Bears hand Griz 1st conference loss

Saturday, January 4

Greeley, Colo.

7 PM

Montana

7-8, 3-1BSC

Northern Colorado

9-5, 2-1BSC

Montana

Northern Colorado

1/4/2020 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

GREELEY, Colo. – Kendal Manuel's career night wasn't enough on Saturday night, as Montana dropped a 74-66 decision to Northern Colorado. The defeat was Montana's first of conference play, while the Bears remained unbeaten at home this season.

Montana struggled out of the gate, as Northern Colorado scored 13 consecutive points and raced out to a 16-3 advantage. Despite the double-digit deficit, Montana worked its way back to within a point at the intermission and took its first lead in the opening minute of the second half, 33-32.

And just like that, Montana has its first lead of the night! pic.twitter.com/jM4qBtGp9x
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 5, 2020

The two teams were locked in a tight battle over the next 10 minutes, with the margin never separating by more than two possessions. After Jared Samuelson tied the game at 45-45 with a three-pointer with 11:32 on the clock, though, things unraveled for the Grizzlies.

Over the next 4 minutes, Montana would miss five of six shot attempts while Northern Colorado made five of six, including three from deep. All of a sudden, a tie game had turned to a double-digit deficit. Montana would get as close as six points, but could never close the gap further.

Northern Colorado entered the game among the nation's leaders for three-pointers made and opponent scoring. The Bears averaged 10.4 three-pointers per game and were right on that mark, making 10, which is the most the Grizzlies have allowed this season. The Bears allow just 61.2 points per game, but Montana surpassed that, scoring more points than any opponent has inside Bank of Colorado Arena this season.

Manuel had the best night of his career, scoring 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting, making all three of his three-point attempts. He carried the Grizzlies throughout the night, making several big shots in clutch situations.

Manuel had 16 points by the intermission and gave the Grizzlies their only lead of the night, with a driving layup with 19:07 to play. He made six other shots that cut Montana's deficit to a single possession.

The Big Pony with a big shot! We're all tied up! pic.twitter.com/kTDHqVIOSj
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 5, 2020

Game Notables

Montana narrowly out-shot Northern Colorado, .452 to .451, but allowed the Bears to make four more three-pointers and 14 more free throws.
Senior Kendal Manuel scored a career-high 30 points, making 13 of his 16 shot attempts and all three of his three-point attempts. Manuel also led the Grizzlies for rebounding (6) and steals (3).
Senior Sayeed Pridgett finished with 15 points after overcoming a first half that featured just two points in 8 minutes of action, as he spent most of the time on the bench due to foul trouble.
Freshman Derrick Carter Hollinger had a strong performance with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He also added five boards. It marked the fourth time this season Carter-Hollinger was in double figures for scoring and was his highest point total since Nov. 29 vs. Coppin State.
Sophomore Mack Anderson saw extended action, play 16 minutes. He had played 13 minutes in the previous four games combined.
During Northern Colorado's 13-0 scoring run early in the game, Montana was 0-for-5 shooting with two turnovers. The Grizzlies went 4:30 without a point, missing four layups.
After a slow start to the game, Montana out-scored Northern Colorado 21-12 over the final 10 minutes of the first half, and had a plus-seven scoring margin once Pridgett sat due to foul trouble.
After starting the game 1-for-8 from the floor, Montana finished the half by making 12 of its final 21 shots (.5710. The Grizzlies turned the ball over four times in the opening 5:17, but just once for the remainder of the first half.
Following a tie at 45-45 with 11:32 to play, Northern Colorado used a 13-2 run over the next 6 minutes to push the margin back to double digits. During that time, Montana was 1-for-6 while Northern Colorado was 5-for-6 with three made three-pointers.
The loss was DeCuire's first in Greeley, having won the previous four meetings.

This Kendal Manuel guy is pretty good! pic.twitter.com/TJDCHyShFg
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 5, 2020

Quoting DeCuire
(on Northern Colorado's toughness)
"I thought they did a good job preparation wise, and they executed a lot better than we did tonight. One of the messages I put on the board was, 'Play like it matters', and I felt like maybe tonight it meant more to them."

"They were tougher than us tonight, including myself. Top to bottom, they came ready to battle."

(on working back from a 13-point early deficit)
"We went to a defensive group and left Kendal in there. He got going and offensively carried us. Mack did a good job of plugging the rim up to take away their layups, and we took away their threes for a short stretch."

(on Manuel's career night)
"He made his first shot and the hoop got big. I think that shooters, sometimes when they see it go through the basket, they can get in a rhythm. He worked hard to get those shots, and he made some tough ones too. I thought he attacked the rim and we got him in good space."

Gallery: (1/4/2020) MBB: at Northern Colorado (1.4.20)

(on where the Griz sit after two weeks)
"If you would have told me we'd be 3-1 coming out of this, I'd take it. Everyone's going to beat each other up in this league, and no one's going to go undefeated. But I would have liked to have played a little better, not only for ourselves but to send a message and put ourselves in a really good spot. Now we're right back in the bunch."

Looking Ahead
After playing four games in eight games to begin Big Sky play – in three different cities – Montana will return to Missoula on Sunday before hitting the road again to take on Eastern Washington on Thursday night.

In a wild start to Big Sky play, every team has at least one win and one loss just eight days into league play.

Once down 13, Montana has worked its way back to a one-point game! Kendal Manuel is up to 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting! pic.twitter.com/DmET7Kyvoy
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 5, 2020