BOZEMAN – He’s now the most prolific scorer in Big Sky Conference history, but it was a task Tyler Hall couldn’t do alone.
“I had a lot of teammates throughout my career pushing me to be better. And a lot of the times, I just do the easy thing and shoot the shot, but my teammates are getting me open, so it’s an award for everyone,” said Hall, a senior on the Montana State men’s basketball team.
This past Saturday, Hall became the Big Sky’s all-time leading scorer. He needed just two points to break the record while playing against Eastern Washington, and he hit a 3-pointer to officially take over the mantle.
“I heard about it. So I knew once I scored, I broke it. But I was in the flow of the game, so I didn’t really pay attention until they announced it,” Hall said.
And now that he’s surpassed it, the record is a weight off his shoulders.
“It’s a great accomplishment for myself, but now I don’t really have to hear about how it’s coming or that I’m going to do it and just focus on winning,” said Hall.
Hall is one of the best scorers, if not the best, Big Sky fans have ever seen. But Montana State head coach Brian Fish says there’s much more to him than just scoring.
“He’s a fun guy to coach. I don’t think he gets the credit of his academics, 3.5 GPA this semester, he’s 3.0 and will graduate on time in four years. He needs 11 hours to graduate,” Fish said of his star. “Sometimes I don’t think we look at the whole picture that he brings to the table of what he’s done.”
Hall has 2,194 points, but it won’t stop there.
“I didn’t even know what the record was and things like that, but to be there and still have 10, 12, 14 games left in his career, he’s got a chance to obliterate that record and be one of those guys that scored 2,500 points in his career. I think there’s only been 67 guys in the history of basketball to get there, that’s pretty neat,” Fish said.
But for Hall, there’s only one thing on his mind.
“It’s really to win the conference, you know, make a run in the tournament at the end of the year,” Hall said.
But there is work to be done, the Bobcats sit fifth in the Big Sky standings at 4-3 in league play and 7-10 overall. MSU hosts league-leading Weber State (12-6 overall, 6-1 conference) at 7 p.m. Thursday.
