Road stretch continues Saturday at Weber State

Montana at Weber State
Saturday / 7 p.m. / Ogden, Utah

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Coming off of a road win at Idaho State on Thursday, Montana will now turn its attention to Weber State (Saturday, 7 p.m.). The two programs have been the class of the Big Sky throughout the league's history, ranking No. 1 and 2 for all-time wins, conference titles and NCAA tournament berths.

The series has produced many all-time classics throughout the years, and Saturday could be the next one.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE

Weber State is just 6-13 on the season, including 2-6 in Big Sky play (10th). The Wildcats' two Big Sky wins came over Idaho (by one point) and at Idaho State (in overtime). They also have three losses by two points or fewer, including Thursday's 62-61 loss to Montana State on a buzzer-beater.
Jerrick Harding, the Big Sky preseason player of the year, is averaging a league-best 21.3 points per game (14th in NCAA). He is shooting .513, the third-best percentage in the Big Sky.
Cody John is averaging 13.8 points per game on .426 shooting, with four other Wildcats averaging at least 6.0 per contest. John ranks 15th in the Big Sky for scoring and ninth for shooting.
Of 21 statistical categories the Big Sky tracks, Weber State ranks in the top five in just five of them: field-goal percentage (fourth), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth), three-pointers made (fourth), blocked shots (fifth) and turnover margin (fifth). The Wildcats are last for three-point defense, rebounding offense and rebounding margin.
Weber State's roster features players from seven different countries.
Randy Rahe is in his 14th season in Ogden. The veteran coach owns more than 270 wins during that time. The Wildcats have been to the postseason in nine of his 12 seasons, including the NCAA tournament three times.
Over the past decade, Weber State has won more than 80 percent of its games inside the Dee Events Center.

SERIES VS. THE WILDCATS
Montana and Weber State first met during the 1962-63 season – the inaugural year of the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats own a 70-60 advantage, including a 45-17 mark in Ogden. However, the Grizzlies have won five consecutive in the series and are 7-4 under Travis DeCuire.

Part of Montana's five-game winning streak over Weber State includes two straight wins in Ogden. Prior to its current road streak, Montana had lost 12 consecutive regular-season meetings in Ogden dating back to 2004-05. The only exception came in the 2010 Big Sky tournament, when Anthony Johnson scored 42 points, including Montana's final 21 in a 66-65 comeback win to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

A season ago, Montana beat Weber State three times, leading by at least 20 points each time. The Grizzlies used a 20-0 run in a January meeting in Missoula before holding on by seven. The Grizzlies again led by 20 late in the first half in Ogden, before Weber State got within three and forced Montana to hold on late. In the Big Sky semifinals, Montana had a special performance, beating the Wildcats 78-49, the Grizzlies' widest margin of victory ever in a tournament game. Sayeed Pridgett was in double figures in all three games, including a 29-point, 16-rebound performance at Weber State last February.

RECENT TRENDS

Montana has won four consecutive games, with two of the victories coming on the road.
After starting the season 0-6 on the road, Montana has won three of its past four road games.
Four of Montana's last six wins have been decided by four points or fewer.
In Montana's last five victories, the Grizzlies have never trailed by more than six points. Montana led for 39:19 on Thursday at Idaho State, and has led by an average of 35:41 over the past five wins.
Montana hasn't had the same player lead the Grizzlies in scoring in back-to-back games since Sayeed Pridgett did so on Dec. 28 and 30.
Montana has not lost the turnover battle once during Big Sky play.
Montana has led at halftime in each of the past four games, after doing so just three times through the first 15 games. The Grizzlies are 7-0 on the season when leading at the break.

NOTES FROM THURSDAY'S WIN

Montana's only deficit came at 2-0. The Grizzlies took a 3-2 lead on their first offensive possession and didn't trail for the remainder of the contest.
Senior Kendal Manuel led all players with 21 points. Shortly after Idaho State tied the game at 54-54, Manuel scored seven consecutive points for Montana.
- It marked the fifth time this season he has reached 20 points in a game, including the third time in the past five games.
Senior Jared Samuelson scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, in addition to leading the Grizzlies for rebounding (7), steals (2) and blocked shots (2).
- Samuelson reached double figures for scoring less than 9 minutes into the game, scoring 10 of the Grizzlies' first 21 points.
Junior Timmy Falls scored 10 points. He connected on two three-pointers, the first giving Montana its first double-digit lead and the second snapping Idaho State's 9-0 run. He made another shot to push the Grizzlies' lead to two possessions with under 5 minutes to play.
- Falls led all players by playing more than 38 minutes before fouling out.
Senior Sayeed Pridgett was hampered by foul trouble, picking up his third whistle after playing for just 3:10. He finished with 13 points – a Big Sky low – but was still able to pull down six rebounds and lead Montana with four assists.
In the final 90 seconds, sophomore Mack Anderson blocked a shot and converted an and-1 to give Montana a 74-69 advantage. He finished with five points.
Sophomore Yagizhan Selcuk scored six consecutive Griz points to close the first half. It marked his first points since scoring two in the Big Sky opener vs. Northern Arizona.
Montana shot .615 in the first half, connecting on 16-of-26 shots, in addition to all six of its free-throw attempts.
- The Grizzlies shot .483 overall, despite shooting .375 in the second half.
Montana made 16 of 19 free-throw attempts (.842), including all seven attempts from Manuel.
Montana used a 9-2 run late in the first half to build a double-digit lead.
After leading by as many as 14, 47-33, Idaho State scored nine consecutive points and 21 of 28 to tie the game at 54-54.
- Montana missed four consecutive shots while turning the ball over once, while Idaho State made 5-of-6 shots to begin the run.
Nine of Idaho State's first 15 points came from the free-throw line. The Grizzlies were called for 26 personal fouls, leading to 34 free-throw attempts for the Bengals. Two Montana players fouled out, with four more being called four three or four.
Montana beat Idaho State for the 18^th consecutive time, with its last loss coming on Dec. 31, 2009. Travis DeCuire is 9-0 against the Bengals, including 5-0 in Pocatello.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana has a split week next week, traveling to Portland State (Thursday) before returning home to host Montana State (Saturday, Feb. 1). The Griz-Cat rivalry will be the start to the second half of conference play, and will be the only team Montana hasn't played.

Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Timmy Falls

Kendal Manuel

Sayeed Pridgett

Jared Samuelson

Yagizhan Selcuk

University of Montana Athletics