Montana
Idaho
Griz defeat Vandals 57-52
11/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2011
Box score (html) l
Box score (pdf) 
l 
Photo gallery l Postgame video
Junior guard Will Cherryhad his first career double-double to lead The University of Montana Grizzlies to a hard-fought 57-52 win over the visiting University of Idaho Vandals Thursday evening in UM's Dahlberg Arena.
Montana (2-1) led the Vandals (1-2) the entire game, but the final outcome went down to the wire.
The Grizzlies led 34-19 at halftime, but the Vandals whittled down that lead to just one point (45-44) when junior center Kyle Barone scored on a lay-up with 6:56 left to play. The teams then traded baskets and UI made it a one-point affair again when senior guard Deremy Geiger drained a three-pointer, making the score 48-47 Griz with 5:15 remaining.
Montana then out-scored Idaho 7-1 over the next couple of minutes and went ahead 55-48 with 3:49 left to go on a short hook shot by redshirt freshman center Billy Reader.
Idaho hung in there after Reader's score, but Montana maintained a three-point cushion the rest of the way for the victory.
It appeared as though the Grizzlies were in the driver's seat in the first half, as they held the Vandals to 21.4% (6-of-28) shooting from the floor and jumped to a 34-19 lead at intermission. UM's halftime advantage was due mostly to guards Cherry and Kareem Jamar, who scored 16 and 11 points, respectively. UM's largest lead was 17 points (27-10) on a three-pointer by Jamar at the 4:20 mark of the opening half.
But Idaho made 11-of-21 second-half shots (52.4%), while Montana made just 7-of-29 (24.1%). One of the things that was in UM's favor was it had just 8 turnovers, while UI had 15.
Cherry finished with a game-high 24 points and led the Griz with 11 rebounds, and also he had 4 assists and 2 steals. Jamar had 13 points, while senior forward Art Stewardadded 8 points and 8 rebounds, and Reader had 6 points and 2 blocks, along with his crucial bucket late in the contest.
"We saw a pretty good glimpse of what that kid (Reader) is capable of," Tinkle said. "He got us a couple of big baskets and rebounds and his defense was stellar."
Madison led the Vandals with 14 points - all of them coming in the second half, and Barone had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
"Geiger was averaging 16 points a game before tonight (he finished with 6)," Tinkle said. "There was a reason that Will (Cherry) was named one of the top 20 defensive guards in the country earlier this year. He was locked in defensively.
"We always prepare well but the guys were really engaged with the scouting report that the coaches put together, and they carried it to the floor," Tinkle said. "I think after the other night we had some more urgency. That's four games early in the season for us including, the exhibition game, that have been grinders." The Grizzlies last game was a 60-59 nail-biting win over the University of Great Falls this past Monday. Jamar led the team in that victory with his first career double-double - 14 points and 14 rebounds. In that win over UGF the Griz had 21 turnovers. Montana is on the road for its next two games, playing at San Diego on Sunday, Nov. 20, and then at North Dakota on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
