Wednesday, November 24
Missoula, Mont.
7:30 PM
Montana
3-2, 0-0BSC
71
vs
61
UC San Diego
4-1, 0-0Big Wet
1
2
F
UC San Diego
29
32
61
Montana
32
39
71
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Griz put together complete performance in win over Tritons
11/24/2021 10:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana handed UC San Diego its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, opening the Zootown Classic with a 71-61 win over the Tritons.
As has been the case all season at home, Montana set the tone early on defense, holding UCSD without a point for nearly 5 minutes to open the game. In three homes games this season, opponents are a combined 1-of-16 with nine turnovers through the game's first 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
"Our guys showed up defensively," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "If you said we would hold them to 20 points below their season average for scoring, I'd tell you we'd win."
Montana jumped out to an 18-12 advantage behind a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Josh Bannan and another from Robby Beasley III. Beasley scored 10 first-half points, and finished the night with 19 points and three steals, after scoring just 21 points total through the first four games of the season.
"He's a good player, and we knew that; he just needed a little more room and to be a little bit more aggressive," DeCuire said. "He got going early tonight and took off from there."
Montana led by as many as 16 points and never trailed. After UCSD cut the score to 51-45 with 9:21 to play, Montana pushed the lead to a game-high 16 (61-45), using a 10-0 run including back-to-back 3-pointers from Bannan and Lonnell Martin Jr., separated by just 49 seconds.
In three home games this year, the Grizzlies have trailed for just 1:11 (3-0 vs. Omaha).
Gallery: (11-24-2021) MBB: vs. UC San Diego (11.24.21)
"That's a talented, well-coached team," DeCuire said of UC San Diego. "They know what they're trying to accomplish on every possession on both sides of the ball. We pride ourselves of trying to do the same thing, so I was excited for us to battle it out with this team, and I thought we played really well."
In addition to Beasley's 19 points, Bannan scored 16 points, making three 3-pointers while recording nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. As a team, Montana forced UCSD into 17 turnovers (15 points off of turnovers) while giving the ball away a season-low seven times.
Montana will now prepare for UNC Wilmington on Thursday, with tip coming at 7:30 p.m., after UCSD and Southern Miss play at 5 p.m. On Wednesday, Southern Miss defeated UNCW, 80-66.
As has been the case all season at home, Montana set the tone early on defense, holding UCSD without a point for nearly 5 minutes to open the game. In three homes games this season, opponents are a combined 1-of-16 with nine turnovers through the game's first 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
"Our guys showed up defensively," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "If you said we would hold them to 20 points below their season average for scoring, I'd tell you we'd win."
Montana jumped out to an 18-12 advantage behind a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Josh Bannan and another from Robby Beasley III. Beasley scored 10 first-half points, and finished the night with 19 points and three steals, after scoring just 21 points total through the first four games of the season.
"He's a good player, and we knew that; he just needed a little more room and to be a little bit more aggressive," DeCuire said. "He got going early tonight and took off from there."
UCSD briefly tied the score at 25-25 before Montana scored the game's next five points and went into the locker room with a 32-29 halftime lead. The Grizzlies then scored eight of the first 11 points in the second half, forcing a quick Tritons timeout just 2:48 into the half.Robby Beasley works his way through the UC San Diego defense for another Griz bucket!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 25, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/xsmbchSX2k
Montana led by as many as 16 points and never trailed. After UCSD cut the score to 51-45 with 9:21 to play, Montana pushed the lead to a game-high 16 (61-45), using a 10-0 run including back-to-back 3-pointers from Bannan and Lonnell Martin Jr., separated by just 49 seconds.
In three home games this year, the Grizzlies have trailed for just 1:11 (3-0 vs. Omaha).
"That's a talented, well-coached team," DeCuire said of UC San Diego. "They know what they're trying to accomplish on every possession on both sides of the ball. We pride ourselves of trying to do the same thing, so I was excited for us to battle it out with this team, and I thought we played really well."
In addition to Beasley's 19 points, Bannan scored 16 points, making three 3-pointers while recording nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. As a team, Montana forced UCSD into 17 turnovers (15 points off of turnovers) while giving the ball away a season-low seven times.
UCSD, which already owns wins over California and Sacramento State, was averaging 80 points per game, before being held to 61. Montana's 71 points were 13 more than Tritons' opponents had averaged this season.The Big Man cannot be stopped 💪 16 points on the night for Josh Bannan!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 25, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/mvPz444OMG
Montana will now prepare for UNC Wilmington on Thursday, with tip coming at 7:30 p.m., after UCSD and Southern Miss play at 5 p.m. On Wednesday, Southern Miss defeated UNCW, 80-66.
Lonnell Martin Jr. scores to close out the half. The Griz lead the Tritons 32-29!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 25, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/f1v6tZKq2B
Team Stats
UCSD
UM
FG%
.455
.455
3FG%
.429
.400
FT%
.652
.765
RB
38
24
TO
17
7
STL
0
8
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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