Thursday, February 13
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
15-10, 11-3BSC
72
vs
37
Weber State
10-15, 6-8BSC
1
2
F
Weber State
21
16
37
Montana
38
34
72
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Griz hold Weber State to 37 points, fewest in Big Sky contest since 1976
2/13/2020 9:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana used a 16-1 first-half run Thursday night against Weber State, and left no doubt in the second half, beating the Wildcats 72-37.
Weber State's 37 points are the fewest Montana has allowed since November 2010 vs. Idaho. The total is Montana's best defensive performance in a Big Sky game since holding Idaho State to 25 points in 1976.
Overall, the Wildcats were held to .325 shooting (compared to .537 for the Griz) while turning the ball over a season-most 21 times. The turnover count tied Montana's season high for turnovers forced and led to 23 points for the Grizzlies on the other end.
Many of the points off turnovers were memorable, but perhaps none was bigger than Kendal Manuel's poster dunk to give Montana a 26-12 lead less than 11 minutes into the contest. Freshman Josh Vazquez swiped a pass at the top of the key before dribbling up the court and feeding the ball off to Manuel for his 1,000th career point.
Montana played the final 8 minutes with four freshmen on the floor, and during that time the Wildcats were limited to one made field goal, shooting 1-for-8 with three turnovers over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Pridgett led all scorers with 25 points while Manuel finished with 21 on 8-of-12 shooting. The senior also led the Griz with six rebounds and three assists.
Gallery: (2/13/2020) MBB: vs. Weber State (02.13.20)
Game Notables
"The biggest thing, I think, is that we were all focused on defense. We knew we were being challenged defensively to be better than we have been the last two weeks, and when you're focused on defense, the offense tends to take care of itself." – DeCuire on his team's defense
"It's special, especially knowing the rivalry and all the history, and it being my 1,000th point. It's something I'll never forget. I'm very grateful to be here." – Manuel on the game and scoring his 1,000th career point
"On the defensive end, the turnovers set the tone early. We weren't scoring at a high rate on those stops, and then Kendal came out of that first media and said to me, 'If we come to stops everybody's open'. We reiterated that during the timeout and the ball started moving better and then the floodgates opened up." – DeCuire on his team's early 16-1 run
Looking Ahead
Thursday's win keeps Montana in first place in the Big Sky standings, but the Grizzlies were also benefited by Idaho's upset win at Eastern Washington. Montana now has a 1.5-game lead over both Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado, which avenged a loss earlier in the week with a 30-point drubbing at Northern Arizona.
The Grizzlies will be back in action Saturday at home against Idaho State.
Weber State's 37 points are the fewest Montana has allowed since November 2010 vs. Idaho. The total is Montana's best defensive performance in a Big Sky game since holding Idaho State to 25 points in 1976.
Overall, the Wildcats were held to .325 shooting (compared to .537 for the Griz) while turning the ball over a season-most 21 times. The turnover count tied Montana's season high for turnovers forced and led to 23 points for the Grizzlies on the other end.
Many of the points off turnovers were memorable, but perhaps none was bigger than Kendal Manuel's poster dunk to give Montana a 26-12 lead less than 11 minutes into the contest. Freshman Josh Vazquez swiped a pass at the top of the key before dribbling up the court and feeding the ball off to Manuel for his 1,000th career point.
After a back-and-forth opening to the game, Montana took a 12-11 lead on a Manuel jumper, and led for the final 32 minutes of the contest. The Grizzlies led by double digits for the final 26 minutes, including by at least 20 points for the last 16:40. Montana led by as many as 39 points, 72-33, despite sitting Manuel for the final 8 minutes and Sayeed Pridgett for the final 10.One to remember! @IAmKManWell joins the 1,000-point club with a monster dunk! pic.twitter.com/UrN9Ch5mq1
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 14, 2020
Montana played the final 8 minutes with four freshmen on the floor, and during that time the Wildcats were limited to one made field goal, shooting 1-for-8 with three turnovers over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Pridgett led all scorers with 25 points while Manuel finished with 21 on 8-of-12 shooting. The senior also led the Griz with six rebounds and three assists.
Game Notables
- The 37 points allowed were the fewest by a Griz opponent since November 2010 (33 by Idaho) and the fewest in a Big Sky game since February 1976 (25 by Idaho State).
- The 35-point margin of victory is Montana's largest of the season. Montana led by as many as 39 points (72-33).
