Thursday, January 9
Cheney, Wash.
7 PM (MT)
Montana
8-8, 4-1BSC
90
at
63
Eastern Washington
9-6, 2-2BSC
1
2
F
Montana
46
44
90
Eastern Washington
28
35
63
Montana makes statement at Eastern Washington
1/9/2020 11:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHENEY, Wash. – Coming off of a loss last Saturday at Northern Colorado, head coach Travis DeCuire and his staff challenged Montana in a variety of ways. The team responded with its most productive week of practice of the season, and then on Thursday with its best game of the season. Montana throttled Eastern Washington on the road Thursday night, 90-63, handing the Eagles their first home loss of the season.
The season-high 90 points were impressive, considering the Grizzlies were averaging fewer than 65 per game. But, without a doubt, the most impressive part of Thursday was the defense.
Eastern Washington has one of the nation's top offenses, ranking third nationally with 86 points per game. At home – where the Eagles were unbeaten on the season prior to Thursday's defeat – EWU's numbers were nearly unimaginable, averaging 101.0 points per game.
Montana held Eastern Washington to 63 points – 23 fewer than the Eagles' season average and 38 fewer than they averaged at home.
"We talked about minimizing threes and ball pressure, and taking them out of their offense" DeCuire said. "If they can't rack up threes it's difficult for them to score the way they have. They average 30 attempts and we held them to 14, so that's where you wipe points off the board."
While the Griz offense shot a season-best .542, the defense held the Eagles to .382 shooting. Montana forced 14 turnovers and blocked seven shots.
The win was a team effort, with six Grizzlies scoring at least eight points, but, without question, the star of the night was Derrick Carter-Hollinger.
The freshman entered the game having never taken more than seven shots in a game. He made his first seven attempts on Thursday and had established a career high for scoring by halftime. When all was said and done, Carter-Hollinger scored 20 points while pulling down 14 rebounds – his second double-double of the season – in addition to four blocked shots.
"He came in and was ready to go," DeCuire said. "His defense and what got him going – his rebounding, his blocked shots, his deflections. They decided not to guard some guys, and for him to knock down two threes was huge. We need other guys to step up, and D.J. did tonight."
After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, Montana took an 11-10 lead on a Mack Anderson mid-range jumper with 13:35 to play in the opening half. A 7-0 run moments later pushed the lead to nine, 27-20, and six points in a 55-second span late in the half extended it to 18 at the break. Montana led by at least 13 for the entirety of the second half, never letting Eastern Washington back in the game.
"I thought Northern Colorado was an opportunity to make a statement," DeCuire said. "We lost that game, and now this is a point where we're a little desperate. I knew if we could come in here and pull this off, we're still in first place and it will make teams a little nervous. We need teams to be a little nervous."Gallery: (1/9/2020) MBB: at Eastern Washington (1.9.20)
Looking Ahead
Montana will now have a much-needed rest, having its only weekend of the season off. The Grizzlies will then host Portland State in its final Monday night game of the season.
Montana went 2-1 on its challenging road trip – facing three of the league's top teams in Southern Utah, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington – and is the league's only team with a 4-1 record.
The season-high 90 points were impressive, considering the Grizzlies were averaging fewer than 65 per game. But, without a doubt, the most impressive part of Thursday was the defense.
Eastern Washington has one of the nation's top offenses, ranking third nationally with 86 points per game. At home – where the Eagles were unbeaten on the season prior to Thursday's defeat – EWU's numbers were nearly unimaginable, averaging 101.0 points per game.
Montana held Eastern Washington to 63 points – 23 fewer than the Eagles' season average and 38 fewer than they averaged at home.
"We talked about minimizing threes and ball pressure, and taking them out of their offense" DeCuire said. "If they can't rack up threes it's difficult for them to score the way they have. They average 30 attempts and we held them to 14, so that's where you wipe points off the board."
While the Griz offense shot a season-best .542, the defense held the Eagles to .382 shooting. Montana forced 14 turnovers and blocked seven shots.
The win was a team effort, with six Grizzlies scoring at least eight points, but, without question, the star of the night was Derrick Carter-Hollinger.
The freshman entered the game having never taken more than seven shots in a game. He made his first seven attempts on Thursday and had established a career high for scoring by halftime. When all was said and done, Carter-Hollinger scored 20 points while pulling down 14 rebounds – his second double-double of the season – in addition to four blocked shots.
"He came in and was ready to go," DeCuire said. "His defense and what got him going – his rebounding, his blocked shots, his deflections. They decided not to guard some guys, and for him to knock down two threes was huge. We need other guys to step up, and D.J. did tonight."
After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, Montana took an 11-10 lead on a Mack Anderson mid-range jumper with 13:35 to play in the opening half. A 7-0 run moments later pushed the lead to nine, 27-20, and six points in a 55-second span late in the half extended it to 18 at the break. Montana led by at least 13 for the entirety of the second half, never letting Eastern Washington back in the game.
