hosted Idaho State on Jan. 26. The first half was back-and-forth until the last few minutes where the Cats managed to pull away for a 45-36 lead. Coach Brian Fish rallied the troops in the second half, with the offense amassing 59, 20 of which came from junior guard Harold Frey, en route to an impressive 104-84 victory. Frey tied a career-high 31 points to lead all scores. Hall continued an already strong season, accruing a total of 26 points on 17 shot attempts. The Bobcats’ defense forced an astonishing 17 turnovers while only committing five themselves.

Looking ahead

The men’s team owns an 8-11 record overall (5-4 in conference), good for fourth in the Big Sky Conference. Up next, the Cats host the Montana Grizzlies (14-6 overall, 7-2 in conference) with more Brawl of the Wild points on the line on Saturday, Feb. 2. The tipoff is set for 7:00 pm.