Montana drops double-overtime contest at Sacramento State

Saturday, January 23

Sacramento, Calif.

12 PM (MT)

Montana

7-8,3-5Big Sky

Sacramento State

6-3,4-2Big Sky

OT 1

OT 2

Montana

Sacramento St.

Photo by: Bob Solorio/Sacramento State Athletics

Montana drops double-overtime contest at Sacramento State

1/23/2021 3:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Montana and Sacramento State battled for 50 minutes on Saturday afternoon, with the Hornets coming away with an 89-83 double-overtime victory. The game featured six tie scores and 16 lead changes, nearly all in the second half of play.

Montana is now 3-5 in Big Sky Conference play, with all five losses coming by two possessions or fewer. The Grizzlies have lost five consecutive overtime games.

Four total players scored 20 points in the game, including Brandon Whitney (28) and Cameron Parker (20) from Montana's side. Whitney's 28-point outburst came just one week after the freshman had a then-career-best 22 points vs. Northern Arizona. Eighteen of Parker's 20 points came after halftime, with the junior at one point scoring 16 of 23 Griz points late in regulation and into overtime.

Trailing 61-56 with under 4 minutes to play, Parker connected on a 3-pointer to bring the Griz within a possession. Moments later, he cut the deficit to a single point while being fouled on a layup, and converting the free throw for a three-point play. After Whitney tied the game at 65-65 with 1 minute, 27 seconds to play, Parker gave Montana its first lead in 12 minutes when he hit a huge 3-pointer, which put Montana on top, 68-65, with under 1 minute to play and forced a Sacramento State timeout.

CAMERON PARKER! LET'S GO!

The junior gives Montana its first lead in 12 minutes, 68-65, with under a minute to play!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/vJCO96nGe8
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 23, 2021

The Hornets would make three free throws in the final minute to tie the score, giving the Griz an opportunity to win the game on the final play of regulation. Parker's driving layup didn't fall, but he secured the loose ball and nearly won it at the buzzer, before the ball eventually spun out.

Parker scored Montana's first five points of overtime, giving the Griz a 73-72 lead, and after Sacramento State went back on top, sophomore Kyle Owens again gave Montana the advantage with a huge corner 3-pointer (76-75 with 2:20 to play). The score would hold for nearly 2 minutes before Sacramento State's Brandon Davis gave the Hornets a 78-76 lead with a 3-pointer, before Parker again tied the game, 78-78, with a layup in the final 19 seconds. On the other end, Owens had a big defensive stop to send the game into double overtime.

In that period, Montana went cold, missing seven of nine shot attempts – both makes coming from Whitney. Sacramento State also was limited to just two made field goals in the second overtime, but connected on seven free throws to ice the game.

Montana led for 23 minutes in the contest, including more than 16 in a row to close the first half. The Grizzlies scored 14 consecutive points early on to build a 14-3 advantage, and led by as many as 14 (24-10) midway through the first half.

After beginning the game 9-of-13 from the floor, Montana missed 21 of its next 28 shots, which allowed the Hornets to erase the deficit and build a 47-40 advantage. The Grizzlies, though, were able to chip away by finding their rhythm and making 10 of their next 12 shots – including four in a row during an 8-0 run – to reclaim a 68-65 lead with 54 seconds to play.

This guy is unreal! @Bwhit_10 hits a huge 3-pointer to make it a one-point game. The freshman has a career-high 28 points, including all 5 in double OT. pic.twitter.com/rPF3Mfb5BL
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 23, 2021

Montana limited Sacramento State to .391 shooting – compared to .444 for the Griz – but the Hornets got to the free throw line 37 times, making 26 of their attempts. It was the first time since the third game of the season in which an opponent made more free throws than the Griz, who shot a better percentage but were limited to just 17 attempts (13 makes).

In addition to Whitney and Parker, Owens was in double figures with 14 points, plus seven rebounds. The sophomore scored 10 of Montana's first 20 points, but made just one shot – the 3-pointer in overtime – over the game's final 40 minutes. Junior Mack Anderson had a strong day for the second game in a row, playing a career-high 38 minutes and pulling down 10 rebounds – including four on the offensive glass. Anderson's previous career best for rebounding was seven, coming last November at Arkansas. In addition to his 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, Parker also led Montana with five assists.

Gallery: (1-23-2021) MBB: at Sacramento State (01.23.21)

