Stanford runs away with 2nd half

Wednesday, November 6

Stanford, Calif.

8 PM (MT)

Montana

0-1

Stanford

1-0

Montana

Stanford

11/6/2019 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Audio Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

STANFORD, Calif. – For the first 20 minutes, Montana was the better team in many ways, trailing for less than 3 minutes and holding a 25-19 advantage over Stanford with 5 minutes to play.

Stanford, though, closed the opening half on a strong note to take a 30-28 advantage into the locker room, and shortly after play resumed ran away with the contest, 73-62.

"I think that stretched showed signs of what we're capable of," head coach Travis DeCuire said of the opening half. "I think we had opportunities to pull away, and then to play as well as we thought we were playing and not have the lead at the half was very difficult for such a young group."

Montana was within two, 40-38, with just over 15 minutes remaining before the wheels came off.

Stanford scored the game's next 20 points and used a 26-2 run to blow the game wide open. During the drought, Montana missed 10 consecutive shots. Stanford, on the other hand, shot 12-of-14.

The sequence was eerily similar to Montana's last trip to The Farm. In the 2017 meeting, Montana led by six in the second half, before the Cardinal closed the game on a 26-4 run. Montana's largest lead on Wednesday was also six points.

"We weren't doing a lot to help ourselves," DeCuire said. "Bad shots, turnovers, we stopped executing on defense. We had them for a stretch where we were getting stops and holding them in the 30s, and then there was a time they were shooting 70 percent in the second half, and most of that was uncontested layup after uncontested layup.

"Our offense affected our defense. We struggled to get good shots and then the dam broke and our mental toughness was in question."

Gallery: (11/6/2019) MBB: at Stanford (11.6.19)

The bright spot for Montana was the play of its freshmen. Four Grizzlies made their collegiate debuts on Wednesday, and each made their mark. Josh Vazquez and Kyle Owens earned starts, with Vazquez playing 37 minutes – second only to Sayeed Pridgett's 39.

Vazquez, who ran the point, finished with 11 points, in addition to five rebounds. Derrick Carter-Hollinger came off the bench and finished with 15 points in 28 minutes of action. He made his first four shots and finished 5-of-6 from the floor, in addition to six rebounds, a block and a steal.

Eddy Egun, who redshirted a season ago, hit two late three-pointers during a 14-0 Griz run to close the contest, and finished the night with nine points.

"There's no ego in that group, so they're just playing," DeCuire said of the underclassmen. "The floor was spread and there was some activity near the end of the game, but I thought that group defended and that led to some transition points."

Pridgett, a Big Sky Conference player-of-the-year candidate, had a double-double. He led the Grizzlies for scoring (17), rebounding (10), assists (6), steals (3) and blocked shots (2).

Pridgett scored the season's first bucket just 21 seconds into the contest, which set the tone for the Griz. Montana jumped out to an early lead and trailed for less than a minute over the first 18 of the game. At that point, Montana had four players with at least five points, but the story was the defense.

Montana held Stanford without a point for nearly 5 minutes during one stretch, forcing three turnovers. Stanford scored just nine points through the game's first 11 minutes and 19 points through 15 minutes of action.

"We have to grow up offensively and move the ball a lot better and take care of the ball," DeCuire said. "I think the defense will take care of itself. We're young, so I just want to see us getting better every game. The schedule gets tougher, so it won't be easy, but we'll get there."

Game Notables

Montana trailed for just one minute over the game's first 18. The Grizzlies' largest deficit in the first half was just three points, while they led by as many as six.
Montana out-rebounded the Cardinal, 31-28, with four players tallying at least five boards, led by Sayeed Pridgett's 10.
Montana turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 21 Cardinal points. The Grizzlies reached that total just twice last season.
Pridgett recorded a double-double, leading the Grizzlies for scoring (17), rebounding (10) assists (6), steals (3) and blocked shots (2). He played 39 minutes.
- Pridgett made Montana's first two field goals of the second half, giving him 11 points through the game's first 22 minutes.
Making his collegiate debut, Derrick Carter-Hollinger was the second-leading scorer with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He made his first four shot attempts, also adding six rebounds, a block and a steal.
- Carter-Hollinger scored five consecutive Griz points early in the second half, including a three-point play that gave Montana its only second-half lead, 36-35.
Freshman Josh Vazquez scored 11 points while running the point. He missed his first four shot attempts but rebounded to make four of his next seven.
Redshirt freshman Eddy Egun's first career basket came on a layup in the first half. He finished the night with nine points, knocking down two three-pointers in the closing minutes.
Senior Kendal Manuel scored seven points, knocking down two early three-pointers. The second one gave the Grizzlies a 15-12 lead with under 9 minutes to play in the opening half.
At one point in the first half, 10 consecutive Griz points came from freshmen Derrick Carter-Hollinger and Josh Vazquez. The 10-3 run helped Montana open up its largest lead of the night, 25-19.

After a three-point play from Carter-Hollinger cut the score to 40-38, Stanford went on an 8-0 run over the next 64 seconds. The run extended to 20-0 and 26-2.
With four freshmen on the floor – three true freshmen and one redshirt – the Grizzlies closed the game on a 14-0 run. During that time, the freshmen accounted for 10 of the team's points, with three of the freshmen draining a three-pointer.
Stanford's Daejon Davis scored just two points (1-of-5 shooting). A season ago, Davis averaged 11.4 points per contest.

Looking Ahead
Montana will host its home opener on Sunday, taking on MSU Northern at 2 p.m. Fans can receive free admission by bringing their Griz football ticket from Saturday's game vs. Idaho. All children 12 and under also get in free.