Montana State University secured an 84-69 victory over Portland State on Thursday night at Worthington Arena, propelled by a strong performance from beyond the three-point line. The Bobcats connected on 15 three-pointers, with Jed Miller and Seth Amunrud accounting for 10 of those.
“When we get out in transition and share the basketball, which we always do, we have a great opportunity to get quality shots,” said Montana State head coach Matt Logie. “Our guys stepped up with confidence and knocked them down.”
Jeremiah Davis opened the game by scoring the first eight points for Montana State, helping establish an early 11-0 lead within the opening three minutes. Portland State narrowed the deficit to five midway through the first half following a jumper from Sebastian Tidor, but a quick response from Miller pushed Montana State’s advantage back into double digits.
Portland State managed to reduce the gap to five points twice early in the second half, largely due to Terri Miller’s efforts. However, as Montana State regained control behind key plays from Jed Miller and Chris Hodges, they maintained their lead for the remainder of the game.
Despite both teams shooting 50 percent from three-point range, Montana State had a higher volume of attempts, going 15-for-30 compared to Portland State’s 9-for-18. Inside the arc, Montana State also held an edge by converting 14-of-26 two-point shots while Portland State made 17-of-40.
“We did a good job negating the size advantage that Portland State has,” Logie said. “It just takes all five guys getting in there for some trench warfare and some physicality that has to take place to dig it out of there once in a while, and our guys did a good job especially setting in the tone early.”
Logie credited improved screening and floor spacing for his team’s shooting efficiency. “I thought our screening was better, our floor spacing was better to make that happen, and then we know what the guys can do (shooting).”
The win allows Montana State (10-6 Big Sky) to keep its chances alive for sharing the Big Sky regular season championship if it wins upcoming games against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. Portland State (12-4 Big Sky) has already clinched at least a share of first place.
Jed Miller highlighted his team’s determination: “We’re resilient,” he said. “We’ve got a resilient group of guys, me and the other two seniors that are currently playing now are full of resilience and we have no quit. We’re going to keep going until the wheels come off.”
Miller led Montana State with 25 points along with nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. Amunrud scored a career-high 22 points including six threes and added two steals; Christian King contributed 13 points.
For Portland State, Terri Miller Jr. scored a game-high 28 points while Jaylin Henderson added 19 points. Tre-Vaughn Minott collected 11 rebounds.
Montana State will face Sacramento State at home on Saturday in its regular season finale.
