Griz open exhibition play with Northwest
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The University of Montana men???s basketball team opens its 2008-09 season Friday night, hosting the Northwest University Eagles of Kirkland, Wash., in an exhibition game at Dahlberg Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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Griz last year: The Griz were 14-16 overall last season and 8-8 (tied for fourth) in the Big Sky Conference. Montana advanced to its 29th (out of 31) post-season league tournament last season, losing a quarterfinal game, 67-65, at Idaho State.
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Three starters back: The Griz return three starters: 6-9 senior forward Jordan Hasquet, 6-2 senior point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, and 6-3 junior guard Ryan Staudacher. Hasquet led the Grizzlies in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.2) last season and was an honorable mention all-league pick. Staudacher was fourth in scoring at 9.0 points a game, and Elgin-Taylor led the Sky in assist/turnover ratio (1.93).
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Returning lettermen: UM also returns 6-7 senior forward Kyle Sharp and 6-11 sophomore center Brian Qvale. Sharp was ranked among the league???s leading rebounders with 4.0 boards a game, while Qvale was second in blocks with 1.5 a contest.
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Redshirts: Both 6-6 junior forward Jack McGillis and 6-4 sophomore guard Michael Taylor redshirted at Montana last season due to NCAA transfer rules. They came to UM from Oregon State and Eastern Washington, respectively. Also back is redshirt freshman Derek Selvig, a 7-0 forward-center.
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JC signees: Two key additions are 6-4 forward Vassy Banny and 6-2 guard Anthony Johnson, from Salt Lake CC and Yakima Valley CC, respectively.
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Prep signees: Joining the Griz from the high school ranks are 6-6 forward Nyandigisi (Digs) Moikobu (Rainier High School in Seattle), 6-0 guard Shawn Stockton (Ferris High School in Spokane), and 6-7 forward Mathias Ward from Gig Harbor High School (Wash.).
