By Danny Waldo
With Round 1 of the annual Cat/Griz basketball rivalry looming around the corner, the Montana State Bobcat men continue to find victories, running their conference-winning streak to five games. After starting the win streak with a gutty, defensive effort versus Northern Colorado, the ‘Cats went on the road and swept Sacramento State and Portland State, earning their first league victories on the road since February of 2016. The streak continued with a sweep in their most recent home stand, defeating a pair of league leading teams in Idaho and Eastern Washington with both contests being decided in overtime.
Now, the ‘Cats can turn their attention to the Grizzlies, as MSU heads to Missoula on February 4th for the first matchup this season between the long-time rivals. While MSU has been streaking lately, the Grizzlies have been heading in the opposite direction having lost four consecutive conference games after starting league play at 5-1. It’s probably no coincidence that the Bobcats improvement in the win column has coincided with the emergence of true freshman Harald Frey and junior college transfer Devonte Klines. The backcourt duo have given the ‘Cats a three-headed scoring monster, joining sophomore Tyler Hall, who leads the ‘Cats in scoring at better than 23 points per game. Klines’ emergence has been especially important to the ‘Cats as team focus on taking away the scoring ability of Hall, and he provides a steady alternative to Frey at the point as evidenced by his most recent stat lines in MSU’s wins over Idaho and Eastern Washington. Against the Vandals, Klines finished with 13 points and four assists after taking over the point guard duties when the freshman, Frey, fouled out with three minutes to go in regulation. Nine of Klines’ points came in the overtime period, including a three-pointer with just under two minutes to play the pushed the ‘Cats lead to five and effectively sealed the win for MSU. MSU’s most recent victories push their conference record to 6-4 and alone in fourth place heading to Missoula, where the Grizzlies have slipped to 5-5.
The Bobcats and Grizzlies will square off in Dahlberg Arena on Februrary 4th at 7pm. For more information on Bobcat basketball or a complete schedule of remaining games, log on to www.msubobcats.com.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics. •
