For Immediate Release

Bobcats Shoot Their Way Past NAU, 101-58

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State was on fire from long range tonight, knocking down an NCAA Division I single-game high this season of 25 three-pointers to defeat Northern Arizona, 101-58 at Worthington Arena.

"I explained to them that we have to be better," said head coach Jack Murphy. "You have to give them a lot of credit for shooting the ball well, but we didn't defend them the way we could've. There were too many open looks that were missed and we can't have that, especially on the road. There's no way we can play like this and come away with a win. We have to regroup and get things going, because we have another game in two days."

MSU (11-13, 6-6 BSC) hit six of its first 11 three-pointers to jump out to a 20-8 advantage with 11:28 to go in the first half. NAU (4-19, 2-10 BSC) struggled from the floor to start making only three of its 12 field goals.

The Bobcats went on a 25-0 run before Torry Johnson's layup stopped the surge at 36-10 in MSU's favor. Leading the charge for the Bobcats was Tyler Hall connecting on a perfect 6 of 6 three pointers in the half, to finish 8 of 11 from behind the arc and a total 29 points.

MSU took a 56-18 lead into halftime after hitting 15 of 23 three-pointers. Twenty three of MSU's 30 shot attempts came from long range.

The Bobcats started the game with a trey, assisting in an 8-0 run by the home team, but NAU was able to slow MSU down after that.  

The second half saw a completely different Lumberjack squad. NAU went on a 9-0 run with the help of Johnson and Yanku midway through the second half. The Lumberjacks used the free throw line to their advantage and to stop the clock. NAU hit 11 of 12 free throws to begin the half.

The Lumberjacks did much better in the second half controlling the ball and passing as it scored double the amount of points in the first half.

Johnson netted a career-high 21 points, 10 coming from the charity stripe. Yanku also tallied 21 points, along with five rebounds and four assists. NAU shot 57.9 percent from the floor in the second half and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.

MSU had four more players score in double figures Sam Neumann (15), Nahjee Matlock (13), Stephan Holm (12), and Sarp Gobeloglu (11). The Bobcats finished 55.6 percent from the field and 58.1 percent from the free throw line.

NAU heads to conference leader Montana for a showdown with the Griz on Saturday at 7pm. The Lumberjacks and the Griz went to double overtime in the Big Sky opener on New Year's Eve with the Griz taking a 90-84 win back home.

Notes: NAU scored a season low 18 points in the first half; previous low was 20 points at Tulsa on Dec. 22, 2015…MSU recorded a new NCAA Division I made three-pointers record this season with 25…Torry Johnson netted a career-high 21 points; previous 16 points…NAU still leads the all-time series 50-46…First 20point game for Yanku since Dec. 31, 2015