Montana hosts Coppin State looking to build winning streak

Friday, November 29

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

Coppin State

Tickets

Travis DeCuire vs. Texas Southern - 11/25/19

Photo by: John Sieber

Montana hosts Coppin State looking to build winning streak

11/28/2019 4:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Montana vs. Coppin State
Friday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.

Watch: Pluto TV (ch. 537) / Watch worldwide
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Live Stats: StatBroadcast
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BACK ON TRACK WITH A WIN
Montana picked up a big win over Texas Southern on Monday night, defeating the Tigers, 74-62. The Grizzlies scored a season high for points and had five players in double figures for scoring, but most importantly, got back on track after losing the previous two contests. Texas Southern is a team that, like Montana, is accustomed to being in the postseason, making a postseason tournament in six consecutive seasons including the NCAA tournament four of those years.

Now Montana will look to build its first winning streak of the season when Coppin State visits Missoula on Friday evening (7 p.m.). The game is the final one in the Collegiate Hoops Roadshow, presented by AtmosAir.

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL
Fans can take advantage of a Black Friday discount, featuring buy-one-get-one-free general admission tickets. Tickets must be purchased on Friday at the Adams Center box office.

NOTABLES FROM MONDAY'S WIN

Five Grizzlies were in double figures for scoring: Sayeed Pridgett (19), Kendal Manuel (15), Timmy Falls (11), Derrick Carter-Hollinger (10), Josh Vazquez (10).
Pridgett once again led Montana for minutes played, scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots.
The Grizzlies shot 51.9 percent from the floor, including 61.9 percent in the second half.
Montana forced Texas Southern into 17 turnovers, leading to 21 points. The Grizzlies also had 25 fast-break points and 42 points in the paint.
Montana did not trail over the final 30:14, leading by double digits for the final 12 minutes.
The freshmen paced Montana early, with Carter-Hollinger and Owens combining for 10 of Montana's first 13 points.
Jared Samuelson, who made his return to the Griz on Friday, scored his first points early in the first half, at the free throw line. It was his first Division-I points since March 7, 2017, and first in Dahlberg Arena since Feb. 18, 2017.
TSU didn't score a point for 3:50, allowing Montana to take a 17-15 lead. TSU was 0-for-5 with two turnovers during that stretch.
Following a 21-21 tie, Montana went on a 6-0 run over 43 seconds. UM took a 23-21 lead with 6 minutes to play on a nice pass from Pridgett on the baseline to a cutting Falls, who laid it in. On the other end, Falls took a charge before Pridgett again found a driving Falls at the rim. Montana took a 27-21 lead on a steal and bucket from Carter-Hollinger. It was the largest lead by either team up to that point.
Montana led at the half for the first time this season, 33-29
Montana never trailed in the second half, but was tied early on, including at 36-36. Montana then went on a 24-6 run, over 6:39, to build a double-digit lead. Montana made 11 consecutive shots during the run.
Montana improved to 2-0 all-time against Texas Southern and 6-0 vs. current members of the SWAC. Texas Southern is a perennial postseason team, playing in postseason tournaments in six consecutive seasons, including four NCAA tournaments.

SCOUTING COPPIN STATE

Coppin State enters Friday's contest with a 3-5 record, including back-to-back wins over Cornell and James Madison. The Eagles also beat Loyola-Chicago on Nov. 12.
The Eagles have used the same starting lineup in all eight games, with three players averaging more than 32 minutes per game. Those three are also averaging more than 13.0 points per game (approximately 60 percent of the team's scoring).
Senior guard Kamar McKnight is the team's top scorer (14.9 points per game) while junior guard Dejuan Clayton is second (14.0). Clayton also has team highs for assists (29) and steals (20), and his steals-per-game average ranks 29^th nationally.
Senior forward Andrew Robinson averages 13.1 points per game, while leading the Eagles for three-pointers made (2.88 per game on .319 shooting). Just four players across the country have taken more three-pointers than Robinson has. He also ranks second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game, just behind junior guard Koby Thomas' 6.1 average.
Nearly half (46.2 percent) of Coppin State's shot attempts are from beyond the arc. However, The Eagles are shooting just .278 from that distance. Overall, Coppin State is shooting at a .372 clip and is averaging just 70.4 points per game.
The Eagles have a +3.2 turnover margin, forcing opponents into 17.8 turnovers per game (42^nd in NCAA).
Clayton was named to the preseason All-MEAC first team in October. A season ago, he was a second-team selection after leading the Eagles with 14.5 points per game, 119 assists and 28 steals. Earlier this month, Clayton was named the MEAC player of the week and the following day he became the 23^rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points scored.
The Eagles were picked to finish seventh out of 11 teams in the MEAC preseason poll. A season ago, Coppin State went 8-25 overall, but was nearly .500 in conference play (7-9).
Juan Dixon is in his third season leading Coppin State. He is a former national champion as a player at Maryland, being named the 2002 ACC Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. He was the 17^th pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards and played nine seasons in the league.

SERIES VS. THE EAGLES
Friday will be the first meeting between the Grizzlies and Eagles, with Coppin State making the 2,300-mile trip from Baltimore to Missoula. In fact, it will be just the second time the Griz have played a team from the Mid-American Atlantic Conference, which is comprised of 11 teams along the East Coast. Montana beat Florida A&M, 83-77, in December 1987 in Missoula.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana has a quick turnaround, leaving Saturday morning for Albuquerque, N.M., to take on the New Mexico Lobos of the Mountain West. New Mexico is 6-2 on the season, most-recently beating Wisconsin in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.