Any worry Mountain State coach Bob Bolen had about his team possibly looking ahead to its game with No. 4 Lee Saturday didn’t last long.

The Cougars cruised to a 30-2 lead Thursday night and then coasted to a 109-70 win over overmatched Northwestern Ohio at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

Mountain State’s James Spencer, the leading scorer in NAIA Division I, reached his average with a 25-point night and four other MSU players scored in double figures in the easy victory.

“We played perfect basketball the first 11 minutes of the game,” Bolen said. “We really came out doing everything right. Defensively, making shots, everything was working.”

MSU never trailed in making its record 26-1 on the season.

The closest the Racers would get was 4-2, but the Cougars then ran off 26 straight points over a seven-minute stretch. By the time Northwestern Ohio scored again the count was 30-4.

Game, set and Cougar victory.

“When we play like that, I don’t think there is another team that can beat us,” point guard Jarvis Jackson said.

Northwestern Ohio didn’t back down initially, cutting the deficit in half to 37-25, but the Cougars ran off a 12-4 run to lead by 20 at the half.

“We kind of lost focus there for the second part of the first half, especially on the defensive end,” Jackson said. “Coach gave us a little talk at halftime and we picked it up in the second half.”

James Spencer, who had been taunted by some of the Racer players after the Cougars’ 88-68 win at UNOH, said he played with a mission.

“I didn’t shoot the ball well down there,” he said. “And I had a lot of open shots. I took (the talk) as a challenge). I wanted to show them that they couldn’t guard me.”

Actually, the Racers didn’t guard anyone.

Mountain State opened the floodgates in the second half with a 60-point explosion to win going away.

Big Jason McGriff finished the night with a double-double, with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

“I wanted to get 22 (the school record is 20, set by Alan Brown in 1994 and Anthony Scruggs in 1997), but unfortunately, they stopped bouncing my way,” McGriff said. “I just like basketball. Any time I can get on the court, it’s fun.”

“I think people enjoy the way he plays,” Bolen said, noting a scrapbook a family had put together for McGriff, their favorite Cougar. “He plays hard. He’s been like that for us since Day 1.”

Adron Marshall had 18 points, Ermin Tarcin 12 and Jarvis Jackson 11.

Twelve of the 14 Cougars who played in the game scored.

Isaac Bowers and Jason Sarno led the Racers with 19 points each and Josh Vorst added 11.

The win sets up Mountain State’s home finale with No. 4 Lee Saturday. It is believed to be the first time two Top 5 teams have met in Beckley in a college game.



No. 3 MSU 109, Northwestern Ohio 70

UNOH (9-19)

Isaac Bowers 5-12 6-8 19, Jason Sarno 6-11 5-5 19, Josh Vorst 5-14 1-1 11, Brandon Miller 3-4 1-2 7, Kyle Gillette 2-5 3-4 7, Marcus Addy 0-2 3-6 3, Adam Ashman 0-0 0-0 0, Aaron Braun 1-2 2-2 4, Donovan Delong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 21-28 70.

MOUNTAIN STATE (26-1)

James Spencer 10-17 2-2 25, Jarvis Jackson 4-7 1-1 11, Tyrice Watkins 3-9 2-2 9, Adron Marshall 7-10 4-4 18, Jason McGriff 5-10 4-6 14, Ralph Legg 2-7 0-0 5, Denzel Lyles 1-3 0-0 2, Daniel Scott 2-2 1-1 6, Ricky Jackson 0-0 2-2 2, Vedrin Zivic 0-0 0-0 0, Vaso Aleksic 0-2 2-2 2, Papa Gassama 0-3 0-0 0, Rod Green 1-2 1-2 3, Ermin Tarcin 4-6 2-6 12. Totals 39-78 21-28 109.

Halftime—MSU 49-29. 3-Point Goals—UNOH 5-22 (Bowers 3-9, Sarno 2-6, Vorst 0-6, Addy 0-1); MSU 10-25 (James Spencer 3-5, J, Jackson 2-4, Watkins 1-4, Marshall 0-1, Legg 1-4, Lyles 0-1, Scott 1-1, Aleksic 0-1, Gassama 0-1, Tarcin 2-3). Fouled Out—Gillette, Braun. Rebounds—UNOH 34 (Vorst, Braun 6); MSU 41 (McGriff 15). Assists—UNOH 10 (Sarno 3); MSU 21 (Legg 6). Total Fouls—UNOH 23; MSU 21. A—702.