Griz can’t close out Fighting Hawks

Monday, November 15

Grand Forks, N.D.

6 PM (MT)

Montana

1-2 0-0BSC

North Dakota

1-1, 0-0Summit

Montana

North Dakota

11/15/2021 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Montana suffered a 79-77 defeat at North Dakota on Monday night, falling in the closing seconds after leading for nearly the entire second half. The Grizzlies led by 14 points with under 8 minutes to play and eight points with under 5 minutes to play.

After holding a 73-65 advantage following a Brandon Whitney driving layup, though, North Dakota scored the next nine points – taking advantage of three Montana turnovers – to take its first lead of the second half (74-73 with 2:55 to play).

Whitney put Montana back on top, 75-74, with 1:58 to go, and tied the score in the closing seconds with another driving layup, knotting the score at 77-77 and giving the sophomore a career-high 30 points.

Whitney with the strong drive to the rim to tie the game with only 30 seconds to go!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/9KWZ6AKLxN
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 16, 2021

North Dakota, though, ran the clock down on the other end, setting up one final shot. With 6 seconds remaining, North Dakota guard Caleb Nero dribbled behind his back and drove to his left, laying in the game-winning bucket with 3.0 seconds to play. Nero was fouled on the shot, but his free-throw attempt was off the mark, forcing the Grizzlies to take a final half-court heave without being able to set up a play.

"This is a tough one, because we had chances to put them away, and we didn't," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We have to tighten some things up, no question about it."

In a back-and-forth first half, Montana took a 35-33 lead with 4:09 to play in the opening half – part of a 14-3 Griz run late in the half – and led for the next 21 minutes.

Both teams shot extremely well in the opening half, with the Grizzlies shooting .600 and the Fighting Hawks hitting at a .538 clip. Leading 44-42 at the break, Montana then blew the game open early in the second half, scoring 11 of the first 13 points. Montana shot 6-of-9 with zero turnovers during that spurt, while North Dakota was 1-of-7 with three giveaways.

AND ONE‼️#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/NroBNUlpcu
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 16, 2021

"I thought we had a good stretch in the second half where we got stops, we got rebounds, we got what we can double-bangs – a stop and a score – while we built our lead," DeCuire said. "Fatigue set in a little bit so we subbed some guys, and then when we got guys back in fresh, I thought it was go time to put them away. Instead, they got going."

The Grizzlies led by double digits for much of the second half, and at least two possessions until North Dakota's late run. After North Dakota opened the game 7-of-8 from 3-point range, Montana forced the Fighting Hawks into 2-of-11 shooting over the final 25 minutes, including seven consecutive misses at one point. DeCuire credited a change of coverage that took away the Fighting Hawks' deep-ball threat.

A 14-3 run over a 5-minute stretch late in the first half gave Montana an eight-point lead (44-38), before North Dakota cut the score to two with six points in the final minute of the half, which proved to be costly.

"The guys showed that it's there," DeCuire said. "They have the ability to defend and get stops; we just couldn't sustain it for the whole 40 (minutes)."

Montana was led by Whitney's career-high 30 points, coming on 10-of-15 shooting, in addition to a perfect 9-of-9 performance from the free-throw line. Junior forward Derrick Carter-Hollinger was the other Grizzly in double figures, scoring 12 points (10 in the first half), his third consecutive game reaching double digits.

Carter-Hollinger is heating up🔥#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/n07mw3Fpsg
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 16, 2021

Three additional players scored eight or more points, including sophomore forward Josh Bannan, who tallied nine points and nine rebounds.

As a team, Montana shot 48.0 percent from the field, including 85.2 percent from the free-throw line (23-of-27). But the Fighting Hawks were equally impressive, knocking down 49.0 percent of their shots, and 22-of-30 free-throw attempts (73.3). They also out-rebounded Montana 32 to 28.

"The biggest thing for us is we can't be out-rebounded and give up 49 percent and win on the road," DeCuire said.

The two teams were called for a combined 51 fouls, including 29 for Montana. The loss snaps Montana's nine-game winning streak over the former Big Sky foe.

Montana will now return to Missoula where its next four games will be at home. The homestand will take place over a seven-day span, beginning Saturday vs. Omaha.

"We look forward to it," DeCuire said. "We've got to tighten up a few things and get fresh, but we're excited to play in front of our home crowd."