Game Notables

Saturday's loss marked Montana's fifth Big Sky loss by two possessions or fewer. The Grizzlies' five losses have come by an average of 2.0 points.
The overtime contest was Montana's first of the season, and first double-overtime game since Dec. 31, 2015 at Northern Arizona.
- The Grizzlies have lost five overtime games in a row since a win over Northern Colorado in the 2018 Big Sky semifinals.
Montana used a 14-0 run to build a 14-3 advantage just 6:32 into the contest. During the run, the Grizzlies made five consecutive shots at one point, while Sacramento State shot 0-for-5 with three turnovers.
- Over the past three games, Montana has had first-half runs of at least 14 points in each game (17-0 vs. Northern Arizona, 16-0 vs. Sacramento State, 14-0 vs. Sacramento State).
Montana opened the game by connecting on nine of its first 13 shot attempts.
Freshman Brandon Whitney (11) and sophomore Kyle Owens (10) scored Montana's first 21 points.
California natives combined to score Montana's first 32 points, before a Mack Anderson layup gave the Grizzlies a 34-33 lead early in the second half.
The game featured 16 lead changes and six tie scores.
The Grizzlies led for more than 23 minutes on the day, leading by as many as 14 points (24-10).
- After taking a 4-3 lead minutes into the game, Montana led for the final 16:29 of the first half, and carried that lead into the opening minutes of the second half, before Sacramento State tied the score at 30-30.
- Sandwiched between both halves, the Hornets used a 17-4 run to turn a 13-point deficit into their first lead (33-32 with 16:13 to play) since the opening minutes.
During a mini spurt, the two teams combined to shoot 8-of-11 from the floor while alternating baskets, and leads, before the Hornets went on an 8-0 run to build a 47-40 lead with 10:21 to play.
- After opening the game 9-of-13 shooting, Montana missed 21 of its next 28 shots, before regaining its form after falling behind by seven points.
Montana made 10 of 12 shot attempts – including five in a row – to turn a 47-40 deficit into a 68-65 lead with under 1 minute to play. After trailing by a game-high eight points, 56-48, the Grizzlies scored eight consecutive points to tie the game at 56-56 with 4:10 to play.
Montana had several opportunities to win the game down the stretch, holding a lead in the final seconds of regulation, before Sacramento State tied the game at the free-throw line with 12 seconds remaining. The Grizzlies also had two shot attempts in the closing seconds of regulation, and led in the final minute of the first overtime, before the Hornets hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds on the clock.
Montana out-shot Sacramento State from the floor (.444 to .391) and free-throw line (.765 to .703), but the Hornets took 20 more free-throw attempts than Montana (26-of-37 compared to 13-of-17).
- It marked the first time since the third game of the season that Montana has attempted fewer free throws than its opponent.
- Montana was whistled for 28 fouls, with three players fouling out of the game.
Montana turned the ball over just 10 times, its second-fewest total of the season, but also forced just seven miscues. Sacramento State, which ranks 16^th nationally for turnover margin, turned the ball over four times in the game's first 6 minutes, but just three times in the 44 minutes that followed.
Freshman Brandon Whitney had the best performance of his young career, scoring 28 points on 13-of-23 shooting, in addition to five rebounds and a steal.
- Whitney made his first five shot attempts, scoring 11 of Montana's first 21 points.
- After Montana trailed 51-44 with 9 minutes to play, Whitney scored 10 of the Grizzlies' final 24 points of regulation, including a game-tying driving layup with 1:27 to play.
- Whitney scored all five of Montana's points in double overtime.
- Whitney's 28 points surpassed his career high of 22 that was set one week ago vs. Northern Arizona.
Junior Cameron Parker scored 20 points, the most of his Griz career. He shot 8-of-16 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from deep, while also dishing out five assists and pulling down five rebounds.
- All but two of Parker's points came after halftime, with the junior scoring 11 of Montana's final 18 points of regulation, including a 3-pointer that gave the Grizzlies a 68-65 lead with 54 seconds to play.
- Extending into overtime, Parker at one point scored 16 of 23 Montana points.
- On the weekend, Parker, who leads the Big Sky for assist-to-turnover ratio, recorded 12 assists and just one turnover.
Sophomore Kyle Owens scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, in addition to seven rebounds and two assists.
- Owens scored 10 of Montana's first 20 points, but scored just four points over the final 40 minutes of the game, attempting two shots.
- His biggest connection gave Montana a 76-75 lead with 2:20 to play in overtime.
Junior Mack Anderson played a career-high 28 minutes and pulled down a personal-best 10 rebounds (including four offensive boards), in addition to scoring four points and blocking a shot.
- Anderson entered the week having played just 55 minutes, scoring 13 points and recording 18 rebounds on the season. In two games in Sacramento, the Bozeman native played 43 minutes, scored 16 points and recorded 12 rebounds.
- The 10 rebounds marked the first time in Anderson's career that he reached double figures, surpassing his previous best of seven, last November at Arkansas.
Montana went with a different starting lineup for the third consecutive game, with freshman Josh Bannan coming off the bench for the first time of his career.
The loss snaps Montana's eight-game winning streak over Sacramento State, dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season. The Grizzlies had won four consecutive games at The Nest, after Travis DeCuire began his career 0-3 in the building.

Kyle Owens splashes down for 3!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/XgxYihlC2A
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 23, 2021

Quoting DeCuire
(on another close loss)
"The reality is, there was a possession or two that if we could have back, maybe we'd make a different decision and we'd have a different outcome. That's where experience comes in when you have freshmen and sophomores on the floor."

(on giving up too many offensive rebounds and fouls)
"You can't win if you give up 16 offensive rebounds, because that way they score more than their average. We foul too much at the five position, and we've got to work on defending guys without fouling."

(on players stepping into bigger roles)
"To have some guys struggle for stretches over the entire game or the entire weekend, and to have those guys (Mack Anderson, Cameron Parker and Brandon Whitney) step up and play the way they did, it tells you the potential in this group. We just all have to show up on the same day."

Looking Ahead
Montana now prepares for rivalry week against first-place Montana State. The Grizzlies host the Bobcats on Thursday (7 p.m.) before traveling to Bozeman for a rematch on Saturday (2 p.m.). Both games will be televised on SWX Montana, as well as Pluto TV.

The freshman cannot be stopped! @Bwhit_10 has made his first 5 shot attempts and he's already in double figures!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/gOtvj2X2ph
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 23, 2021