Monday, January 4
Missoula, Mont.
9 AM
Montana
4-6,1-3Big Sky
56
vs
54
Northern Colorado
5-4,2-2Big Sky
1
2
F
Northern Colo.
29
25
54
Montana
27
29
56
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Griz close down the stretch, earn win over Northern Colorado
1/4/2021 2:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – After three consecutive one-possession losses to begin Big Sky Conference play, Montana was once again locked in a tight contest on Monday morning. This time, though, Montana came out on the winning end of a one-possession battle, beating Northern Colorado, 56-54, inside Dahlberg Arena.
In a back-and-forth affair that saw nine tie scores and 18 lead changes, the Grizzlies used an 11-2 run late in the contest to seemingly take control 53-46 with 3 minutes, 55 seconds to play. It marked the first time since the first half of Saturday's game (61 total minutes) that either team took more than a two-possession lead.
The Grizzlies went cold after that, however, not scoring again for nearly 4 minutes, which allowed the Bears to rattle off eight consecutive points and take a 54-53 lead with 29 seconds on the clock.
Montana couldn't convert on its next trip up the court, giving the Bears the ball, up one, with 6.9 seconds to play. The Grizzlies intended to go for a steal or foul on the in-bounds, but it never got to that point.
Northern Colorado's Bodie Hume was whistled on the in-bounds pass for taking too many steps along the baseline, giving the ball back to Montana. The Grizzlies made the most of the new life, with Josh Bannan's jumper from the elbow, off of the in-bounds pass, swishing through the net to put Montana on top, 55-54.
"I expected to make it," Bannan said. "I put a lot of work in to take those shots and had a tough game today. I was missing some shots I'd like to be making, but just had to be confident. To be honest I probably did get frustrated at times, but my teammates put faith in me and supported me through it. They had my back, and you just have to keep putting the confidence in the work you put in."
"While we were in here (at the press conference) on Saturday, he was in the gym shooting," DeCuire said of Bannan. "That's a sign of someone that wants to be in that situation again, so I think he prepared himself for it.
"I think he never got discouraged, I think he hung in there. In the huddle he was pumping guys up, he was helping with his teammates' communication. He wasn't worried about what wasn't working for him; he was more concerned about what was next."
With 4.9 seconds to play, Montana needed one defensive stop, something that has alluded the Grizzlies in their previous three one-possession losses. In all three instances, Montana tied the game in the final 30 seconds but allowed its opponent to convert on the game's final possession.
Monday was different, however, as freshman Brandon Whitney stole the ball near midcourt and iced the game with two free throws.
Montana shot just .355 from the floor, but DeCuire credited his team for making the hustle plays, which proved to be the difference. Montana forced Northern Colorado into 16 turnovers, leading to 16 Griz points, and corralled 11 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 17 more points.
Gallery: (1-4-2021) MBB: vs. Northern Colorado (1.4.21)
Game Notables
(Steadman on Montana's energy from the start)
"We had to be ready to go out and hit them first, because if we just lay back, they're going to attack us."
(Steadman on his strong individual game)
"That was the biggest thing, is I kind of got away from what was important and what the team needs to be successful. I had a talk with Coach (DeCuire), and we figured it out and we were able to come out with the win."
(DeCuire on the final seconds)
"(Josh) Vazquez is always that first option coming off of that corner. We knew they don't want to help on screens. (Bodie) Hume was guarding (Josh) Bannan, so I tried a back-screen for (Michael) Steadman, seeing if we could get him on the backside. It created some confusion; he didn't know if wanted to help or not. Bannan breaks open, and he was wide open."
(DeCuire on playing at 9 a.m.)
"We kind of went into it with a little bit of confidence because we practiced at 10 a.m. over break, and the last four or five practices we practiced at 9. I think the biggest adjustment is pregame. You don't have your normal walk-through, shootaround, pregame meal and come back. It was all condensed. The good news is we didn't really change much X's and O's, we just wanted to come out and play harder and with more energy."
(Steadman on growing through adversity)
"I think it's building us as a team to be able to fight through adversity and be in these close games, and I think it will help us later on down the stretch."
Looking Ahead
Montana will step away from Big Sky Conference action this weekend, hosting Whitworth in a recently added non-conference game (Saturday at 2 p.m.). The Grizzlies will stay home the following week, hosting Northern Arizona (Jan. 14 and 16).
In a back-and-forth affair that saw nine tie scores and 18 lead changes, the Grizzlies used an 11-2 run late in the contest to seemingly take control 53-46 with 3 minutes, 55 seconds to play. It marked the first time since the first half of Saturday's game (61 total minutes) that either team took more than a two-possession lead.
The Grizzlies went cold after that, however, not scoring again for nearly 4 minutes, which allowed the Bears to rattle off eight consecutive points and take a 54-53 lead with 29 seconds on the clock.
Montana couldn't convert on its next trip up the court, giving the Bears the ball, up one, with 6.9 seconds to play. The Grizzlies intended to go for a steal or foul on the in-bounds, but it never got to that point.
