Terzic, Tate shoot down OVC

This just in: Do not give Mountain State’s Mersad Terzic an inch. He’ll take a mile.

The Cougars’ senior, given several open looks by an Ohio Valley defense intent on stopping Rodney Epperson, scored 25 points — including 5-of-10 on 3-pointers — in MSU’s 106-71 Alumni Day victory over the Scots Saturday at the Raleigh County Armory.

“What happened is they were focusing too much on Rodney,” Terzic said. “They were leaving other players alone, going at him with two or three guys. When that happens, we have to be able to step up and hit the wide open shots.”

Epperson added 24 — 19 by the half — as the Cougars (5-0) topped the century mark for the third time this season. Dajuan Tate, a starter on last year’s team who has been slowed by a leg injury, added 18 points in just 12 minutes and gave the Cougars a lift at two different points.

“T.Z. (Terzic) is a great shooter,” MSU coach Bob Bolen said. “When you leave him open, he’s going to knock them down.”

“They’re tough to defend,” Scots’ coach Bill McGee said. “They’ve got a five man (Terzic) who can step out and hit the three. That’s tough.”

So were the Scots, who gave the Cougars all they could handle for the game’s first 16 minutes.

After OVC’s Austin Jones’ jumper made it 44-35 with 4:31 left in the first half, the Cougars went on a Tate-led 14-4 run to end the half. Tate had seven points on the run that gave MSU a 58-39 halftime lead.

“I just wanted to come out and prove to my teammates that I can still play,” Tate said. “I know they know that, but I still feel like I have something to prove.”

In the second half it was like old times, as Tate and Terzic led a 14-3 run — Terzic netting a three Tate scoring nine straight points — as the Cougars opened up a sizable 72-42 lead.

“I don’t think he’s close to 100 percent and he might not be until January,” Bolen said of Tate. “But he knows how to play the game. It doesn’t really bother his shooting. He’s a competitor and he wants to be in there for his teammates. He really gave us a lift tonight.”

McGee called the Cougars “one of the most explosive teams I’ve seen.”

“If they aren’t running the ball down your throat in transition, then they’re throwing the ball down your throat inside or kicking it out for threes.”

“I think we might have worn them down a little,” Bolen said. “I thought they played well, really physical, in the first 16 minutes. But we were able to get our in transition and that might have taken its toll.”

Maurice Davis made his first start of the year and had 11 points for MSU while Yusuf Baker had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Cobbina led the Scots with 17 points. Former Parkersburg star Sean Michael added 13, Marlon Pierre 12 and Caleb Canton 11.

“We’ve been at the bottom of the (West Virginia) Conference the last two years,” McGee said. “We’d like to fight our way up to the middle. I’m pleased. I saw a lot of positive signs tonight.”

Mountain State will head to California Wednesday and will battle No. 1 Azusa Pacific in a tournament beginning Friday.

“We’ve got to continue to get better,” Bolen said. “Our schedule just gets tougher and tougher.”

— E-mail: demorrison@

register-herald.com



OHIO VALLEY 71

Marlon Pierre 4-11 2-5 12, Stephen Camberis 3-7 1-3 9, Chris Cobbina 4-5 9-10 17, Caleb Canton 4-12 1-2 11, Sean Michael 5-17 0-0 13, Austin Jones 2-5 0-0 5, Ryan Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick Whiteside 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 24-62 15-20 71.

MOUNTAIN STATE 106

Brian Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Maurice Davis 5-8 0-0 11, Rodney Epperson 10-19 1-1 24, Yusuf Baker 3-6 3-3 9, Mersad Terzic 10-16 0-0 25, Donald Whitfield 1-4 0-0 2, Tony Fox 1-2 0-0 2, Tihon Johnson 4-7 0-0 8, Dajuan Tate 6-10 4-4 18, Papa Gassama 0-3 0-0 0, Marc Lewis 2-3 0-0 5, Ermin Tarzin 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 43-81 8-10 106.

OVC 39 32 — 71

MS (5-0) 58 48 — 106

Three-point goals — OVC: 8-23 (Camberis 2-4, Canton 2-5, Michael 3-9, Jones 1-4, Whiteside 01; MSU: 12-29 (Davis 1-2, Epperson 3-8, Terzic 5-10, Whitfield 0-1, Fox 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Tate 2-3, Lewis 1-3). Rebounds — OVC: 35 (Pierre 8); MSU: 40 (Baker 10); Assists — OVC: 16 (Cameris 5); MSU: 35 (Johnson 8). Fouled out — None.