Late rally not enough at Portland State

Thursday, January 30

Portland, Ore.

8 PM (MT)

Montana

11-10, 7-3BSC

Portland State

11-12, 5-6,BSC

Montana

Portland State

Photo by: David Staggs

1/30/2020 11:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Audio Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland State made five of its first six shot attempts on Thursday night and never trailed in an 88-81 victory over Montana.

Montana was efficient on offense in the opening half, shooting .480 from the floor, but Portland State was even better (.559) and forced the Grizzlies into eight turnovers. Montana trailed by a season-high 19 points at the break, with the deficit extending to 22 in the second half.

Montana never led in the game, but a furious rally late in the contest did cut the deficit to as few as five points with under a minute to play. Montana made its final seven shot attempts and scored 17 points over the final 2 minutes, 34 seconds.

The Grizzlies could never get closer, though, due to Portland State's efficiency from the free-throw line. Over the final 82 seconds, Portland State was 11-of-12 from the line, including 10 makes from Holland Woods. The all-conference guard scored a career-high 39 points, setting a Big Sky record by going 21-of-21 from the charity stripe.

Gallery: (1/30/2020) MBB: at Portland State (1.30.20)

Montana made more than 60 percent of its shots in the second half and out-scored the Vikings 51-39. A big part of that was redshirt freshman Eddy Egun, who played the final 15 minutes after playing just 16 minutes through the first nine Big Sky contests. Egun finished with a team-high seven rebounds (career best) and six points, connecting on two big three-pointers.

Kendal Manuel led Montana with 19 points, while Derrick Carter-Hollinger had one of the best performances of his young career, scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, in addition to five rebounds, a block and a steal. Five Grizzlies were in double figures for scoring, with Timmy Falls (14) and Sayeed Pridgett (14, plus eight assists) also reaching the threshold.

The Grizzlies aren't going away! Montana is on an 11-0 run! pic.twitter.com/XKGazA5d2P
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 31, 2020

Game Notables

Following the Grizzlies' five-game win streak (Jan. 9-23), Montana has now lost two in a row – both coming on the road.
Redshirt freshman Eddy Egun had a breakout performance in the second half, playing for the final 15 minutes. Despite not playing in the first half, Egun led the Grizzlies with seven rebounds (career high), in addition to six points and two steals.
- Egun finished with a team-best +15 on the plus/minus scale.
- In Montana's first nine conference games, Egun played 16 minutes combined, scoring five points.
Freshman Derrick Carter-Hollinger was Montana's first player in double figures. He totaled 17 points (second-highest of his career) while shooting 6-of-7 and making all four free-throw attempts.
- Carter-Hollinger played a career-high 35 minutes.
Junior Timmy Falls was in double figures for the third straight game, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
- Over the past two games, Falls is averaging 15.0 points on 13-of-18 shooting (.722).
Senior Kendal Manuel led all Grizzlies with 19 points, with 17 coming in the second half.
Senior Sayeed Pridgett made four of his final five shots to finish with 14 points. He added eight assists, with three coming on Montana's first four buckets.
- Pridgett was part of five of Montana's first six baskets, making two shots and assisting three others.
- Pridgett missed his next four shots, going more than 20 game minutes without a point.
Montana used a different starting lineup to begin the second half, going with Mack Anderson and Carter-Hollinger. First-half starters Jared Samuelson (0 minutes) and Josh Vazquez (1 minute) barely played in the second half.
Montana out-scored Portland State 51-39 in the second half.
Montana shot .625 in the second half (20-of-32) and .561 on the night. It marked the third time this season the Grizzlies have made more than half of their shots in a loss.
After Portland State shot .559 in the first half, including .500 from three-point range, the Griz defense held the Vikings to .370 shooting (.286 from deep) in the second half.
For the first time in 11 games, Montana lost the turnover battle (14 to 13). The Vikings turned Montana's 14 miscues into 28 points.
Portland State, which leads the nation with nearly 16 offensive rebounds per game, had 11 on Thursday, using them for 16 second-half points.
Montana trailed by as many as 22 points on Thursday. Previously, its largest deficit in Big Sky play came at Northern Colorado (13).
The 88 points were the most allowed this season by Montana.
For the second time this season, Montana did not hold a lead.
Montana used an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 73-64, with 4:51 to play. Four different Grizzlies scored during the run. The run helped Montana get within single digits for the first time since the 11-minute mark of the first half.
After Portland State built an 11-4 lead, forcing a quick Montana timeout, the Grizzlies got within a single possession several times, including 18-16. Following that, though, Portland State used a 16-5 run to build its lead to double digits.
- During Portland State's run, Montana took just four shots over a 5-minute span (2-for-4). The Grizzlies were 1-for-2 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over three times.
Portland State made 13 field goals over the final 12 minutes of the first half, compared to five for Montana. The Vikings scored seven points over the final 67 seconds to extend their lead to 19.
The Vikings' 49 first-half points were the most allowed by the Grizzlies this season.
- Montana has twice allowed 40 or more points in the first half. Both have come against Portland State.
Portland State's Holland Woods scored a career-high 39 points while setting a Big Sky record by shooting 21-of-21 from the free-throw line.

Oh my, @DJ_Carter35! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/1utjlb8CDM
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 31, 2020

Looking Ahead
Montana returns home to host rival Montana State, in the 300^th edition of the Brawl of the Wild (Saturday, 7 p.m.). The Grizzlies finished the first half of Big Sky play at 7-3. Eastern Washington, which was idle on Thursday, is 6-2.