First-place Griz play EWU Eagles Saturday in Cheney
2/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2013
THE GAME: The 16th-ranked (CollegeInsider.com's recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll) and first place University of Montana Grizzlies (15-4/11-0 BSC) play the Eastern Washington Eagles (6-15/4-7) in a Big Sky Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tip-off in EWU's Reese Court (6,000) is at 7:05 p.m. (Mtn.)
RADIO/STREAMING/TV: The "Voice of the Griz" is Mick Holien. The 13-time "Montana Broadcaster of the Year" selection calls the action on local KGVO Radio (1290 AM/101.5 FM) and the Griz Radio Network for his 20th season in a row. Live audio streaming and stats, and video streaming (after 10:00 p.m. for home games) are at www.gogriz.com. There is no TV coverage for the game. (The Griz Radio network is listed on add 4).
GRIZ LAST GAME: Montana 81, at Portland State 68: Guard Will Cherry scored 16 points, forward Mathias Ward had 15, guard Keron DeShields added 13, and forward Spencer Coleman chipped in 12. Cherry also had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
22 BIG SKY WINS IN A ROW!: With its win at PSU last night, the Grizzlies have now won 22 straight Big Sky games -- the second longest skein in league history. Weber State holds the league record, winning 24 in a row from 1967-70.
THE STREAK: Montana has now won 11 consecutive games, tying the Griz with Akron for the longest win skein in the country. Kansas leads with 17 victories in a row.
GRIZ RANKED IN FT% & 3-POINT%: The Griz are ranked 5th in the nation in free throw percentage at 76.9%, while Davidson is the leader at 80.2%. Montana is ranked 9th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.1%, and the leader is Creighton at 45.3%.
GRIZ-EWU SERIES: The Griz lead the series with the Eagles 45-17 since the 1983-84 season. Montana has won 11 of the last 13 and 17 of the last 29. Last meeting (Jan. 3, 2013): at Montana 81, EWU 66. (Box score included in this release).
CHERRY ON CAREER LISTS: Cherry is UM's all-time school leader in career steals with 246, which ranks him fourth in Big Sky history. He' s now eighth in career scoring with 1,348 points. He's now sixth in career assists (366). (See add 3 for his stats rankings).
`TINKS' SETS MARK: Tinkle has a Big Sky record of 76-30 -- the most league wins in school history. He recently broke the record held by Mike Montgomery (73-39, 1979-86).
MONTANA GRIZZLIES (15-4/11-0)---PG---RPG---MISC.
F-24-Spencer Coleman, 6-6 ½, 198, Jr., JC---7.4--2.9--64/19 last 5 games
F-40-Mathias Ward, 6-7, 228, Sr., 3V--- 15.3---3.8---5th in Sky in ppg
C-45-Eric Hutchison, 6-9, 230, Jr., 2V---2.1---1.8---Has 14 starts
G-5-Will Cherry, 6-1, 188, Sr., 3V---13.1---3.9---4.6 apg/1.9 stl pg
G-32-Kareem Jamar, 6-5, 210, Jr., 2V---13.9---5.8---7th Sky ppg & 11th reb. pg
6-20-Keron DeShields, G, 6-2, 182, So., 1V---7.1---1.8---83.3 FT%
6-10-Jordan Gregory, G, 6-2, 188, So., 1V---7.8---3.2---87.1 FT%
6-33-Mike Weisner, F, 6-7, 195, So., 1V 6.1---2.6---1st in Sky at 52.3 in 3PTFG%
6-2-Kevin Henderson, F. 6-5, 208, So., 1V---2.9---2.3---Has 4 starts
Head Coach: Wayne Tinkle: 131-75 & 77-30 Big Sky, 7th season at Montana. Coach Tinkle is 11-3 versus EWU and Montana has won four in a row.
EWU EAGLES (6-15/4-7)---PPG---RPG---MISC.
F-10-Kelly Parker, 6-4, 195, So., 1V---8.0---2.4---77.4 FT%
F-13-Thomas Reuter, 6-6, 225, Fr., HS---5.3---1.9---Has 5 starts
F-55-Venky Jois, 6-7, 200, Fr., HS---13.1---9.7---Leads Big Sky in rebs. pg
C-12-Martin Seiferth, 6-10, 230, So., TR---7.9---5.0---36 blocks
G-23-Kevin Winford, 5-11, 170, Sr., 3V 6.1---2.0---Has 7 starts
6-24-Colin Chiverton, F, 6-6, 200, Sr., 1V---10.7---2.1---20/4 vs. MSU
Head Coach: Jim Hayford, 21-32, 2nd year at EWU
