Griz hammer Jacks as Breunig hits 1,000

Saturday, February 13

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

16-8, 11-2

Northern Arizona *

4-20, 2-11

Northern Arizona

Montana

2/14/2016 12:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: gogriz.com

PDF Box Score | Season Stats

Martin Breunig became the 30th Grizzly in school history to surpass 1,000-career points, as the Montana Grizzlies (16-8, 11-2 BSC) powered their way past the visiting Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 85-67 in Missoula on Saturday.

The win is Montana's third straight, and twelfth this season when the Griz have scored 75 points or more. The victory also keeps the Grizzlies posted at the top of the Big Sky standings with five games to play.

With the business end of the conference season close at hand, the Grizzly offense has been clicking along at a dangerous pace. Exhibit A: Heading in to league play, the Griz were averaging 65.7 points per game. Since the start of the Big Sky season, UM has been on a tear, averaging 77.8 points to bring their season average up to just over 72 points per contest, including the 85 posted against NAU.

"Our offense is starting to pick up right now, and we're finding more ways to score the ball," said second year head coach Travis DeCuire.

"We're picking up momentum, and we can't take a step back. We need to stay fresh, and we need to stay on point, but right now we feel good about where we're headed."

Martin Breunig has been one of the biggest reasons the Grizzlies have kept the scoreboard rolling over late this season, leading all scorers against Northern Arizona with 29 points and 12 rebounds to post his tenth double-double of the season: the second-best mark in the Big Sky.

Breunig was virtually unstoppable against the Jacks, going 7-7 from the field for 15 points in the opening 12 minutes, and finishing the game having only missed two field goals all night at 12-14 to post a whopping 85.7 shooting percentage.

It was also the third game in a row he's shot better than 70 percent from the floor, and the thirteenth time he's done so this season.

(2/13/2016) MBB: vs Northern Arizona 021316

"He's doing a good job. He makes everybody else better," said Coach DeCuire of Breunig after hitting his 1,000-point tally.

"We talked about him being physical. There are a lot of teams that are doing that. They're coming in and beating him up, fighting for position, and pushing him around so he can't get the ball in tight, and they're not letting us play in that regard.

"So I think tonight he did a good job of just fighting back, and they let him play. And if you're going to let him play he'll win that battle more often than not."

The Grizzlies had two other players score in double figures against the Jacks, with Michael Oguine putting down 16 points, capped off by a highlight reel-worthy dunk to finish the game. Brandon Gfeller totaled 13 points, going 3-5 from behind the arc.

And while only scoring six points, Walter Wright was making magic happen with assists, dishing out a game-high 10 dimes, one more than the entire Northern Arizona team put together.

The first of Wright's assists came about 15 seconds in, when he found Breunig streaking down low from the top of the key for a huge ally-oop slam on the first play of the game, getting the over 4,000 strong at Dahlberg on their feet to start the contest.

Wright handed out four assists in the first five minutes, leading Montana on an 8-3 run and helping build the Griz lead to 17-12 after 15 minutes.

Wright dished out another key assist later in the half, finding Gfeller in the corner for his second triple of the night and Wright's sixth assist of the first half.

NAU drained a three pointer with only seconds left in the first half, but a quick in bounds and pass down the court from Mario Dunn found Bobby Moorehead open in the corner, and the true freshman replied back with a three of his own to give UM the 37-28 lead, and all the momentum heading into the locker room.

Breunig scored his 1,000^th career point in just two seasons as a Grizzly with 9:24 left to play in the second half, hitting a jump hook from 10 feet out to make his mark on the Grizzly record books. At the next timeout, the crowd at Dahlberg Arena erupted in applause as Breunig's achievement was announced over the PA system.

"It was amazing," said the ever-humble senior from Germany. "But I have to give credit to my teammates too. They've been supporting me through tough times and through good times, and I really appreciate having a team like that. They're looking for me as a first option, and I can't take any credit without those guys."

The Grizzly lead expanded as time wound down, and would reach its highest point at 18 with just over two minutes to play as NAU didn't have an answer Montana, who shot over 70 percent from the floor as a team in the second half.

With the final whistle against Northern Arizona, it now officially becomes Griz/Cat week in Missoula, with the cross-state rivals driving over the divide to face UM on Saturday, 2/20 at 7:00 p.m.

The Grizzlies will be looking for their twelfth-straight win over the Cats, who set a new Big Sky record, and were just three away from breaking a NCAA record on Thursday, hitting 25 three-pointers against NAU.

Here is the basket that gave Martin Breunig 1,000 career points! #GoGriz https://t.co/COOZ4qw8Lu
— UM Griz Basketball (@UMGRIZZLIES_BB) February 14, 2016