Southern Utah fends off stubborn Montana State 93-82

Dec 31, 2015, 08:22 pm

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- James McGee's career-high 26 points -- with all five starters in double-figure scoring -- helped Southern Utah hold off Montana State and its record-setting freshman Tyler Hall 93-82 in a Big Sky opener Thursday night.

Hall scored the last 15 points for Montana State -- bringing the Bobcats as close as 73-70 and 85-81 -- to finish with 36 points, most by a freshman in MSU history. He shot 12-for-25 and made five 3-pointers.

Race Parsons, who scored 11 points for Southern Utah with seven assists, hit a 3-pointer 12 seconds into the second half, sparking an 11-2 run as Southern Utah (4-8) broke away from a 51-47 halftime lead.

Trey Kennedy and Casey Oliverson scored 18 each for Southern Utah and Travon Langston 13.

MSU (5-8) kept coming back, Marcus Colbert and Zach Green scoring 15 points apiece.

Southern Utah shot 54 percent and drained 12 3-pointers.