Second half surge from Vikings dooms Griz

Thursday, January 19

Portland, Ore.

8:00 PM (MT)

Montana

10-10, 5-2

Portland State

11-6, 4-2

Montana

Portland State

1/20/2017 12:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Last season when the Montana men's basketball team visited Portland State, the Grizzlies needed 26 second-half point heroics from Martin Breunig to fight back from an 11 point deficit to take a win in Portland.

It was déjà vu all over again for the Griz in the Rose City this time around, but Montana couldn't bounce back from a 22-point second-half shortfall despite a late comeback attempt, as the Vikings snapped UM's four-game win streak with an 88-79 win.

There were 16 lead changes in the first half alone as both the Griz (10-10, 5-2 BSC) and Portland State (11-6, 4-2 BSC) looked to push the tempo of the game. But with their swarming defense and a lights-out shooting spree, PSU went on an 18-3 run to open the second half that would eventually lead to the Griz taking their first road loss in over a month.

"We knew we were going to have to defend, said Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. "They're really good at home, they score the ball at home, they took advantage of all our mishaps. We needed to be fundamentally sound on the offensive end, and we needed to play with some grit. I just don't think we brought the grit."

The win for the Vikings was just the third in the last 16 meetings between the two schools and creates a log jam at the top of the league table with Weber State taking their first loss of the Big Sky season on Thursday at North Dakota.

Despite the loss, two Grizzlies posted career-high nights at PSU. Junior forward Fabijan Krslovic had a dominant outing in the paint with a personal best 24, and sophomore guard Ahmaad Rorie did all he could to seal the win with a game-high 29 points off 11-of-19 from the field.

Michael Oguine also added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, but the rest of DeCuire's squad was relatively quiet compared to Portland State who had seven players score nine points or more, and five go for double figures.

As a team, the Griz shot just over 46 percent from the field, but posted their lowest three-point percentage of the year, going 5-of-22 for 22.7 percent from behind the arc.

"We can't have Jack, Brandon, and Bobby off on a night and expect to win games against a zone. We were able to get inside, but at the end of the day, if none of your three-point shooters make a three, it's hard to win games," DeCuire added.

Oguine and Rorie were the hot hands for the Griz early on, hitting back-to-back threes between them to help keep pace with the Vikings in the opening minutes.

Rorie had 10 points to his name before the second media timeout with Oguine chipping in five more, and the game was tied at 17 with 12 minutes still to play in the first half.

The back and forth continued later in the half, with PSU's Calaen Robinson draining a three to cap a 6-0 run that put the Viks up 27-24. PSU was firing from all angles, getting up 24 shots, but only making 11 baskets, allowing the Griz to keep within striking distance.

Montana then went on a 6-0 run of its own when PSU went over two minutes without a bucket, highlighted by a Krslovic tip-in.

PSU's pesky defense paid off again, though, when Robinson took a steal coast-to-coast for a dunk, followed by a Zach Gengler three-pointer that gave the lead back to the home team 32-30.

After a pair of layups from Krslovic, Viking Brandon Hollins scored five-straight points, giving PSU the 37-34 halftime advantage.

Portland State scored 14 points off nine Grizzly turnovers in the first half, but no team led by more than four points, and with a three-point PSU lead at the break, it was still anyone's ballgame.

Having only won two games this season when trailing at the half, the one thing happened after halftime the Griz couldn't afford to let happen: allow the Vikings to chew up clock while jumping out to a big lead.

The Vikings did exactly that, though, bursting out to an 18-3 lead in the first six minutes of the half before Rorie threw down a dunk in transition to stop the bleeding. During that stretch, the Vikings went 11-of-12 from the field and five-of-five from long range, shooting lights-out to build a big lead.

It was then Montana's turn to go on a run.

Krslovic and Rorie would combine to make 10 of Montana's last 17 shots, cutting the PSU lead down to as little as six points. But just as the Griz climbed back within striking distance, Gengler answered back with a three to thwart the comeback attempt.

With time winding down and both teams in the double bonus, it was a matter of free throws for Portland State from then out, who closed out the game with 12 points from the charity stripe to seal the win.

"At the end of the day, you've got to be ready to play. We're chasing a team that's ready to play no matter who they're playing. They bring their A game for anyone. I'm not sure we're there yet. It's not too late, we've just got work to do," said DeCuire.

Montana's West Coast road swing continues to Sacramento on Saturday, where the Griz will look to defeat the Hornets in the California Capital for the first time under DeCuire.