- Montana led for the final 32 minutes of the game, including by double digits for the final 26 and by at least 20 points for the last 16:40.
- Montana shot .537 from the floor, the sixth consecutive game the Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots.
- Weber State was limited to .325 shooting, the lowest by a Montana opponent this season. The Wildcats shot just .238 in the second half (5-of-21), missing all five three-point attempts.
- The 37 points are the second-fewest Weber State has scored this season, and the fewest in Big Sky play.
- Kendal Manuel scored his 1,000th career point, with nearly 700 of them coming in the past two seasons at Montana.
- Manuel finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, leading the Grizzlies for rebounding (six) and assists (three).
- During Montana's 16-1 first-half run, Manuel was part of all 16 points, scoring 10 and assisting on the other two baskets. The senior also had a steal that led to one of the buckets.
- Sayeed Pridgett scored a game-high 25 points.
- When Pridgett scored his 25th point with 11:25 to play, the senior was nearly out-scoring Weber State by himself (25 to 27).
- Josh Vazquez had a team-high four steals, with all four leading to fast-break baskets for Montana, including the freshman's first career dunk.
- Timmy Falls scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, also grabbing three rebounds and three steals. The junior has been in double figures in six of the past seven games.
- Redshirt freshman Eddy Egun played the final 8 minutes, scoring seven points on 2-of-2 shooting.
- Montana forced Weber State into a season-high 21 turnovers, which is also tied for the most turnovers the Grizzlies have forced this season. The giveaways led to 23 Griz points.
- On the flip side, Montana turned the ball over just six times (tied for a season low), resulting in two Weber State points.
- Montana played the final 10 minutes with four freshmen on the floor. The Grizzlies' top scorers barely played down the stretch, with Pridgett sitting the final 10 minutes and Manuel resting the final 8.
- Montana's defense twice limited Weber State for lengthy stretches:
- In the first half, Montana used a 16-1 run, holding Weber State without a made field goal for nearly 4 minutes. During that stretch, the Wildcats shot 0-for-2 with five turnovers.
- Weber State didn't score for more than 6 minutes late in the game, shooting 1-for-8 with three turnovers in the final 10 minutes.
- Vazquez's breakaway dunk with 8:47 to play marked the first time a Griz player other than Pridgett, Manuel or Falls made a basket. The trio accounted for Montana's first 23 field goal makes.
- Montana won the rebounding battle for the fourth game in a row (27 to 26).
- Montana has now won six of seven against Weber State, leading by at least 20 points in four of the past five contests.
- Weber State was playing without its leading scorer Jerrick Harding, due to a back injury. With him out, the Wildcats' second-leading scorer, Cody John, was limited to five points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Quoting the GrizBring 'em to their feet, Sayeed!@TF1000_ to @SP4THABOY, who rocks the rim! pic.twitter.com/VB95DHmyab
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 14, 2020
"The biggest thing, I think, is that we were all focused on defense. We knew we were being challenged defensively to be better than we have been the last two weeks, and when you're focused on defense, the offense tends to take care of itself." – DeCuire on his team's defense
"It's special, especially knowing the rivalry and all the history, and it being my 1,000th point. It's something I'll never forget. I'm very grateful to be here." – Manuel on the game and scoring his 1,000th career point
"On the defensive end, the turnovers set the tone early. We weren't scoring at a high rate on those stops, and then Kendal came out of that first media and said to me, 'If we come to stops everybody's open'. We reiterated that during the timeout and the ball started moving better and then the floodgates opened up." – DeCuire on his team's early 16-1 run
Looking Ahead
Thursday's win keeps Montana in first place in the Big Sky standings, but the Grizzlies were also benefited by Idaho's upset win at Eastern Washington. Montana now has a 1.5-game lead over both Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado, which avenged a loss earlier in the week with a 30-point drubbing at Northern Arizona.
The Grizzlies will be back in action Saturday at home against Idaho State.
Weber State's 37 points are the fewest Montana has allowed since November 2010 vs. Idaho. The total is Montana's best defensive performance in a #BigSkyMBB game since holding Idaho State to 25 points in 1976.#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/TAgaifQRSz
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 14, 2020
Team Stats
WSU
UM
FG%
.325
.537
3FG%
.214
.400
FT%
.667
.889
RB
26
27
TO
21
6
STL
1
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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