Thursday, January 2
Cedar City, Utah
7 PM
Montana
7-7, 3-0BSC
60
at
58
Southern Utah
8-5, 1-1BSC
1
2
F
Montana
26
34
60
Southern Utah
21
37
58
Montana hands Southern Utah 1st home loss of season
1/2/2020 9:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Montana led from start to finish Thursday night, picking up its first road win of the season and handing Southern Utah a home defeat for the first time.
Montana set the tone early by jumping out to a 14-7 lead behind senior Jared Samuelson.
Coming off of a career night on Saturday, Samuelson picked up where he left off by scoring 10 of Montana's first 14 points. He kept it going throughout the evening, scoring a career-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep.
Montana's three seniors were money, scoring 54 of the Grizzlies' 60 points. The trio scored the first 20, as well as the final 23. Kendal Manuel scored 17, including two big three-pointers late in the second half, while Sayeed Pridgett added 16. Montana led by as many as 10 points, including by eight with 3:13 to play. However, Southern Utah closed strong, taking advantage of two missed free throws and two Griz turnovers.
The Thunderbirds cut the score to 60-58 with 14.2 seconds to play and got the ball back when Manuel missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Before they could even get a shot off, though, Timmy Falls forced a tie up to give the ball back to Montana.
Still, Manuel, who had made 40 of his previous 41 free throw attempts, missed another, giving Southern Utah the chance to win the game at the buzzer. Cameron Oluyitan's three-point attempt from half court drew iron but was off the mark, sending Montana to 3-0 to begin Big Sky play. Montana is the only 3-0 team remaining, with Montana State falling to Northern Colorado on Thursday; Idaho State is the only other unbeaten team, at 2-0.
Montana will have another tough challenge ahead, facing Northern Colorado Saturday night in Greeley.
Gallery: (1/2/2020) MBB: at Southern Utah (1.2.20)
Game Notables
(on Montana's defense shutting down the Thunderbirds)
"That's three gritty wins in a row. Our defense is leading the way right now, holding them to 39 percent. I told our team we were probably going to have to keep them in the 50s in order to win this game, and we did a good job shutting them down."
(on a quick start to the game)
"We talked about in the locker room before we came out. We've done a good job at halftime adjustments three games in a row, but it felt good to do that at the beginning of the game. It was all defense. We made some big stops, forced some turnovers, and that set the tone."
(on Samuelson's career night)
"He's got his legs under him. We brought him along slow after the surgery because we wanted him ready for conference. Once he got some pop he got more effective for us offensively. He's shooting the ball well."
(on Falls' impact)
"Can you help us win without scoring? Josh (Vazquez) and Timmy have given us some things that don't show up on the stats sheet, along with Kyle (Owens). Timmy's defense on scorers, his scrappiness, is big, and it's contagious."
(on Anderson's impact in the closing minute)
"We handled the last 3 minutes pretty well, given the fact that we missed shots and turned the ball over. Mack (Anderson) subbing in defensively was the key down the stretch. We gave him the pen (a locker room tradition after wins) just because his 3 minutes were big-time; they led us to the victory."
Looking Ahead
Montana will have another tough challenge ahead, facing Northern Colorado Saturday night in Greeley. The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the preseason media poll and fifth by the coaches. They are coming off of a 68-59 win over Montana State.
Montana set the tone early by jumping out to a 14-7 lead behind senior Jared Samuelson.
Coming off of a career night on Saturday, Samuelson picked up where he left off by scoring 10 of Montana's first 14 points. He kept it going throughout the evening, scoring a career-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep.
Montana's three seniors were money, scoring 54 of the Grizzlies' 60 points. The trio scored the first 20, as well as the final 23. Kendal Manuel scored 17, including two big three-pointers late in the second half, while Sayeed Pridgett added 16. Montana led by as many as 10 points, including by eight with 3:13 to play. However, Southern Utah closed strong, taking advantage of two missed free throws and two Griz turnovers.
The Thunderbirds cut the score to 60-58 with 14.2 seconds to play and got the ball back when Manuel missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Before they could even get a shot off, though, Timmy Falls forced a tie up to give the ball back to Montana.
Still, Manuel, who had made 40 of his previous 41 free throw attempts, missed another, giving Southern Utah the chance to win the game at the buzzer. Cameron Oluyitan's three-point attempt from half court drew iron but was off the mark, sending Montana to 3-0 to begin Big Sky play. Montana is the only 3-0 team remaining, with Montana State falling to Northern Colorado on Thursday; Idaho State is the only other unbeaten team, at 2-0.
Montana will have another tough challenge ahead, facing Northern Colorado Saturday night in Greeley.
Game Notables
- The win was Montana's first on the road this season. The Grizzlies' seven road opponents have been nearly unbeatable at home, entering the night with a 49-2 record at home this season.
- While Montana earned its first road win, the Grizzlies also handed Southern Utah its first home loss of the season.
- Montana never trailed in the contest, leading for 37:38. The only two ties came at 0-0 and 2-2.
- Southern Utah cut the score to a single possession four times over the final 11 minutes, but could never even the score or take the lead.
- The Grizzlies jumped out to a 14-7 lead, with senior Jared Samuelson scoring 10 of the team's first 14 points.
- Samuelson had a career game, scoring 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. His previous career high came against Northern Arizona during his freshman season (Feb. 11, 2017).
