Griz drop thriller to Wyoming in home opener

Monday, November 14

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

0-2

Wyoming

2-0

Wyoming

Montana

11/15/2016 12:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Much was made of the Montana Grizzlies' experience in the backcourt in the run up to its home opener against the Wyoming Cowboys on Monday.

But Griz fans were treated to an outstanding display from two freshmen instead as the Griz (0-2) battled neck-and-neck with the 'Pokes (2-0) before falling 73-72 in the final minute to the visitors from the Mountain West Conference.

True freshman Sayeed Pridgett went 7-9 from the field for 20 points and three blocks and redshirt freshman Jared Samuelson followed close behind with 15 points on 7-from-11 from the field in a game that saw 12 lead changes and wasn't decided until the final play.

The Griz held the Cowboys to just under 30 percent from the floor in the second half, but Montana shot a cool 16-23 from the free throw line and went 1-5 from behind the arc in the as WYO battled back from a nine-point UM lead to spoil the Grizzlies' opening night.

"I thought we did a good job defensively and we put ourselves in a position to win the thing. We just needed the ball to go in the basket, and it didn't," said UM head coach Travis DeCuire after the game.

"They made a couple threes when they needed to, and they finished in the paint. We made some tough shots to stay in this thing and even take the lead, but we just couldn't finish them off."

Fabijan Krslovic pulled down a career-high 12 boards as the Griz outrebounded the Cowboys 33-32, but UW's length on the wing proved to be the difference-maker defensively as UM's abundance of experience at guard was held largely in check.

After leading the Griz with 21 points at USC on Friday, Ahmaad Rorie was held to 3-of-11 from the field for 10 points and preseason All-Big Sky guard Walter Wright suffered another bout of cold shooting as UM went 4-14 from three-point land.

"You can't have all your shooters off on the same night. When Walter, Ahmaad, Bobby and Brandon are all off, it's hard to win," added DeCuire.

Both teams ran out of the gates with intent to push the ball up and down the court as the Griz took an early 4-2 lead after three minutes of action. Wyoming bounced back big time, taking a 16-8 lead on the back of four-straight threes over the next five minutes.

The back and forth battle then began in earnest, with Mario Dunn pulling the Griz within two at 14-16 with his only three-pointer of the night at the halfway mark of the first period.

Then, the Sayeed Pridgett show started.

The freshman from Oakland, Calif., rattled off 11 of Montana's next 13 points, highlighted by a long three-pointer from the top of the key and punctuated by a dunk that tied the game at 27. One play later, the Griz regained the lead on a trey from Jack Lopez to go up 30-27 with just under five minutes remaining.

Pridgett continued his hot run, posting a total of 16 points in the first half, going 5-5 from the field with a three and adding 5-of-6 from the free throw line, as the Griz entered the break down 35-41.

Both the Griz and Cowboys ended the first half shooting 50 percent from the field, but with Mario Dunn and Walter Wright both sitting at three personal fouls, UM would look to the bench in the second half.

(11/14/2016) MBB: vs. WYO 11/14/16

If Pridgett owned the first half, Samuelson owned the second.

The Billings native came out of the locker room and made a big first impression on the home crowd, scoring six-straight in the first three minutes of the period, highlighted by a fast-break dunk on an assist from Pridgett.

Samuelson put in 13 of his 15 points in the second half, as the frosh duo proceeded to combine for 35 of UM's 72 point total, building a nine-point Griz lead with just under 10 minutes to play.

"I've seen it coming," said DeCuire of his fab freshmen duo. "There was a part of me that thought about maybe starting Jared and Sayeed tonight, but I wanted to give some other guys a chance to get us off to a better start.

"At halftime, I just thought I'd better put the guys on the floor that have been productive to this point, and they come out and have career highs for you and they don't play like freshmen."

The 'Pokes were not out of it yet, however, as senior guard Jason McManamen scored Wyoming's next 11 points to put the visitors in front 65-64 with a clutch three-pointer to cap his run.

The two teams then went shot-for-shot, with Rorie hitting three-straight jumpers to keep pace with WYO, tying the game at 69.

After more back and forth, Krslovic put the Griz in control of the last 1:30, rising up for a huge blocked shot and coming down with his twelfth rebound of the night to give Montana possession with the game knotted at 71.

Montana wouldn't be able to take advantage of the opportunity, however, as UM missed its next three shots from the field and WYO took the 73-71 lead on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Justin James with 30 seconds to play.

Rorie then gave Montana their last hope of the game, going 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to close the Cowboy lead to one with 23 seconds to play. He gave the Griz possession once again, stealing the inbounds pass and deflecting off a Wyoming player for the turnover.

With the clock winding down, Walter Wright drove the lane for the game-winning shot but was denied by Alan Herndon at the rim, and the Griz missed winning their third-straight home opener in front of 3,318 fans in attendance as UM fell 73-72.

Montana's schedule now ramps up as they prepare to face North Carolina State, with No. 22 Creighton or Washington State waiting in the wings at the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning on Friday.

"It only gets tougher, so we have to put a little tough skin on and go out and make it happen. We'll be OK," said DeCuire. "This team's going to keep working and keep getting better. We're competing, so I'm happy with the effort."

Montana opens the Paradise Jam against Wolfpack at 4 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday. The game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.