BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State jumped out to a 14-0 lead to start the game Tuesday night and never looked back in an 85-59 win over ACU in the final game of the Basketball Travelers Invitational at Worthington Arena on the campus of Montana State University.
ACU head coach
Brette Tanner said after Monday night's win over Southern Miss that he and his staff knew the Bobcats could shoot the ball, and they proved him right. The Bobcats were 29 of 50 from the field (58 percent) and an otherworldly 17 of 26 (65 percent) from the 3-point line, including 9 of 11 in the first half.
The Wildcats didn't crack the scoreboard for more than five minutes of the first half as
Quion Williams scored their first points on a jumper with 14:40 left in the first half. After trailing by as many as 21 points twice in the first half, ACU cut the lead to 11 points (41-30) on a layup by
Hunter Jack Madden with 1:26 left in the first half. But the Bobcats closed the half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Brian Goracke and Max Agbonkpolo to carry a 47-30 lead to halftime.
ACU (4-3) never got closer than 16 points in the second half as the Bobcats ran away for the win to improve to 3-4. Eight Bobcats made a 3-pointer, and they were led in scoring by Agbonkpolo and Jabe Mullins, each with 14 points.
Leonardo Bettiol continued his hot start to the season, leading the Wildcats with 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Williams added 10 for ACU, which will play at Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m. Saturday.