Northern Colorado's Bodie Hume was whistled on the in-bounds pass for taking too many steps along the baseline, giving the ball back to Montana. The Grizzlies made the most of the new life, with Josh Bannan's jumper from the elbow, off of the in-bounds pass, swishing through the net to put Montana on top, 55-54.
"I expected to make it," Bannan said. "I put a lot of work in to take those shots and had a tough game today. I was missing some shots I'd like to be making, but just had to be confident. To be honest I probably did get frustrated at times, but my teammates put faith in me and supported me through it. They had my back, and you just have to keep putting the confidence in the work you put in."
Bannan wasn't Montana's first option on the in-bounds pass, but he was ready when the ball came his way.Josh Bannan for 2 giving the Grizzlies the lead with 4.9 seconds to go! #GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/gAsDKnhfJy
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 4, 2021
"While we were in here (at the press conference) on Saturday, he was in the gym shooting," DeCuire said of Bannan. "That's a sign of someone that wants to be in that situation again, so I think he prepared himself for it.
"I think he never got discouraged, I think he hung in there. In the huddle he was pumping guys up, he was helping with his teammates' communication. He wasn't worried about what wasn't working for him; he was more concerned about what was next."
With 4.9 seconds to play, Montana needed one defensive stop, something that has alluded the Grizzlies in their previous three one-possession losses. In all three instances, Montana tied the game in the final 30 seconds but allowed its opponent to convert on the game's final possession.
Monday was different, however, as freshman Brandon Whitney stole the ball near midcourt and iced the game with two free throws.
Montana shot just .355 from the floor, but DeCuire credited his team for making the hustle plays, which proved to be the difference. Montana forced Northern Colorado into 16 turnovers, leading to 16 Griz points, and corralled 11 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 17 more points.
Game Notables
- The game featured 18 lead changes and nine tie scores. Neither team led by more than seven points all game.
- Dating back to the first half of Saturday's game vs. Northern Colorado, the two teams went 61 consecutive minutes without either team taking larger than a two possession lead.
- Trailing 44-42 with under 7 minutes to play, Montana scored seven consecutive points in a 58-second span. The run featured a three-point play from Michael Steadman, a block by Steadman, a layup from the senior, a steal from Brandon Whitney and a fast-break jumper from the freshman.
- The run extended to 11-2, giving Montana its largest lead of the morning, 53-46, with 3:55 to play.
- Montana then missed its next five shots, and turned the ball over once, before its late-game heroics in the final seconds.
- In the final 6.9 seconds, Montana scored four points and forced two turnovers to turn a deficit into victory.
- Two days after being limited to six points (2-of-7 shooting) and one rebound, Steadman was phenomenal. The forward tied a season high with 19 points (9-of-17 shooting) while also adding 10 rebounds. It marked his first double-double as a Grizzly.
- Bannan shot just 5-of-17 from the floor, but made the biggest shot of his young career to give Montana a 55-54 lead with 4.9 seconds to play. In addition to his 11 points, Bannan also totaled seven rebounds.
- Sophomore Kyle Owens totaled eight rebounds, including five boards on the offensive end. He was limited to six points, marking the first time this season he has not reached double figures for scoring.
- Montana was out-shot (.355 to .420) but forced 16 turnovers (16 points off turnovers) and secured 11 offensive rebounds (11 second-chance points).
- Twenty-five of Montana's 34 rebounds came from its three big men (Steadman, Owens and Bannan).
Quoting the GrizMichael Steadman taking the storyline! #GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/aL2iqbzEqD
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 4, 2021
(Steadman on Montana's energy from the start)
"We had to be ready to go out and hit them first, because if we just lay back, they're going to attack us."
(Steadman on his strong individual game)
"That was the biggest thing, is I kind of got away from what was important and what the team needs to be successful. I had a talk with Coach (DeCuire), and we figured it out and we were able to come out with the win."
(DeCuire on the final seconds)
"(Josh) Vazquez is always that first option coming off of that corner. We knew they don't want to help on screens. (Bodie) Hume was guarding (Josh) Bannan, so I tried a back-screen for (Michael) Steadman, seeing if we could get him on the backside. It created some confusion; he didn't know if wanted to help or not. Bannan breaks open, and he was wide open."
(DeCuire on playing at 9 a.m.)
"We kind of went into it with a little bit of confidence because we practiced at 10 a.m. over break, and the last four or five practices we practiced at 9. I think the biggest adjustment is pregame. You don't have your normal walk-through, shootaround, pregame meal and come back. It was all condensed. The good news is we didn't really change much X's and O's, we just wanted to come out and play harder and with more energy."
(Steadman on growing through adversity)
"I think it's building us as a team to be able to fight through adversity and be in these close games, and I think it will help us later on down the stretch."
Looking Ahead
Montana will step away from Big Sky Conference action this weekend, hosting Whitworth in a recently added non-conference game (Saturday at 2 p.m.). The Grizzlies will stay home the following week, hosting Northern Arizona (Jan. 14 and 16).
What a play by the freshmen! A steal by Beasley to Bannan rockin' the rim! pic.twitter.com/72IE1pp0yA
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 4, 2021
Team Stats
UNC
Mont
FG%
.420
.355
3FG%
.267
.200
FT%
.800
.769
RB
35
34
TO
16
11
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballF
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