Bobcats Help Eagles Fall Into A Trap Montana State Thumps Ewu In Big Sky Play

Dribbling into a trap is easier than dribbling out of one, as Eastern Washington probably knows after Friday night’s 74-55 men’s basketball loss to Montana State.

“We were just like a bunch of chickens running around with our heads cut off,” Eagles point guard Brett Thompson observed. “We really showed no poise.”

The Bobcats forced many of Eastern’s 28 turnovers, eventually breaking the game open by outscoring the Eagles 25-4 the first 8 minutes of the second half.

MSU forward Nico Harrison scored 12 of his game-high 19 points during the avalanche, taking the ball strong to the basket for dunks and finger-rolls.

The 6-foot-4, 180-poun-der, who lived in Spokane before moving to Portland after eighth grade, terrorized the Eagles for seven of his team’s 11 steals.

“(The homecoming) went perfect,” said Harrison, who had nine family members among the season-high 2,490 fans at Reese Court. “The trap is our way of setting the tempo on the road. We just got a lot of turnovers that led to easy baskets.”

Harrison had help from guards Scott Hatler, Eric Talley, Kwesi Coleman and Mike Elliott. Together, they kept Thompson and fellow EWU point guard Carl Crider without a first-half assist or steal. Crider managed two assists thereafter, but only when the Bobcats stopped trapping.

Those figures are slightly misleading, however, as Thompson and Crider assisted on several MSU baskets, combining for nine turnovers.

“It was a combination of their athleticism and running a good trap,” Thompson said, “and us not having any poise.”

One first-half sequence was particularly illustrative. After Craig Stinnett’s inside hoop pulled Eastern within 16-12, Thompson spent 14 seconds dribbling erratically before rocketing a one-handed pass to a middle-aged man positioned along the baseline.

The pass missed the man, as well as his camera, which captured the Eagles’ 27th straight Big Sky Conference loss for a regional television audience.

“A couple of times when they trapped, we got it to the middle,” said Eastern coach John Wade, whose team fell to 0-6 in the conference and 3-14 overall, “but then we made some bad decisions.”

“Against that press,” forward Josh Lewis added, “we should make two passes and get a layup. But we were scared to death.”

“I really don’t have any excuses,” forward Kevin Groves acknowledged. “We just need to make better ball decisions.”

While Harrison was dominant, making 8 of 10 field goals to go with a game-high five assists, the Eagles received strong performances from center Melvin Lewis and off-guard D’mitri Rideout.

Lewis led Eastern with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rideout added 16 points, but no other Eagle managed more than five.

Eastern outrebounded Montana State 38-24, grabbing 27 defensive rebounds.

And while Lewis was aggressive under the basket, it was the success of Montana State’s trap that contributed to the rebounding discrepancy. Instead of sending players after offensive rebounds, the Bobcats were content to get back on defense, where they forced turnovers that led to easy baskets.

“We just played great the first 5 minutes of the second half,” Bobcats (3-3, 15-4) coach Mick Durham said.

Montana State 74, EWU 55

MONTANA ST. (3-3, 15-4)

Harrison 8-10 3-3 19, Leachman 0-5 0-0 0, Michaels 4-6 3-7 11, Hatler 3-6 0-0 8, Talley 5-7 1-2 12, Coleman 3-10 0-0 7, Elliott 4-6 2-3 11, Garrison 0-1 0-2 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Lollis 3-7 0-2 6. Totals 30-58 9-19 74.

E. WASHINGTON (0-6, 3-14)

Groves 1-5 0-0 2, Porter 0-6 2-2 2, M.Lewis 7-10 3-4 17, Rideout 6-10 4-6 16, Crider 2-4 3-4 7, Richardson 0-1 0-0 0, Egan 1-3 0-0 2, Dean 0-3 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-2 0, Stinnett 2-2 0-0 4, J.Lewis 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 21-48 12-18 55.

Halftime-Montana St. 30, E. Washington 25. 3-Point goals- Montana St. 5-13 (Leachman 0-2, Hatler 2-4, Talley 1-3, Coleman 1-2, Elliott 1-2), E. Washington 1-6 (Crider 0-2, Egan 0-1, J.Lewis 1-3). Fouled out-M.Lewis. Rebounds-Montana St. 24 (Leachman, Michaels 4), E. Washington 38 (M.Lewis 10). Assists- Montana St. 19 (Harrison 5), E. Washington 13 (Porter, J.Lewis 3). Total fouls-Montana St. 15, E. Washington 20. Technicals- Montana St., Coach Durham, Mike Elliott. A-2,490.