Griz beat Eastern Washington, advance to semifinals
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
University of Montana senior forward Kamarr Davis scored a game-high 15 points and teammate Kevin Criswell added 10 points, as the Grizzlies defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 58-48 Saturday afternoon (March 5) in a first-round game of the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in UM's Dahlberg Arena. It was Montana's third win of the season over Eastern.
The win advances the third-seeded Grizzlies (16-12) to the semifinals of the tournament on Tuesday (March 8) at Memorial Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. (Mountain) in Portland, Ore., versus No. 2 seed Montana State (14-13).
Sixth-seeded Eastern (8-20) made just 35 percent of its shots from the field and had 19 turnovers. Senior forward Marc Axton made 3-of-11 shots from the field, and Deuce Smith -- who had scored 19 points in a 55-53 setback to the Grizzlies on Feb. 28 - missed all seven of his shots and did not score.
Montana, meanwhile, converted 41 percent of its field goals and out-rebounded the Eagles 34-28. Davis made 5-of-11 shots from the field and had six rebounds. Sophomore forward Matt Dlouhy added nine points and seven rebounds for Montana.
Axton led Eastern with 12 points, and was the only Eagle in double figures. Junior guard Danny Pariseau and sophomore forward Matt Nelson scored 9 points each, and Nelson had a team-high 7 rebounds.
Eastern Washington missed nine-straight field goal attempts early in the second half, but the Eagles knotted the score at 28-all early in the second half -- the fifth lead change of the game. But Montana went on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good, and took its largest advantage in the game at 40-30 with 10:49 to play on a three-point shot by Griz junior guard Virgil Matthews. Eastern then missed nine-straight field goals and had a span of more than 10 minutes without a bucket -- before Pariseau scored on a rebound basket with 7:20 remaining.
Eastern cut the Montana lead four at 50-46 with 2:20 to play, but EWU missed its last three shots. The Griz made 6-of-8 free throws in the last 58 seconds to seal the win.
In the first half Saturday, Eastern led 14-13 when a basket by freshman guard James Loe gave EWU a 14-13 advantage with 10:10 to play. That was the sixth of six straight shots the Eagles made after missing their first six of the game. But Montana went on a 10-3 run to take a 23-17 advantage on a fastbreak basket by Davis with 5:05 to play. Eastern cut the lead to two, but the Grizzlies regained a 28-24 advantage at halftime.
The win advances the third-seeded Grizzlies (16-12) to the semifinals of the tournament on Tuesday (March 8) at Memorial Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. (Mountain) in Portland, Ore., versus No. 2 seed Montana State (14-13).
Sixth-seeded Eastern (8-20) made just 35 percent of its shots from the field and had 19 turnovers. Senior forward Marc Axton made 3-of-11 shots from the field, and Deuce Smith -- who had scored 19 points in a 55-53 setback to the Grizzlies on Feb. 28 - missed all seven of his shots and did not score.
Montana, meanwhile, converted 41 percent of its field goals and out-rebounded the Eagles 34-28. Davis made 5-of-11 shots from the field and had six rebounds. Sophomore forward Matt Dlouhy added nine points and seven rebounds for Montana.
Axton led Eastern with 12 points, and was the only Eagle in double figures. Junior guard Danny Pariseau and sophomore forward Matt Nelson scored 9 points each, and Nelson had a team-high 7 rebounds.
Eastern Washington missed nine-straight field goal attempts early in the second half, but the Eagles knotted the score at 28-all early in the second half -- the fifth lead change of the game. But Montana went on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good, and took its largest advantage in the game at 40-30 with 10:49 to play on a three-point shot by Griz junior guard Virgil Matthews. Eastern then missed nine-straight field goals and had a span of more than 10 minutes without a bucket -- before Pariseau scored on a rebound basket with 7:20 remaining.
Eastern cut the Montana lead four at 50-46 with 2:20 to play, but EWU missed its last three shots. The Griz made 6-of-8 free throws in the last 58 seconds to seal the win.
In the first half Saturday, Eastern led 14-13 when a basket by freshman guard James Loe gave EWU a 14-13 advantage with 10:10 to play. That was the sixth of six straight shots the Eagles made after missing their first six of the game. But Montana went on a 10-3 run to take a 23-17 advantage on a fastbreak basket by Davis with 5:05 to play. Eastern cut the lead to two, but the Grizzlies regained a 28-24 advantage at halftime.
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