Saturday, November 20
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
2-2, 0-0BSC
68
vs
47
Omaha
1-3, 0-0Summit
1
2
F
Omaha
17
30
47
Montana
29
39
68
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Defense leads Griz to dominant win
11/20/2021 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana used a stellar defensive effort to earn a 68-47 win over Omaha on Saturday evening, holding the Mavericks to .333 shooting.
In two home games this year, opponents are averaging 37.0 points on .278 shooting against the Grizzlies.
"I thought we were locked in from the start and were ready to go on the defensive end," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "That was fun to see us go out there and play well and get a win on our home floor."
It was Omaha that scored the game's first basket, but it was all Montana after that as the Grizzlies took a 5-3 lead on a Brandon Whitney layup and never trailed again, leading by as many as 24 points, and by double figures for the final 32 minutes.
Part of Montana's defensive effort included a 16-0 Griz run, building a 17-3 lead, as Omaha went 9 minutes, 20 seconds without a point. During that stretch – lasting nearly one-fourth of the entire game – Montana's defense held Omaha to six turnovers and 10 consecutive missed shots.
"We made some adjustments from Monday to today, really in terms of our help and being in the right places," DeCuire said. "I think guys had been worried about being scored on so much that we never really were doing a good job of being in help situations. That caught up to us and played a role on the road, but tonight we were doing the right things defensively."
Omaha scored first out of the intermission to cut the deficit to 10 points, 29-19, and had the chance to close within single digits after a Griz miss. Instead, senior Mack Anderson forced a steal, setting up a Josh Bannan 3-pointer. A few possessions later, Bannan canned another triple, and the lead was back to 17, 39-19.
"We were two or three possessions away from being in the same situation as Monday," DeCuire said, referencing Montana's loss at North Dakota after holding a 14-point lead with under 8 minutes to play. "But we were fresh today. We missed those shots on Monday and today we made them, and we put them away."
Gallery: (11-20-2021) MBB: vs. Omaha (11.20.21)
Bannan was a force on both sides of the ball, scoring a career-high 24 points (10-of-14 shooting) while also adding 12 rebounds, a steal and an assist. For the sophomore, it was his second double-double of the season, and increased his season average to 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
"His focus and understanding of what we're trying to execute has been big," DeCuire said of Bannan. "He did a great job of communicating and helping quarterback from the backside. While the point guard is quarterbacking the offense, a lot of times the post is doing that on defense because he can see everything, and I thought he did a good job of communicating."
Every Grizzly who played for more than 5 minutes recorded at least one steal, led by two apiece from Robby Beasley III and Josh Vazquez. Montana, on the other hand, gave the ball up just seven times, compared to 17 assists, led by five from senior Cameron Parker.
Parker also totaled six rebounds, while junior Derrick Carter-Hollinger had a balanced effort with seven points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Coming off of a career-high 30 points on Monday at North Dakota, Whitney chipped in with 13 points, to go along with two assists and a steal.
Saturday marked the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Grizzlies, who next week will host UC San Diego, UNC Wilmington and Southern Mississippi in the Zootown Classic (Wednesday-Friday).
In two home games this year, opponents are averaging 37.0 points on .278 shooting against the Grizzlies.
"I thought we were locked in from the start and were ready to go on the defensive end," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "That was fun to see us go out there and play well and get a win on our home floor."
It was Omaha that scored the game's first basket, but it was all Montana after that as the Grizzlies took a 5-3 lead on a Brandon Whitney layup and never trailed again, leading by as many as 24 points, and by double figures for the final 32 minutes.
Part of Montana's defensive effort included a 16-0 Griz run, building a 17-3 lead, as Omaha went 9 minutes, 20 seconds without a point. During that stretch – lasting nearly one-fourth of the entire game – Montana's defense held Omaha to six turnovers and 10 consecutive missed shots.
"We made some adjustments from Monday to today, really in terms of our help and being in the right places," DeCuire said. "I think guys had been worried about being scored on so much that we never really were doing a good job of being in help situations. That caught up to us and played a role on the road, but tonight we were doing the right things defensively."
Montana started slow offensively, shooting under 33 percent through 15 minutes, but held a 15-point lead, 23-8, as Omaha was shooting just 3-of-21 with nine turnovers. By the intermission, the Grizzlies were on top by a dozen, 29-17, as Omaha had made just six shots (.231 shooting).Cameron Parker with the steal and fast break layup! Griz up 25-8!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 21, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/oO7my66CQH
Omaha scored first out of the intermission to cut the deficit to 10 points, 29-19, and had the chance to close within single digits after a Griz miss. Instead, senior Mack Anderson forced a steal, setting up a Josh Bannan 3-pointer. A few possessions later, Bannan canned another triple, and the lead was back to 17, 39-19.
"We were two or three possessions away from being in the same situation as Monday," DeCuire said, referencing Montana's loss at North Dakota after holding a 14-point lead with under 8 minutes to play. "But we were fresh today. We missed those shots on Monday and today we made them, and we put them away."
Bannan was a force on both sides of the ball, scoring a career-high 24 points (10-of-14 shooting) while also adding 12 rebounds, a steal and an assist. For the sophomore, it was his second double-double of the season, and increased his season average to 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
"His focus and understanding of what we're trying to execute has been big," DeCuire said of Bannan. "He did a great job of communicating and helping quarterback from the backside. While the point guard is quarterbacking the offense, a lot of times the post is doing that on defense because he can see everything, and I thought he did a good job of communicating."
Montana limited Omaha to .333 shooting and 47 points – 21 below the Mavericks season average. Montana also forced Omaha into 18 turnovers, seven more than its season average that ranked in the top 60 nationally entering the night (Omaha had already turned the ball over 11 times – its season average – just 21 minutes into the game).Huge 3 from Bannan! 32-19 Griz!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 21, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/x2TAepwoUT
Every Grizzly who played for more than 5 minutes recorded at least one steal, led by two apiece from Robby Beasley III and Josh Vazquez. Montana, on the other hand, gave the ball up just seven times, compared to 17 assists, led by five from senior Cameron Parker.
Parker also totaled six rebounds, while junior Derrick Carter-Hollinger had a balanced effort with seven points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Coming off of a career-high 30 points on Monday at North Dakota, Whitney chipped in with 13 points, to go along with two assists and a steal.
Saturday marked the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Grizzlies, who next week will host UC San Diego, UNC Wilmington and Southern Mississippi in the Zootown Classic (Wednesday-Friday).
We'll take that! Whitney caps off a Griz Win with a slam!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 21, 2021
💻Watch: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/VFxEdUnNU6
Team Stats
UNO
UM
FG%
.333
.426
3FG%
.467
.263
FT%
.500
.810
RB
38
33
TO
18
7
STL
1
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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