Montana can’t overcome early deficit, despite out-scoring USC 54 to 44 over game’s final 27 minutes

Saturday, November 28

Los Angeles, Calif.

7 PM (MT)

Montana

0-1,0-0Big Sky

Southern California

2-0,0-0Pac-12

Montana

Southern California

Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics

Montana can’t overcome early deficit, despite out-scoring USC 54 to 44 over game’s final 27 minutes

11/28/2020 10:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Montana made its long-awaited season opener on Saturday night, falling at USC, 76-62. After a disastrous start, however, Montana out-scored USC, 54 to 44, over the game's final 27 minutes.

Overall, five players made their Griz debuts on Saturday, with three – freshman Josh Bannan and transfers Cameron Parker and Michael Steadman – earning starts. Sophomore Eddy Egun also earned the start, the first of his career.

The Grizzlies were led by southern California native Brandon Whitney's 19 points, marking the first time in at least a decade that a true freshman has led Montana for scoring in a season opener. In addition to Whitney's 19 points, fellow freshman Josh Bannan scored 13 points. It marked the second consecutive season that two freshmen scored in double figures in their collegiate debuts (Derrick Carter-Hollinger and Josh Vazquez last year at Stanford).

USC barely missed to start the game, while for Montana, the story was the complete opposite.

The Trojans connected on 15 of their 21 first-half shots (.714), jumping out to leads of 16-4 and 32-8. Montana missed 16 of its first 20 shot attempts, but closed the half by shooting 4-of-6. The spurt was headlined by Bannan, who scored his first points on a dunk in the lane, before connecting on a floating jumper and knocking down a 3-pointer to score seven consecutive Griz points.

Montana went on another run in the second half, with sophomore Kyle Owens scoring six consecutive Griz points, to get the Grizzlies to within 13. Montana held USC without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes late, and to just 2-of-10 shooting over the final 10 minutes, to get within a dozen. Another defensive highlight was Montana's 16 turnovers forced, leading to 16 Griz points.

Game Notables

The 266 days between games was Montana's longest break in action since the 1999 offseason. The Nov. 28 season opener was Montana's latest since the 1992-93 season began on Dec. 1.
Seven California natives suited up for the Grizzlies, including six from southern California. Overall, Montana has nine Californians on its roster.
Five Grizzlies made their Montana debuts, with freshman Josh Bannan and transfers Cameron Parker and Michael Steadman earning starts. Sophomore Eddy Egun also started the game, the first of his career.
Eleven Grizzlies saw action, with 10 stepping on the floor within the game's first 6 minutes.
After falling behind by as many as 24 points, 32-8, Montana out-scored USC 54 to 44 over the game's final 27 minutes.
- The Grizzlies got within 12 points on several occasions in the second half.
Montana forced USC into 16 turnovers (six steals), leading to 16 Griz points
USC went nearly 8 minutes late in the game without a made field goal, and shot 2-of-10 over the game's final 10 minutes.
- After the Trojans shot .714 in the first half (15-of-21), Montana held USC to .320 shooting the second half.
Freshman Brandon Whitney led Montana with 19 points, marking the first time in at least a decade that a true freshman has led Montana for scoring in a season opener.
- Whitney shot 4-of-10 from the floor and connected on 8-of-9 free-throw attempts. He also led the Grizzlies with three assists.
Freshman Josh Bannan led all Griz players with five made field goals, leading to 13 points. He also had four rebounds and a steal.
- The freshman ignited Montana's offense with seven consecutive points late in the first half. Starting with his dunk with 7:08 to play, Montana scored 17 points over the remainder of the half, after scoring just eight points through the first 12:52.
For the second consecutive season two freshmen (Brandon Whitney, 19; Josh Bannan, 13) scored in double figures in their collegiate debuts (Derrick Carter-Hollinger and Josh Vazquez last year at Stanford).
After going scoreless in the first half, Kyle Owens scored 11 points in the second half, while drawing two charges and leading the Griz with seven rebounds.
- Owens scored six consecutive Griz points at one point, cutting the deficit to 13 points.
Starting at point guard, Sacred Heart transfer Cameron Parker led Montana with two steals, including one that led to a fast-break layup. The junior also had two assists and four points.
Preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection Michael Steadman scored the Grizzlies' first basket. The redshirt senior finished the game with seven points and two rebounds.
Montana didn't record its first defensive rebound for nearly 6 minutes, and lost the rebounding battle 19-6 in the first half, before being even on the glass, 22-22, in the second.
After starting the game 4-of-20 from the floor, Montana made three shots in a row, and four of its final six, to close the first half. The Grizzles out-shot the Trojans in the second half.
Montana out-scored USC in the paint, 14-10, in the second half, after allowing 22 points in the paint through the opening 20 minutes.
Instead of the traditional names on the backs of Montana's jerseys, each player's jersey read 'Solidarity'. Part of a national trend, the coaching staff wore polos and quarter-zips on the sideline in place of traditional suits.
To abide by social-distancing measures, each chair on the bench was spread out, wrapping around the baseline, and bench players and all coaches wore face masks throughout the game.
Montana made its season opener without playing a single exhibition game or scrimmage.
Montana fell to 1-3 all-time against USC and lost for the 14^th straight time against a Pac-12 opponent, dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Robby Beasley III (day-to-day), Hunter Clarke (late arrival to Missoula) and Darius Henderson (will become eligible to play, per NCAA transfer rules, in the coming weeks) did not suit up for Montana.

Quoting DeCuire
(on Montana's slow start)
"We've got some young guys who don't have a lot of experience, and a couple guys who haven't played in a long time. We were rusty early, and it took a long time to adjust to their (USC's) length and their pace while adjusting to their ball screens."

(on USC's hot start offensively)
"If you let a team live in the paint for the first 15 minutes of the game, they're going to shoot 71 percent, like they did."

(on how his team responded in the second half)
"I like the way we handled adjustments. We went to some things that we haven't gotten to (in practice). We were way better on the glass (in the second half), and offensively, we spread the floor and attacked. I like the fact that we fought and we had some guys who finished the game who didn't start the game."

(on playing a large rotation)
"I think that's part of the problem. I think that's part of what made it tough for us to get going. I tightened it up in the second half, and gave guys longer stretches, and I think that allowed us to get going. Typically by now, we would have had two closed-door scrimmages and a couple exhibition games, and we would have a better feel for who we are and what we can accomplish on both sides of the ball."

(on freshman Brandon Whitney)
"Whitney had been doing that a lot in practice – getting to the paint and finishing over the bigs, knocking down shots and drawing fouls. Defensively, I thought he was really good at the point of attack. Those are things that give us a chance."

(on transfer Cameron Parker)
"Cameron Parker, as a first-time player for us, did a good job of getting to the paint, drawing defenders and then throwing it back out, and that allowed some other guys to get going."

(on his first experience coaching with no fans)
"When no one is here, it's hard to know what to anticipate. The whole thing was weird. You're doing a national anthem and there's no one in the gym. You're doing the starting lineup and showing a video, for I don't know who. It's a timeline that guys need to be used to, so I get it, but it's weird. It's like standing up on a stage and giving a speech to no one."

Looking Ahead
Montana will now turn its attention to a rare early December Big Sky Conference game. The Grizzlies will travel to Cedar City, Utah, to play at Southern Utah on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds are 1-1 on the young season.