Montana lets non-conference finale slip away

Saturday, December 21

Omaha, Neb.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

4-7

Omaha

7-8

OT 1

Montana

Omaha

12/21/2019 2:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

OMAHA, Neb. – Montana will walk away from Saturday's non-conference finale feeling as if it let a winnable game slip away. The Grizzlies took a 69-64 lead with 29 seconds to play in regulation, but Omaha closed the half on an 8-3 run, tying the game with a deep three-pointer in the closing seconds. The Mavericks were also aided by two missed Griz free throws down the stretch and four misses over the final 90 seconds.

It was a similar tale in overtime. After Montana took a 79-77 advantage with 1:49 to play, the Griz were immediately out-scored 8-1, going more than 2 minutes without a made basket. In the end, Omaha survived, 87-82, to extend its home winning streak to 12 games dating back to December 2018. Montana closed non-conference play with a 4-7 mark.

"At the end of the day, you can't give up 15 offensive rebounds and miss 10 free throws," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We had three guys go 1-for-2 (from the free-throw line) at winning time, but we missed quite a few prior to that, too, and we just can't do that."

Sayeed Pridgett scored a career-high 32 points, in addition to eight boards. After trailing by five at the half, 37-32, Montana scored eight consecutive points to open the second period and jump back in front. Moments later, the Griz had built the lead up to five, 44-39, with Pridgett scoring 10 consecutive Griz points.

Three newcomers joined Pridgett in double figures, including Josh Vazquez (14 points on 3-for-3 shooting from deep) and Kyle Owens (12 points, which was a career-high against DI competition).

The big story, though, was the debut of Yagizhan Selcuk.

Selcuk, who transferred from Towson to Montana last January, was cleared this week by the NCAA after being forced to sit out a year due to transfer rules. Selcuk arrived to Omaha less than 24 hours before tip, meeting the team at the practice gym on Friday afternoon.

In 27 minutes of action, the 6-8 Turkish forward scored 14 points while pulling down six boards. His impressive debut featured several highlights, but none bigger than when he scored five consecutive points, including a three-point play that gave Montana the lead back, 62-60, with less than 3 minutes in regulation.

"He's the strongest guy on the team in terms of physicality and keeping guys from getting spots," DeCuire said of Selcuk. "They had four or five offensive rebounds going into the first media, so I figured, 'Hey, let's give him a run and see what happens.' He goes in and he scores, and we rode it out. I thought he took some pressure off of Sayeed (Pridgett), but also allowed Sayeed to score because they couldn't lose sight of him."

The Grizzlies built the lead to 66-61 with a Selcuk layup on the following possession, and then a monstrous fast-break dunk from Pridgett, which forced an Omaha timeout with 2:08 to play. Pridgett came up big moments later, drawing a charge and then scoring another bucket to put Montana in front, 68-62, with 48 seconds on the clock.

Omaha would make its final four shots attempts of regulation, though, to score 10 points in 39 seconds.

Gallery: (12/21/2019) MBB: at Omaha (12.21.19)

Game Notables

The game featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. Neither team led by more than seven points.
Montana turned the ball over just seven times (second-fewest of the season), while forcing the Mavericks into 20 giveaways (second-most by a Griz opponent this season). The 20 turnovers led to 19 Griz points.
Montana was out-rebounded 51 to 34, with Omaha's Matt Pile – who ranks 21^st nationally for rebounding – collecting 16 boards.
The Grizzlies actually made more shots in overtime than Omaha, but the Mavericks took 16 free-throw attempts during the 5-minute period alone, making 10 of them. Overall, the home team took 42 attempts.
Sayeed Pridgett led all players with 32 points (career high), marking the eighth time this season he has led the Griz for scoring.
Montana received 40 points from its bench, with a trio of newcomers – Kyle Owens, Yagizhan Selcuk and Vazquez – scoring 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting.
In addition to his 14 points – going 3-for-3 from deep – Vazquez tallied a career-high five assists before fouling out.
Facing its largest deficit of the day, 22-16, Vazquez connected on back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score at 22-22.
Both teams started out cold. The Grizzlies missed their first 10 shot attempts while Omaha began the game 1-for-9 while turning the ball over 10 times through the game's first 6 minutes.
After Montana took its largest lead of the day, 13-6, Omaha used an 11-1 run to regain the lead.
The game was Montana's first overtime contest since Jan. 5, 2019, vs. Portland State.
For the first time this season, Montana did not start a freshman. In the previous 10 games, Montana started two true freshmen each time.
Montana had used the same starting lineup in six consecutive games. On Saturday, Mack Anderson made his first start since Nov. 18. Jared Samuelson earned his second career start, and first of the season.

Quoting DeCuire
(on what he liked from his team on Saturday)
We put points on the board, and that's the biggest thing for us right now; we're not shooting the ball well from away. I do think we did a good job of taking care of the ball. Seven turnovers in 45 minutes isn't bad, especially when you force 20. We just have to clean up some things. Our biggest issue right now is our inconsistencies, which leads to changes in lineups and things like that."

(on his message entering the break, and Big Sky play)
"It's a new season. What I told them is, 'We're going to have some thinking right now, wondering what we can do different and better. Go home and enjoy your holiday and enjoy your family, but find time to hit a reset button and come back with fresh legs and a fresh mind.' We're all questioning our roles right now, and the most important thing is that we don't let outside influence affect where we are mentally."

Looking Ahead
Montana will now have a mini break before beginning Big Sky Conference action on Saturday, Dec. 28 vs. Northern Arizona. The team will return to Missoula on Christmas night, with practices scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Gameday!

Montana will look to snap Omaha's 11-game home winning streak, which dates back to 2018. Tipoff at 11 a.m. MT from Baxter Arena!#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/dncJopjL9o
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 21, 2019