Foul trouble and turnovers cost Griz against NDSU

Wednesday, November 25

Fargo, N.D.

6:00 PM (MT)

Montana

2-2

North Dakota State

3-1

Montana

North Dakota State

11/25/2015 11:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: gogriz.com

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For about eight minutes, the University of Montana Grizzly basketball squad (2-2) looked like it could do no wrong, storming out to a 12-point lead over the host NDSU Bison (3-1) in Fargo on Wednesday.

But then turnovers and foul trouble began to plague UM, allowing the Bison to out score the Griz 62-30 in the remainder of the contest, leading to a 53-73 home win.

Preseason all-Big Sky selection Martin Breunig did everything in his power to lead Montana, approaching career-high numbers with 28 points and 12 boards - the most of any player on the court.

The support from his teammates wasn't there however, as 17 turnovers and 29 personal fouls turned a 12-point lead for Montana into a lead as large as 26 points for the Bison.

No other Grizzly scored more than five points in the game, with Michael Oguine, Brandon Gfeller, and Bobby Moorehead putting in five a piece.

"Our Achilles heel right now is taking care of the ball," said Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. "We get a big lead. We're pulling away. They start sagging in, keeping the ball out of the post, and we just forced it instead of having patience to get the second and third side. That stretch of five straight turnovers killed us."

NDSU enacted revenge on the Griz in Fargo, after Montana controlled last season's contest between the two from whistle to whistle, winning 69-57 in Missoula.

Martin Breunig was just two rebounds shy of a double-double in the first half alone, with 13 points and eight boards, and it looked as if the road victory was in the crosshairs for Montana.

The Griz built a comfortable lead, then the scoring faucet shut off, as NDSU tightened the clamps with a string of turnovers that allowed the Bison to reclaim the lead before half.

The Griz racked up 11 of 17 turnovers in the first half, resulting in 14 points off turnovers for the Bison before the break. All told, NDSU scored 24 points off UM's 17 giveaways.

The Bison made a tactical adjustment part way through the first half and began to drive the lane on the Griz. UM paid the price with NDSU going 23-34 from the free throw line, caused by Montana's 29 personal fouls.

Still, the Bison only held a three point lead at the break, even with Montana going on a nearly five minute scoring drought in the latter part of the first half.

"Very similar to our game at Boise, and very similar to our game at San Jose State is, to the aggressor go the spoils," added Coach DeCuire. "They got to the rim more than we did, and therefore they got the free throws, they got the fouls and they got to score with the clock stopped. We just have to work on making those types of adjustments and being aggressive ourselves."

The Bison continued the hot streak into the second half, outscoring Montana 28-45 as Coach DeCuire rotated his troops to provide valuable playing time.

"We're working on our depth, and that's what this nonconference is for us is to work on depth. Get some guys some minutes, and try to figure out who's got it in them to make plays when it matters."

NDSU extended its run of home victories to 27 consecutive games with the win.

Before Wednesday's game, their streak of 26 home wins tied the Bison with Kansas for the sixth-longest active home-court winning streak in the nation.

NDSU is now 40-2 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season, with the only two losses being to Southern Miss (70-69) on Nov. 18, 2013, and Western Illinois (49-36) on Feb. 14, 2013.

"We lost to a team at their place that's probably going to win 20 to 25 games. So for us, it's pick it up. We have the opportunity to go on another road game with a team that's about the same in terms of level of play.

"If we can take care of that business, we can get home and kind of go into that stretch in December with a winning record, and that's the most important piece for us."

That next road opportunity comes in the form of the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu, California. The Waves are a West Coast Conference program that sits at 2-4 on the season, and is coming off a 1-2 performance at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida, a tournament won by the Weber State Wildcats.

Tipoff against the Waves in Malibu is set for 4:30 p.m. (MT) on Sunday.