Sunday, December 17
Missoula, Mont.
1PM
Montana
6-4
77
vs
61
UC Riverside
3-7
1
2
F
UC Riverside
21
40
61
Montana
33
44
77
Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Montana never trails in win over UC Riverside
12/17/2017 5:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Montana Grizzlies jumped out to a 9-0 lead Sunday afternoon and never trailed to the visiting Highlanders, defeating UC Riverside, 77-61, at Dahlberg Arena. The win keeps Montana undefeated at home this season (4-0) and gives the Grizzlies their highest non-conference win total since 2011-12. Montana still has two non-conference games remaining, including a showdown vs. Big West favorite UC Irvine on Tuesday in Missoula.
"We needed to clean some things up offensively, so we went to some fundamental work our first few days of practice this week and I thought it showed," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We passed the ball a lot better, we attacked from the spots we wanted to attack from. It was a good performance."
The Grizzlies held UC Riverside without a basket for the first 6 minutes, 20 seconds of the contest and limited the Highlanders to 21 points overall in the first half – the fewest points scored in a half this season by a Montana opponent.
UC Riverside made its first shot attempt of the second half, but from that point forward, the next 6:23 was all Montana, as the Grizzlies used a 17-0 run to more than double up the Highlanders, 50-23. Montana would lead by as many as 29 points.
"That was an area for growth for us," DeCuire said. "What are you going to do when you have a little bit of success? Can you compete like you're down? One of the things I put on the board (at halftime) was 'compete' and 'inspiration'. I thought we did that for longer stretches than we have."
Junior Jamar Akoh had season highs for both points (17) and rebounds (12), recording his second double-double. He shot 4-of-5 from the floor, but more impressive, was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
"Jamar only had five shots, but he had a lot of touches that led to a lot of baskets," DeCuire said.
Over the past five games, Akoh is averaging 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. On Sunday, he also added two blocked shots, two assists and a steal.
In addition to Akoh's 17 points, junior Ahmaad Rorie was clicking all day, making 8-of-13 shots – including six of seven from inside three-point range – to tally 22 points and three steals. It marked his sixth 20-point scoring performance of the season, including third in a row.
Junior Michael Oguine finished with 12 points and three blocked shots, with 11 of his points coming in the second half. Junior Bobby Moorehead scored nine points and had eight rebounds.
Early in the second half, Moorehead hit a three-pointer and then on the ensuing play, stole a ball and took it down the court for a lay-in that he converted into a three-point play when he was fouled. The six points in a 10-second span were the start of Montana's 17-0 run.
The Grizzlies had 22 rebounds in the second half alone, compared to UC Riverside's 23 for the entire contest. The Griz totaled 11 offensive boards and converted them into 16 second-chance points. Led by Akoh, Montana was once again consistent from the charity stripe, making a season-high 24 (77.4 percent). Over the past three games, the Grizzlies are shooting 79.3 percent and averaging 21.67 makes. From the floor, Montana shot 50 percent (24 of 48), marking the third consecutive home game that the Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots.
A win on Tuesday vs. UC Irvine would guarantee a winning non-conference record, also for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Prior to the game, Montana will posthumously recognize former Griz Delvon Anderson, presenting his family the Legends of the Game award that is part of Montana's participation in the Legends Classic.
(12/17/2017) MBB vs. UC Riverside
"We needed to clean some things up offensively, so we went to some fundamental work our first few days of practice this week and I thought it showed," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We passed the ball a lot better, we attacked from the spots we wanted to attack from. It was a good performance."
The Grizzlies held UC Riverside without a basket for the first 6 minutes, 20 seconds of the contest and limited the Highlanders to 21 points overall in the first half – the fewest points scored in a half this season by a Montana opponent.
With a 12-point halftime lead, the Grizzlies really kicked it into high gear to begin the second half, however.More than 4 minutes in and UC Riverside is still scoreless! #GrizHoops is off to a 9-0 start! pic.twitter.com/P4HZQwg8s5
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 17, 2017
UC Riverside made its first shot attempt of the second half, but from that point forward, the next 6:23 was all Montana, as the Grizzlies used a 17-0 run to more than double up the Highlanders, 50-23. Montana would lead by as many as 29 points.
"That was an area for growth for us," DeCuire said. "What are you going to do when you have a little bit of success? Can you compete like you're down? One of the things I put on the board (at halftime) was 'compete' and 'inspiration'. I thought we did that for longer stretches than we have."
Junior Jamar Akoh had season highs for both points (17) and rebounds (12), recording his second double-double. He shot 4-of-5 from the floor, but more impressive, was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
"Jamar only had five shots, but he had a lot of touches that led to a lot of baskets," DeCuire said.
Over the past five games, Akoh is averaging 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. On Sunday, he also added two blocked shots, two assists and a steal.
In addition to Akoh's 17 points, junior Ahmaad Rorie was clicking all day, making 8-of-13 shots – including six of seven from inside three-point range – to tally 22 points and three steals. It marked his sixth 20-point scoring performance of the season, including third in a row.
Junior Michael Oguine finished with 12 points and three blocked shots, with 11 of his points coming in the second half. Junior Bobby Moorehead scored nine points and had eight rebounds.
Early in the second half, Moorehead hit a three-pointer and then on the ensuing play, stole a ball and took it down the court for a lay-in that he converted into a three-point play when he was fouled. The six points in a 10-second span were the start of Montana's 17-0 run.
"Defensively, we were active, we were all over the place," DeCuire said. "I thought we scrapped and we deflected a lot of balls, and that led to some points."#BobbyIsABeast
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 17, 2017
Moorehead with a 6-0 run to give #GrizHoops its largest lead of the afternoon! pic.twitter.com/UNZT7lhHnc
The Grizzlies had 22 rebounds in the second half alone, compared to UC Riverside's 23 for the entire contest. The Griz totaled 11 offensive boards and converted them into 16 second-chance points. Led by Akoh, Montana was once again consistent from the charity stripe, making a season-high 24 (77.4 percent). Over the past three games, the Grizzlies are shooting 79.3 percent and averaging 21.67 makes. From the floor, Montana shot 50 percent (24 of 48), marking the third consecutive home game that the Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots.
A win on Tuesday vs. UC Irvine would guarantee a winning non-conference record, also for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Prior to the game, Montana will posthumously recognize former Griz Delvon Anderson, presenting his family the Legends of the Game award that is part of Montana's participation in the Legends Classic.
Team Stats
UCR
UM
FG%
.385
.500
3FG%
.294
.278
FT%
.696
.774
RB
23
40
TO
16
20
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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