Defense paves the way for Griz win over T-Birds

Thursday, February 9

Cedar City, Utah

6:30 PM

Montana

7-5 (12-13)

Southern Utah

2-10 (4-21)

Montana

Southern Utah

2/9/2017 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies held Southern Utah's Randy Onwuasor – the nation's seventh-leading scorer – to just 16 points as UM took care of business against the Thunderbirds, picking up their second-straight win, 70-55 in Cedar City, Utah, on Thursday.

The win keeps the Griz (12-13, 7-4 BSC) on pace for a top-five finish in the regular season Big Sky standings, while handing last place Southern Utah (4-21, 2-10 BSC) its tenth-straight loss and twenty-first of the season.

With starting guard Ahmaad Rorie missing the second half after getting banged up on a blind screen, the future of Griz hoops took center stage, with true freshmen Sayeed Pridgett leading all scorers with 19 points, and Jared Samuelson adding eight.

"It was a great team effort," said Griz head coach Travis DeCuire.

"We constantly tell the guys there will be nights where some of the key guys might not be on fire, and someone else is going to have to come off the bench and make a difference. I thought our freshmen and Bobby Moorehead won that game for us to be honest."

Montana had three players score in double figures with senior Walter Wright finding success penetrating the paint for 14 points and Fabijan Krslovic finishing just two rebounds shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight boards.

Senior Jack Lopez also had a big night on the boards as Montana overcame a cold shooting night with stellar defense, outrebounding the T-Birds as a whole 41-30.

The Grizzlies shot just 19 percent from three-point land, making four of 21 attempts. With the long bombs not falling, the Griz brought it inside against a zone defense, shooting 43 percent from the field in the second half.

"We were way more effective on that zone because we had finishers on the back side," said DeCuire. "Once we started getting stops, they couldn't get back into it."

"The last three games we've been spreading people and driving, with Ahmaad and Mike curling and penetrating and Walter penetrating. But tonight, that wasn't what was there for us. It was: pound it inside and post up Jared and Sayeed, and that ended up being beneficial in the end."

Montana's defense was especially active against Onwuasor, who picked up two fouls early to keep him at only five points in 14 minutes in the first half. Coming into the game, the Texas Tech transfer was averaging 23 points per game. It wasn't until the game was already decided that he made a run into double figures.

"In the second half Coach (Marlon) Stewart noticed that he really did not want to go to his left hand," added DeCuire. So, we put Bobby on him for length and kept him scoreless for a long period of time. Bob was phenomenal; it was some of the best defense we've had all year."

Like they were last week against the Bobcats, The Griz were rock solid from the free throw line against the T-Birds, hitting 22 of 26 attempts compared to SUU's total of just six on 12 attempts.

Brandon Gfeller came out firing in the first half, picking up where he left off in Cedar City last year by draining a three to start the game.

That would be about it for the Griz from behind the arc for most of the first half, though, as the Griz shot just 15 percent from distance, going 2-13. Wright hit the Grizzlies' other three-pointer midway through the half on a step-back jumper with a hand in his face.

Montana wasn't heating it up from the floor either, shooting just 25 percent in the opening 10 minutes, and finishing the half at 38.7 percent. Pridgett found success in the paint with a pair of floaters and an easy layup for 10 points in the first half to lead all scorers.

The Thunderbirds were equally as cold behind the arc too, going just 1-for-12 from three-point land as the two teams combined to go 3 of 25 from downtown in the opening period as UM took a 34-23 lead at the break.

Onwuasor and the T-birds cut the Grizzlies' lead to four early in the second half by going on a 9-2 run. Onwuasor got a pair of jumpers to fall to build his point total to nine after five minutes of action while the Griz went 1-for-7.

Bobby Moorhead kept the Griz out of the Thunderbirds grasp, however, nailing a three to extend UM's lead to 44-34 halfway through the second half.

Pridgett continued to provide points for the Griz, even without the ball going in the bucket. The true freshman took a jump shot from the baseline and was blocked, but it was an easy goaltending call for the officials, and the score put him on 16 points.

Meanwhile, SUU was suffering through a five-minute scoreless streak that allowed UM to build its lead to 50-35 after Jared Samuelson got a jumper to fall to put the Griz on an 11-1 run.

The T-Birds snapped their scoreless streak when McGee drained his second three of the game. Wright answered right back on the ensuing possession, though, hitting his second three of the game to keep UM up by 15.

From there, Montana would maintain the lead and go on to the 70-55 win.

The Grizzlies now board a bus and hit the road for Flagstaff to face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Saturday.

NAU has won four-straight at home after dispatching Montana State 69-63 on Thursday. Tipoff from the Walkup Skydome is set for 7:30 p.m.