BOISE, Idaho – Myerscough alumni Great Osobor captured his second-straight Big Sky Tournament Championship with Montana State after the Bobcats defeated Northern Arizona 85-78 on Tuesday night at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.
Osobor, who was coming off a 16-point performance in Monday’s double overtime semifinal win over Weber State, chipped in nine points for the second-seeded Bobcats (25-9) in the title clinching game. He also grabbed seven rebounds in 13 minutes.
Osobor posted averages of 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in three tournament games for Montana State. He shot 58.3 percent (14-24 FG) from the field and 12-of-19 at the free throw line.
“Great is awfully hard to guard with a four man,” Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said after Tuesday’s win about the sophomore from Myerscough College. “Fours really struggle to guard him on the block.”
The six-foot-eight sophomore forward from Bradford, England was named the conference’s Top Reserve last week. Osobor has averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 33 games played this season to go along with 32 assists, 27 blocks and 20 steals. He shot an impressive 61.7% during the course of the season.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Montana State projected as a No. 15-seed in the NCAA Tournament and up against projected No. 2-seed Baylor in the East Region with the first round being played in Denver. It would be the second-straight tournament that pitted the Bobcats against an opponent out of the Big 12. They lost 97-62 to Texas Tech in the 2022.
Selection Sunday for the tournament is on Mar. 12 at 6 p.m. eastern standard time while the First Four will be played on Mar. 14 and 15. The First Round starts on Thursday, Mar. 16 and Friday, Mar. 17.
The Bobcats, who went 26 years between NCAA appearances, have now made back-to-back trips to the Big Dance. They are 0-4 all-time with their closet defeat being a 50-46 loss to Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State) in 1951.
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