Montana 66, Sacramento State 59
2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA - The University of Montana Grizzlies defeated the visiting Sacramento State Hornets 66-59 in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday night in UM's Adams Center/Dahlberg Arena.
It was "Monte Madness" at UM, as the school recognized its 2002-03 National Mascot of the Year, and the result was a record crowd of 7,332. It was the first sellout in the four seasons since Adams Center/Dahlberg Arena was renovated.
Montana (9-13/3-4) took the lead for good over Sacramento State (8-12/2-5) with 36 seconds left until intermission on an offensive rebound and subsequent lay-up by junior forward Steve Horne. Horne's follow-up gave the Grizzlies a 30-29 halftime lead.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 14 points on two occasions in the second half, but the Hornets cut the lead to 62-56 with 1:06 remaining on a three-point shot by freshman guard DaShawn Freeman. Griz senior guard David Bell made 4 of-4 free throws in the final seconds to ice the win.
Horne tied his career high with 19 points, while Bell scored 17, and freshman guard Kevin Criswell added 11 points. UM senior center Marcus Rosser had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Sac State was led by senior guard Raashad Hooks and senior forward Jimmy White, each with 15 points. Freeman and junior forward Cedric Thompkins each had 8 boards for the
Hornets.
"Their early pressure hurt our big kids," said Griz head coach Pat Kennedy. "They're quicker than us. Our kids need to learn how to play through that. In the second half we didn't turn it over near as much and we talked about that at halftime.
"We want to be committed to man-to-man, and our kids like to play man-to-man, but after the overtime (a 97-93 loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday) and the emotion of that game, we thought zone would be the way to win the game tonight," Kennedy said. "We had to play it (zone defense) well to win it, and we did. They struggled to find any kind of good shots against the zone."
The Grizzlies are on the road for a pair of Big Sky games next week, playing Portland State on Thursday, February 6, and Eastern Washington, Saturday, February 8.
It was "Monte Madness" at UM, as the school recognized its 2002-03 National Mascot of the Year, and the result was a record crowd of 7,332. It was the first sellout in the four seasons since Adams Center/Dahlberg Arena was renovated.
Montana (9-13/3-4) took the lead for good over Sacramento State (8-12/2-5) with 36 seconds left until intermission on an offensive rebound and subsequent lay-up by junior forward Steve Horne. Horne's follow-up gave the Grizzlies a 30-29 halftime lead.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 14 points on two occasions in the second half, but the Hornets cut the lead to 62-56 with 1:06 remaining on a three-point shot by freshman guard DaShawn Freeman. Griz senior guard David Bell made 4 of-4 free throws in the final seconds to ice the win.
Horne tied his career high with 19 points, while Bell scored 17, and freshman guard Kevin Criswell added 11 points. UM senior center Marcus Rosser had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Sac State was led by senior guard Raashad Hooks and senior forward Jimmy White, each with 15 points. Freeman and junior forward Cedric Thompkins each had 8 boards for the
Hornets.
"Their early pressure hurt our big kids," said Griz head coach Pat Kennedy. "They're quicker than us. Our kids need to learn how to play through that. In the second half we didn't turn it over near as much and we talked about that at halftime.
"We want to be committed to man-to-man, and our kids like to play man-to-man, but after the overtime (a 97-93 loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday) and the emotion of that game, we thought zone would be the way to win the game tonight," Kennedy said. "We had to play it (zone defense) well to win it, and we did. They struggled to find any kind of good shots against the zone."
The Grizzlies are on the road for a pair of Big Sky games next week, playing Portland State on Thursday, February 6, and Eastern Washington, Saturday, February 8.
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