The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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  • MSU’s Cam Miller regains his balance while dribbling around a Bluefield defender in the Cougars’ 93-69 win Nov. 19. MSU hosts Cincinnati Christian at 7 p.m. tonight. Chris Tilley

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November 29, 2011

MSU hosts Cincinnati Christian

By Dave Morrison Register-Herald Sports Writer

BECKLEY — Even when Mountain State isn’t shooting well, coach Bob Bolen, like any coach, expects his team to rebound and play defense.

Because there are going to be nights when the shots aren’t falling.

Case in point: The Cougars’  game against Tusculum Saturday in the Currence Classic. Despite a horrendous shooting night, MSU won the battle of the boards and played good defense in a 50-45 win. That 50-point evening was the second lowest in Cougar history.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well at all,” Bolen said. “But we did rebound the ball, we did play good defense. I was just happy to come out of there with the win.”

Good things happen when you play defense and rebound, and Mountain State (7-3) has done that. And Bolen will be looking for more of the same tonight at 7 p.m. when the Cougars host Cincinnati Christian (0-5) at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

“Rebounding and defense are things we should be able to do all the time,” Bolen said. “Some nights the shots are not going to fall. That was one of those nights. And Tusculum played good defense. At this point, we’re still a work in progress.”

While Cincinnati Christian has not won a game, it has played a good schedule that includes Carson-Newman, Tusculum and U.Va. Wise.

Greg Howard, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, who had 30 against Tusculum, leads the team in scoring at 26 points per game. And 6-4 freshman guard Antonio Fairbanks averaged 21.

For MSU, it will be all about getting its own game together.

And that starts on the defensive end, where 7-foot-1 David Nyarsuk leads the NAIA in blocks at 3.2 per game. Isaiah Hill also has 20 blocks and Bruce Komakech, off the bench, has 19.

“We are long and athletic and defensively we try to force (opponents) into a certain area and our guys have been doing a good job of blocking the ball,” Bolen said. “And, we are keeping a lot of them in play. It’s been a large part of our success so far.”

Point guard Mark Williams leads the Cougars in scoring a 14.1 points per game, along with 8.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds, the third highest total on the team.

Wing Cam Miller averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, Devon Peterson 12.8 and 6-9 Hill averages a double-double at 10 points and a team best 10.7 rebounds. Nyarsuk averages 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds.

MSU will be off for a week before the much-anticipated rematch with NAIA preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Pikeville (Ky.) Dec. 6 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. That game tips off at 7 p.m. as well.

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