GAME NOTES: The Montana State Bobcats will attempt to build off their first win of the season when they host the North Dakota State Bison in a non- conference contest at Worthington Arena.

North Dakota State brings a three-game winning streak into this contest, although its last victory was far from impressive, as it just barely scraped by Minnesota-Crookston (64-63). Still, the win pushed the Bison above the .500 mark for the first time this season as they embark on this three-game road trip, which continues against Southern Miss on Wednesday.

After falling flat in their first four games, the Bobcats finally got in the win column on Friday, running over Texas-Arlington, 104-81. The win came in the first home game of the campaign for the Bobcats, who will host their next two contests as well.

When these teams last met during the 2005-6 season, North Dakota State survived with a 76-75 victory. However, Montana State still leads the all-time series, 11-5.

North Dakota State almost went to overtime against Minnesota-Crookston, but Kory Brown split a pair of free throws with two seconds left to lift the Bison to the 64-63 victory. Perimeter defense was a weak point in the victory, as the Bison allowed their guest to connect on 11-of-21 attempts from 3-point range. They only made 4-of-12 attempts from that distance as part of a 40 percent shooting effort overall. A.J. Jacobsen scored 18 points and brought in seven rebounds, leading the Bison in both categories.

It has been a difficult time for the Bison on offense in the first five games. They are only averaging 62.4 points per game on 36.1 percent shooting, while opponents are netting 71.2 points on 46.4 percent accuracy. Lawrence Alexander (14.2 ppg) is the top scoring threat most nights, but he has only made 33.3 percent of his shots from the field. Jacobsen (10.8 ppg), Paul Miller (10.8 ppg) and Kory Brown (10 ppg) all lend a hand in the scoring department as well.

After connecting a measly 19.7 percent of their shots from the floor in the previous game against top-ranked Kentucky, the Bobcats erupted against UTA. They made 51.9 percent of their shots overall, including an 18-of-26 effort from 3-point range. Michael Dison drained seven 3-pointers and finished with 32 points. Stephan Holm dropped in 25 points, netting seven triples of his own.

Montana State didn't struggle on offense against Kentucky alone. The Bobcats are only scoring 64 points per game on 37.4 percent shooting. That has not been nearly enough most times out, as Montana State's foes are piling up 82.6 points on 47.8 percent shooting. Dison (13.2 ppg), Holm (11.2 ppg) and Marcus Colbert (10.6 ppg, 5.2 apg) are the primary offensive threats on the roster, with Colbert making an impact as a distributor as well. Danny Robison (9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) is the top rebounder for a team struggling in that area.

If the Bobcats can come anywhere close to the offensive success they had on Friday, then they should be able to record another victory. It won't be easy, but it is certainly possible against a North Dakota State team, which isn't all that impressive.