- After making just one three-pointer during his freshman season at Montana, Samuelson is 6-for-10 in 2019-20, making 3-of-4 on Thursday and 5-of-8 over the past two games.
- Over the past two games, Samuelson has scored 35 points, leading Montana in scoring both times. He scored 23 points combined in his first eight games (2.9 average).
- Montana's three seniors contributed 54 of the Grizzlies' 60 points. The trio scored Montana's first 20 points of the night, in addition to the final 23.
- Senior Kendal Manuel has been in double figures for scoring in three consecutive games, and 10 of the past 12. On Thursday, he finished with 16 points, including three three-pointers. Two of them came late in the second half, including one to snap a 6-0 Thunderbirds scoring run and push Montana's lead to two possessions.
- Prior to Manuel's two misses from the free-throw line in the closing seconds, the senior had made 40 of 41 free throws, including 17 in a row. He entered the night leading the Big Sky and ranking 12th nationally for free throw percentage.
- Senior Sayeed Pridgett scored 17 points, with 10 coming in the second half. He also led the Grizzlies with eight rebounds.
- Pridgett moved into 12th place on Montana's all-time scoring list, passing Ken McKenzie (1972-75). The senior now has 1,337 career points.
- Junior Timmy Falls has scored just two points over the past two games, but has made a major impact in both games. Over the past two contests, Falls has totaled seven assists compared to one turnover, in addition to three steals and two blocks. On Thursday, his steal with 8.2 seconds to play essentially sealed Montana's victory.
- After shooting .333 in the first half, Montana shot .500 in the second, making 4-of-6 three-pointers.
- Opponents were shooting .290 from deep against the Thunderbirds (38th in NCAA), but Montana shot .462, making 6-of-13 attempts. It was the Grizzlies' best three-point shooting percentage of the season.
- Southern Utah entered the game ranked 51st nationally with a .472 field-goal percentage, but was limited to just .392 shooting on Thursday.
- Montana held Southern Utah without a made field goal over the final 5:07 of the first half.
- Montana held Southern Utah 20 points below its season scoring average. It marked the 11th time in 14 games that the Grizzlies have held their opponent below their season scoring average this season.
- The Grizzlies won the turnover battle, giving the ball up just nine times while forcing 15 giveaways. The Grizzlies have recorded more turnovers than their opponent just one time in the past 10 games.
- Montana is 7-1 on the season when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer, with three being held below 60 points (3-0).
- Montana's last two games have been decided by four total points.
- Montana's last four games have been decided by single digits.
- Montana's last five wins have been decided by single digits.
- Montana led at halftime for just the fourth time this season (4-0).
- Southern Utah's leading scorer Cameron Oluyitan was held to just six points, less than half of his season average.
- Montana is .500 on the season for the first time since beginning the year 1-1.
- Montana has now won 15 consecutive games over Southern Utah.
Quoting DeCuireHow good was @JaredSamuelson last night? The senior scored a career-high 21 points in Montana's road win at Southern Utah!#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ZleYw2iFlH
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 3, 2020
(on Montana's defense shutting down the Thunderbirds)
"That's three gritty wins in a row. Our defense is leading the way right now, holding them to 39 percent. I told our team we were probably going to have to keep them in the 50s in order to win this game, and we did a good job shutting them down."
(on a quick start to the game)
"We talked about in the locker room before we came out. We've done a good job at halftime adjustments three games in a row, but it felt good to do that at the beginning of the game. It was all defense. We made some big stops, forced some turnovers, and that set the tone."
(on Samuelson's career night)
"He's got his legs under him. We brought him along slow after the surgery because we wanted him ready for conference. Once he got some pop he got more effective for us offensively. He's shooting the ball well."
(on Falls' impact)
"Can you help us win without scoring? Josh (Vazquez) and Timmy have given us some things that don't show up on the stats sheet, along with Kyle (Owens). Timmy's defense on scorers, his scrappiness, is big, and it's contagious."
(on Anderson's impact in the closing minute)
"We handled the last 3 minutes pretty well, given the fact that we missed shots and turned the ball over. Mack (Anderson) subbing in defensively was the key down the stretch. We gave him the pen (a locker room tradition after wins) just because his 3 minutes were big-time; they led us to the victory."
Looking Ahead
Montana will have another tough challenge ahead, facing Northern Colorado Saturday night in Greeley. The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the preseason media poll and fifth by the coaches. They are coming off of a 68-59 win over Montana State.
TIMMY FALLS FORCES THE TIE UP. Montana ball! pic.twitter.com/UOztgM8dRE
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 3, 2020
That's a career-high 21 points for Jared Samuelson. He gives Montana an eight-point lead with 3 minutes to play! pic.twitter.com/YdufaHTxQl
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 3, 2020
Kendal Manuel breaks the 6-0 SUU scoring run with a big triple! pic.twitter.com/fyQXiLuBbD
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 3, 2020
Team Stats
UM
SUU
FG%
.414
.392
3FG%
.462
.231
FT%
.750
.714
RB
28
35
TO
9
15
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMarch Madness Denver Pep Rally - 3/19/25
Thursday, March 20
Montana? Yes, Montana!
Wednesday, March 19
Griz Basketball Open Practice [March Madness] - 3/19/25
Wednesday, March 19
Griz Basketball Arrival To Denver [March Madness] - 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