"I thought Northern Colorado was an opportunity to make a statement," DeCuire said. "We lost that game, and now this is a point where we're a little desperate. I knew if we could come in here and pull this off, we're still in first place and it will make teams a little nervous. We need teams to be a little nervous."
Game Notables18 points, 14 rebounds. What a night for D.J. Carter-Hollinger! pic.twitter.com/Odi9jIrL4H
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2020
- Montana handed Eastern Washington its first home loss of the season. The Eagles entered the night with a perfect 6-0 record at Reese Court.
- Eastern Washington ranks third nationally averaging 85.9 points per game, including 101.0 points per six home contests. The Grizzlies held the Eagles 23 points below their season average, and nearly 40 points below their home season average.
- The 63 points scored were Eastern Washington's second-fewest of the season (62 vs. Saint Louis).
- Mack Anderson converted a steal into a made jumper in the paint to give Montana an 11-10 lead with 13:35 remaining in the first half. The Grizzlies led for the final 33:35 of the game, including the final 23:53 minutes by double figures.
- The Grizzlies held an 18-point lead at halftime, 46-28. It was the most first-half points and largest halftime margin of the season. The Grizzlies are now 4-0 when leading at halftime this season.
- Montana led by as many as 29 points, 85-56, and never fell behind by more than four points.
- Montana led by at least 13 points for the entirety of the second half.
- Freshman Derrick Carter-Hollinger had a career night, scoring 20 points, in addition to 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. All three stats were career bests.
- Carter-Hollinger surpassed his previous career high for scoring (15) by the intermission, scoring 16 first-half points.
- Carter-Hollinger made his first seven shot attempts.
- Carter-Hollinger recorded his second double-double of the season.
- Montana shot a season-best .542, while holding Eastern Washington to .382 shooting. The Grizzlies shot better than .500 in both halves.
- After Eastern Washington cut the deficit to 13 in the second half, 50-37, Montana held the Eagles without a made field goal for nearly 6 minutes. They missed six consecutive shots while also turning the ball over once during the drought.
- Montana made half of its three-point attempts (6-for-12), with four different players connecting. Both Carter-Hollinger and Kendal Manuel were 2-for-2 from deep.
- Montana recorded a season-best .870 free-throw percentage (20-for-23). The 20 makes were the second-most of the season.
- Eastern Washington entered the night ranked 42nd nationally with 40.0 rebounds per game. Montana out-rebounded the Eagles, 37 to 29.
- Montana recorded a season-high 21 assists.
- Sayeed Pridgett had a career-high eight dimes, including seven through the game's first 9 minutes.
- Timmy Falls had a season-high six assists, in addition to three steals and two blocked shots.
- In Montana's previous game, at Northern Colorado, the Grizzlies recorded just five assists.
- Montana had four players in double figures for scoring: Carter-Hollinger (20), Pridgett (18); Manuel (14) and Falls (12).
- Montana's 27-point victory was its largest of the season.
- Montana's previous five games had all been decided by single digits.
- Montana's previous five wins had all been decided by single digits.
- Eastern Washington's top-three scorers – who all rank in the top 10 in the Big Sky – were all held below their season scoring averages.
- Anderson had one of his better games, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. At one point in the second half, he scored six consecutive Griz points, helping Montana push its lead to 20 points for the first time.
- In his previous 10 games, Anderson scored a combined seven points.
- Manuel was efficient, scoring his 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Over the past two games the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week is 5-for-5 from deep.
- Pridgett nearly had a triple-double, scoring 18 points while recording eight rebounds and eight assists, despite playing 31 minutes. He was 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
- Falls entered the night having missed 14 consecutive shots, but was big early, scoring nine of Montana's first 20 points. He finished with 14 points – the second-highest total of the season. He also had a season-high six assists, and tied for his season best for steals (3) and blocked shots (2).
- Montana's bench scored 36 points, including 20 from Carter-Hollinger and eight from Anderson.
- Thursday marked the first time this season a senior hasn't led the Grizzlies for scoring.
Looking Ahead
Montana will now have a much-needed rest, having its only weekend of the season off. The Grizzlies will then host Portland State in its final Monday night game of the season.
Montana went 2-1 on its challenging road trip – facing three of the league's top teams in Southern Utah, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington – and is the league's only team with a 4-1 record.
Timmy Falls with a great start to the night. He has a block and two buckets early, and Montana has the lead! pic.twitter.com/765eYnYAs1
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2020
That's six straight points for Mack Anderson, and Montana has opened up its largest lead of the night! pic.twitter.com/LFHVJGvovd
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2020
D.J. on the defensive end, leading to a quick bucket for Pridgett! pic.twitter.com/yFSEgRVNES
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2020
So smooth from Kendal Manuel. The lead is back up to 20 points! pic.twitter.com/hVRe4HrdeU
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2020
Team Stats
UM
EWU
FG%
.542
.382
3FG%
.500
.286
FT%
.870
.586
RB
37
29
TO
13
14
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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