Montana
Oregon State
Grizzlies fall to Beavers 71-46 on slow offensive night
12/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2011
The Montana Grizzlies struggled to find any rhythm on offense and Oregon State cruised to the 71-46 victory at Gill Arena in Corvallis, Oregon.
Montana (4-4, 0-0) shot just 31.5 percent (17-54) on the night including 2-of-14 from three point range while Oregon State (6-1, 0-0) shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) and 8-of-20 from three point range.
The Beavers were also able to capitalize on Grizzly fouls, going 23-of-30 from the stripe.
The Grizzlies went long stretches without scoring; in fact the Griz didn't score for over five minutes to start the game until junior forward Mathias Ward hit two free throws with 14:53 remaining in the first half. The Beavers had already built a 8-0 lead before Ward's free throws.
The Grizzlies then made a run of their own cutting the lead to one, 10-9 with 12:17 remaining in the half after two straight shots from freshman center Billy Reader. The Beavers then scored 14 unanswered points to build a 24-9 lead capped off by a layup by forward Eric Moreland with 4:04 left in the half.
Montana cut the lead to 10 before the half but guard Jared Cunningham hit a contested 3-pointer to close out the frame with a 34-21 lead and firmly grabbed momentum back from the Grizzlies.
The Griz were able to cut the lead back to nine, 29-38 with 17:03 left in the game on consecutive layups from Will Cherry, but that is as close as Montana would come the rest of the way.
Four Oregon State players scored in double figures, Guard Ahmad Starks led all scorers with 16 including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Cunningham scored 14, guard Nelson Roberto came off the bench for 11 points and forward Devon collier scored 10.
Cherry was the only Grizzly to score in double figures, he finished with 13 points.
The Grizzlies return home for a match up with NAIA Montana Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. mtn. in Dahlberg Arena.
