Wednesday, December 8
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
6-4, 1-1BSC
66
vs
48
Air Force
7-2, 0-0MW
1
2
F
Air Force
24
24
48
Montana
35
31
66
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Griz fly past Falcons
12/8/2021 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. – Air Force entered Wednesday's game on a seven-game winning streak, but Montana led for the final 28 minutes of a 66-48 win over the Falcons, handing Air Force its second – and largest – loss of the season.
Key to Montana's success on Wednesday was its defense and rebounding.
Air Force entered the game ranked in the top 20 nationally with a .496 shooting percentage, but was held to just .348 shooting (16-of-46), a season low. Additionally, the Grizzlies hadn't out-rebounded a Division-I opponent this season and ranked last in the nation for the category, but doubled up the Falcons on the boards, totaling 41 while holding the Falcons to just 20.
"Coming in, just like UC San Diego, you've got a team that's hot, and I thought guys' attention to detail was high," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I thought they did a phenomenal job with the scout, in a short period of time, against the Princeton Offense, which is really hard to slow teams down."
Gallery: (12-8-2021) MBB: vs. Air Force (12.8.21)
After Air Force zoomed out to a 10-4 lead just 5 minutes into the contest, Montana settled in, getting early production from Robby Beasley III (seven points), Josh Bannan (six) and Cameron Parker (three). A Bannan jumper gave the Grizzlies a 14-13 lead with 9 minutes, 21 seconds to play in the first half and Montana did not trail again, holding the Falcons to one made basket over the final 5 minutes of the first period and finishing it on a 7-0 run.
The run continued into the second half as Montana scored the next eight points, opening up a 19-point advantage. Across both halves, Montana at one point scored 15 consecutive points and held Air Force to 1-of-12 shooting over a 9-minute stretch (19-2 Griz run).
"With the Princeton Offense, you want to take away the backdoors, and that puts our center in a lot of help situations," DeCuire said. "There were so many screens off the ball and guys were in recovery mode trying to keep them from shooting 3's. So Mack (Anderson) had to be in three, four different places in one possession.
Parker had another terrific game, scoring 20 points – tying his Montana best – while also assisting five baskets. He scored 14 points in the first half alone, shooting 5-of-7, including a stretch in which he scored nine consecutive Griz points.
He played a season-high 33 minutes on Wednesday, which led all Grizzlies. Over his past three games, Parker is averaging 15.0 points per game.
"He generates offense," DeCuire said. "He's improved a lot defensively, too, which allows us to play him more. They really struggled with the high ball screen, and that's where he excelled and he took advantage of it and produced a lot of points in the first half."
Joining Parker in double figures was Bannan (17 points) and senior forward Mack Anderson (10 points on 5-of-8 shooting). Bannan and Anderson were both big on the glass, as well, with Bannan recording his fourth double-double of the season (10 rebounds) and Anderson securing a season-high eight boards (five offensive).
"He's the quickest of our posts and the most active, therefore he had to play a lot of minutes, and I thought he was the one who made our defense work," DeCuire said. "His activity on the glass and his activity on the defensive end was huge, and when he's all over the place and playing as aggressive as he was, he makes things happen."
With the win, Montana improved to 5-0 this season at home, with all wins being by double digits. The Grizzlies will next be in action Friday at 3 p.m. vs. Yellowstone Christian College (time change).
Key to Montana's success on Wednesday was its defense and rebounding.
Air Force entered the game ranked in the top 20 nationally with a .496 shooting percentage, but was held to just .348 shooting (16-of-46), a season low. Additionally, the Grizzlies hadn't out-rebounded a Division-I opponent this season and ranked last in the nation for the category, but doubled up the Falcons on the boards, totaling 41 while holding the Falcons to just 20.
"Coming in, just like UC San Diego, you've got a team that's hot, and I thought guys' attention to detail was high," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I thought they did a phenomenal job with the scout, in a short period of time, against the Princeton Offense, which is really hard to slow teams down."
After Air Force zoomed out to a 10-4 lead just 5 minutes into the contest, Montana settled in, getting early production from Robby Beasley III (seven points), Josh Bannan (six) and Cameron Parker (three). A Bannan jumper gave the Grizzlies a 14-13 lead with 9 minutes, 21 seconds to play in the first half and Montana did not trail again, holding the Falcons to one made basket over the final 5 minutes of the first period and finishing it on a 7-0 run.
The run continued into the second half as Montana scored the next eight points, opening up a 19-point advantage. Across both halves, Montana at one point scored 15 consecutive points and held Air Force to 1-of-12 shooting over a 9-minute stretch (19-2 Griz run).
Aside from an 11-2 Falcons run midway through the second half that briefly, for 9 seconds, cut the score to eight (54-46), Montana led by double figures for the entire second half.Josh Bannan opens up the scoring for the Griz tonight vs the Air Force Falcons!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 9, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/DOZ94UN9oi
"With the Princeton Offense, you want to take away the backdoors, and that puts our center in a lot of help situations," DeCuire said. "There were so many screens off the ball and guys were in recovery mode trying to keep them from shooting 3's. So Mack (Anderson) had to be in three, four different places in one possession.
Parker had another terrific game, scoring 20 points – tying his Montana best – while also assisting five baskets. He scored 14 points in the first half alone, shooting 5-of-7, including a stretch in which he scored nine consecutive Griz points.
He played a season-high 33 minutes on Wednesday, which led all Grizzlies. Over his past three games, Parker is averaging 15.0 points per game.
"He generates offense," DeCuire said. "He's improved a lot defensively, too, which allows us to play him more. They really struggled with the high ball screen, and that's where he excelled and he took advantage of it and produced a lot of points in the first half."
Joining Parker in double figures was Bannan (17 points) and senior forward Mack Anderson (10 points on 5-of-8 shooting). Bannan and Anderson were both big on the glass, as well, with Bannan recording his fourth double-double of the season (10 rebounds) and Anderson securing a season-high eight boards (five offensive).
"He's the quickest of our posts and the most active, therefore he had to play a lot of minutes, and I thought he was the one who made our defense work," DeCuire said. "His activity on the glass and his activity on the defensive end was huge, and when he's all over the place and playing as aggressive as he was, he makes things happen."
As a team, Montana scored 66 points against a Falcons team that ranks 18th nationally for scoring defense (57.9 points per game) and hadn't given up 66 points in a game yet this season. A large part of Montana's scoring came from the free-throw line, where the Grizzlies were a perfect 17-of-17.Mack Anderson with the SLAM ‼️
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 9, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/C9TjmpESGO
With the win, Montana improved to 5-0 this season at home, with all wins being by double digits. The Grizzlies will next be in action Friday at 3 p.m. vs. Yellowstone Christian College (time change).
DJ Carter-Hollinger works his way through the Falcons defense 💪
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 9, 2021
💻 Watch: https://t.co/4a3JnYDP2X#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Vt7flSKKuU
Team Stats
AFA
UM
FG%
.348
.442
3FG%
.438
.231
FT%
.692
1.000
RB
20
41
TO
14
16
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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