Griz drop heartbreaker to NAU
2/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sophomore guard Kelly Golob scored on a lay-up with 1.8 seconds to go, as the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks defeated The University of Montana Grizzlies 80-78 in overtime in a key Big Sky Conference game Saturday afternoon in UM's Dahlberg Arena in front of 4,504 fans.
A win would have given Montana (6-8 Big Sky/10-17 overall) a second-place regular season finish. Now the Griz could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth place in the league standings, depending on the outcome of the rest of the league games Saturday (Portland State at Weber State and Eastern Washington at Idaho State), and Sunday afternoon (Sacramento State at Montana State). NAU (7-7/14-13) can finish no lower than in third place.
Montana had a chance to win the game in regulation, when senior forward Kamarr Davis was fouled in the act of shooting with 1.3 seconds remaining. Davis missed both free throws, however, and NAU missed a last-second desperation shot from mid-court to force the OT. The game was deadlocked 74-all at the end of regulation.
Senior forward Victor Venters gave Montana a 76-74 lead in overtime on a jump shot. The Grizzlies led the rest of the way until Golob scored on a lay-in to tie it at 78-78 with 1:12 remaining. UM never trailed in the OT until Golob's game-winner.
NAU led by as many 10 points in the first half, when junior forward Stephen Garnett scored on a lay-up with 1:55 to go until intermission to give the Jacks a 38-28 advantage. The Griz rallied, though, and trailed 40-36 at the half.
Davis led UM with a career-high 25 points, making 5-of-8 field goal shots and 14-of-19 free throws. Griz sophomore guard Kevin Criswell added 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while junior guard Roy Booker scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
Griz senior point guard Derrick Mansell injured his ankle early in the second half and was replaced by "true" freshman Brian Lynch. Lynch was 1-of-7 in 24 minutes of action.
Davis had a game-high 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He had 24 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's home win over Sacramento State.
Senior guard Chris Ferguson led NAU with 16 points. Lumberjack senior forward Aaron Bond added 14 points and 9 rebounds, but made 3-of-17 shots. Senior forward Adrian Hayes added 14 points and 6 rebounds off the bench for the Jacks, while Golob added 11.
NAU made 29-of-65 (44.6%) shots from the field, 6-of-17 (35.3%) treys, and 16-of-20 (80%) free throws, while UM was 24-of-66 (36.4%), 8-of-18 (44.4%), and 22-of-31 (71.0%).
The teams had 42 rebounds each. The game featured 14 lead changes and nine ties.
The top six teams advance to the Big Sky's post-season tournament. On Saturday, March 6, the number six-seed will play at the No. 3 seed's home court, and the fourth-place finisher will host the fifth-seeded team.
The top two teams in the regular-season earn berths into the Big Sky post-season tournament semi-final games, Tuesday, March 9. Eastern Washington has already clinched the Big Sky regular-season title and will host the tourney in Cheney, March 9-10.
A win would have given Montana (6-8 Big Sky/10-17 overall) a second-place regular season finish. Now the Griz could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth place in the league standings, depending on the outcome of the rest of the league games Saturday (Portland State at Weber State and Eastern Washington at Idaho State), and Sunday afternoon (Sacramento State at Montana State). NAU (7-7/14-13) can finish no lower than in third place.
Montana had a chance to win the game in regulation, when senior forward Kamarr Davis was fouled in the act of shooting with 1.3 seconds remaining. Davis missed both free throws, however, and NAU missed a last-second desperation shot from mid-court to force the OT. The game was deadlocked 74-all at the end of regulation.
Senior forward Victor Venters gave Montana a 76-74 lead in overtime on a jump shot. The Grizzlies led the rest of the way until Golob scored on a lay-in to tie it at 78-78 with 1:12 remaining. UM never trailed in the OT until Golob's game-winner.
NAU led by as many 10 points in the first half, when junior forward Stephen Garnett scored on a lay-up with 1:55 to go until intermission to give the Jacks a 38-28 advantage. The Griz rallied, though, and trailed 40-36 at the half.
Davis led UM with a career-high 25 points, making 5-of-8 field goal shots and 14-of-19 free throws. Griz sophomore guard Kevin Criswell added 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while junior guard Roy Booker scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
Griz senior point guard Derrick Mansell injured his ankle early in the second half and was replaced by "true" freshman Brian Lynch. Lynch was 1-of-7 in 24 minutes of action.
Davis had a game-high 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He had 24 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's home win over Sacramento State.
Senior guard Chris Ferguson led NAU with 16 points. Lumberjack senior forward Aaron Bond added 14 points and 9 rebounds, but made 3-of-17 shots. Senior forward Adrian Hayes added 14 points and 6 rebounds off the bench for the Jacks, while Golob added 11.
NAU made 29-of-65 (44.6%) shots from the field, 6-of-17 (35.3%) treys, and 16-of-20 (80%) free throws, while UM was 24-of-66 (36.4%), 8-of-18 (44.4%), and 22-of-31 (71.0%).
The teams had 42 rebounds each. The game featured 14 lead changes and nine ties.
The top six teams advance to the Big Sky's post-season tournament. On Saturday, March 6, the number six-seed will play at the No. 3 seed's home court, and the fourth-place finisher will host the fifth-seeded team.
The top two teams in the regular-season earn berths into the Big Sky post-season tournament semi-final games, Tuesday, March 9. Eastern Washington has already clinched the Big Sky regular-season title and will host the tourney in Cheney, March 9-10.
2006 Griz Basketball Flashback: NCAA Tournament Win Over Nevada
Monday, March 30
Name As Many 90's NBA Players: Griz Basketball
Monday, March 30
Dairy Challenge: Griz Basketball
Monday, March 30
Name As Many Dinosaurs: Griz Basketball
Monday, March 30
