Fort Worth Showdown: Horned Frogs Triumph Over Bobcats

FORT WORTH, Texas — Montana State men’s basketball wrapped up a challenging non-conference stretch Sunday afternoon, suffering an 82-48 loss to TCU in Fort Worth.

After encountering one of the most formidable schedules for any mid-major program throughout November and December, Montana State (5-8, 0-0 Big Sky) is set to reset in 2025 when Big Sky Conference play commences on January 2 at Idaho.

On Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth, TCU (7-4, 0-0 Big 12) utilized its size and athleticism to dominate the rebounds and exert continuous defensive pressure on Montana State in the halfcourt.

The Horned Frogs entered Sunday’s contest featuring a top-25 defense nationally and demonstrated why, making every pass, handoff, and shot exceedingly challenging. TCU out-rebounded Montana State by a margin of 46-24, securing 14 offensive boards.

The Bobcats struggled with their shooting, connecting on just 5 of 26 (19.2%) attempts from three-point range and 19 of 54 (35.2%) from the field, resulting in 14 turnovers — their highest total since the season opener against Wisconsin.

Max Agbonkpolo topped the scoring for MSU with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting, but he was the sole Bobcat in double digits.

Brandon Walker, returning to his hometown area in Dallas, notched eight points and five rebounds.

Patrick McMahon and Brian Goracke concluded with five points each.

Montana State appeared to be in good shape early, leading 10-7 after a Jabe Mullins step-back 3-pointer five minutes into the first half.

A few possessions later, Goracke sank an open three-pointer courtesy of an assist from Chika Nduka, putting the Cats back in front before Agbonkpolo hit a pull-up jumper in the paint, giving Montana State a 15-12 advantage during the under-12 timeout.

However, TCU subsequently began forcing mistakes from Montana State, igniting a 24-4 run that set the Horned Frogs on course for victory.

TCU finished the half leading 42-25 and decisively put the game away with a 16-0 run, extending their lead to 64-33 at the second half under-12 media timeout.

Montana State has now confronted three teams in the past six weeks that were single-digit seeds from last year’s NCAA Tournament (No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 9 TCU).

“I just informed the guys that they understood the challenge in signing up for this,” Logie remarked regarding the non-conference schedule, which also included USC and Wichita State. “I was confident in their capacity to withstand the difficulty of this schedule due to our age, maturity, experience, and culture. It doesn’t mean it always feels pleasant, but I believe it will benefit us as we return from the Christmas break to have four or five days — a substantial amount of time to truly concentrate and prepare for conference play. I know our guys are extremely eager. Now we’re starting fresh at 0-0. The conference season is upon us, and everything we aimed for is still right before us.”

UP NEXT

Following a Christmas break, Montana State will hit the road in the new year.

The Bobcats will commence Big Sky play with visits to Idaho on Thursday, January 2, and Eastern Washington on Saturday, January 4.

#GoCatsGo