Montana
Weber State
Griz defeat Wildcats 85-66 to win BSC championship
3/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2012
Box score 
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The University of Montana Grizzlies are going dancing - again!
All five of the Grizzly starters scored in double figures and Montana was red-hot shooting-wise on its way to a convincing 85-66 victory over the Weber State Wildcats Wednesday evening in the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship game, played in front of 7,042 boisterous fans in UM's Dahlberg Arena.
It was a school-record 14th win in a row for the Grizzlies, who have now won 20 of their last 21 contests. It is also Montana's eighth conference championship, tying the Grizzlies with the Wildcats (24-6) for the most titles.
Coach Wayne Tinkle'steam improves to 25-6 overall - and those 25 victories are the second most in school history. The 1949-50 and 1991-92 Griz squads had the most single-season wins with 27 each.
Montana, which is ranked 14th in the most recent Mid-Major poll, will be making its second trip to the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons.
The final score was not indicative of the first two-thirds of the game, as the teams went back-and-forth and the Grizzlies led by just one point (44-43) with 13:59 left to play when junior forward Mathias Wardconnected on a jump shot.
The Griz then went on a mini-run after Ward's make, and took an 11-point advantage at 58-47 with 7:58 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kareem Jamar. The Wildcats battled back and cut the Griz lead to seven points on a driving lay-up by junior guard Damian Lillard, making it 61-54, UM, with 5:54 left to play.
But the Grizzlies, who made 59.4% (19-of-32) of their shots in the second half, caught on fire again, out-scoring the Wildcats 11-2 over the next three-plus minutes, and when Cherry nailed a pair of free throws Montana led 72-56 with 4:16 remaining in the game. UM then led by at least 13 points the rest of the way.
Things did not go that way in the first half, though, as the Wildcats jumped to a 21-10 lead with 12:53 left until halftime on a three-point play sophomore forward Bryon Fulton. The Grizzlies tied the game up the only time in the first half at 25-25 on a three-point shot by senior forward Derek Selvig. WSU then out-scored UM 11-6 the rest of the half, and took a 36-31 lead at intermission.
The Wildcats, who are ranked 15th in the Mid-Major poll, kept their lead for the first few minutes of the final half, but when Ward canned the jumper with 13:59 left to give the Griz a one-point lead (43-42), the home team led the rest of the way.
Jamar and Ward scored 23 points each to lead the Griz, and Selvig tallied 16, while Cherry contributed 13, while senior forward Art Stewardadded 10. The five Griz starters scored all of Montana's 85 points.
Jamar was on fire, making 9-of-12 shots and 5-of-8 three pointers, along with 7 assists, and was named the tournament MVP. Ward made 10-of-16 field goal attempts and both of his three-point tries, grabbed 8 rebounds and he joined Cherry on the all-tournament team. Cherry also had 6 assists and 3 steals. Selvig grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, while Steward had 7.
Lillard, the nation's second leading scorer, had game-highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds, along with 7 assists. Sophomore center Kyle Tresnak added 12 points for WSU, while Fulton had 10 off the bench.
Montana was 32-of-58 from the field (55.2%) in the contest, made 12-of-22 (54.55) from behind the arc, and were 9-of-15 from the line. The Grizzlies' 12 made three-pointers was a season-high, while their 85 points tied for the second most points they have scored in a game this year. The Griz out-rebounded the Wildcats 33-26. Each Montana starter made at least one-three-point shot.
WSU was 26-of-54 (48.1%) from the floor, hit 6-of-18 (33.3%) treys, and were 8-of-10 from the line.
Also on the all-tournament team were Lillard, Eastern Washington senior guard Cliff Colimon, and Portland State senior guard Charles Odum.
The Grizzlies, who will be making their ninth NCAA tournament appearance, will find out who their first-round opponent will be on Sunday, March 10, at 4:00 p.m. (Mtn.).
