Eastern Washington earns season sweep over Montana

Saturday, February 20

Missoula, Mont.

12 PM

Montana

9-12, 5-9,BSC

Eastern Washington

12-6, 11-2BSC

Eastern Washington

Montana

Photo by: Tommy Martino

2/20/2021 4:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

MISSOULA, Mont. – Now winners of nine consecutive games, Eastern Washington again showed why it is atop the Big Sky Conference standings on Saturday, beating Montana, 90-76. The score is the exact same as when the two teams met two days prior in Cheney.

The two games mirrored each other in more ways than just the final score.

On Thursday, Eastern Washington made 15 of its first 17 shot attempts and had built a double-digit advantage less than 7 minutes into the contest.

The Eagles weren't quite as hot on Saturday, but again started on a tear, needing just 5 minutes, 4 seconds to push the lead to double figures. Eastern Washington – which led wire to wire – led by double figures for the game's final 26 minutes.

Eastern Washington made eight of its first 13 shot attempts, but an even bigger problem for Montana was its offense. The Grizzlies started the game 1-for-11, and found themselves trailing 17-3 less than 8 minutes into the game, after missing eight consecutive shots.

Montana settled in and began to find its rhythm before Eastern Washington closed the half on a 10-0 run to enter the locker room on top, 49-27. The run extended into the second half as Montana went more than 3 minutes without scoring. In total, Eastern Washington scored 15 consecutive points across both halves to double up the Grizzlies, 54-27, as Montana went nearly 7 minutes without a make.

Even with the slow start, Montana was able to out-score Eastern Washington in the second half, 49 to 41, posting a strong offensive performance over the game's final 16 minutes.

Freshman Josh Bannan scored a career-high 20 points, with 16 of them coming in the second half. Bannan was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with a team-high nine boards. After scoring two points in the first half, freshman Robby Beasley III finished the game with 16, while junior Cameron Parker had a rare points-assists double-double with a dozen points and a season-high 10 dimes.

Big man, big moves 💪#GoGriz #GrizHoops pic.twitter.com/OWSdEQXZEK
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 20, 2021

Game Notables

Saturday's 90-76 final score was the exact same score as when the two teams played on Thursday in Cheney, Washington.
Montana's 14-point loss was the Grizzlies' largest margin of defeat at home since March 1, 2008 vs. Portland State.
For the second consecutive game, the Grizzlies never held a lead, trailing by double figures for the final 26 minutes and by as many as 29 points (season high).
After going 15 consecutive games without surrendering more than 70 points in regulation, Montana – which entered the week with a top-60 scoring defense nationally – has now given up 90 points or more in three consecutive games.
Montana was out-shot .483 to .439, but improved throughout the game. The Eagles shot .571 in the opening half but were limited to a .406 clip in the second period. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, shot .522 over the game's final 28 minutes, after beginning the game 1-for-11.
After being held to 27 points in the first half, Montana scored 49 in the second period, out-scoring the Eagles (49 to 41).
Eastern Washington shot 6-of-15 (.400) from 3-point range, but didn't take its first 3-point attempt until the final second of the first half. On Thursday, the Eagles made 11 3-pointers, a season high for a Griz opponent.
After out-rebounding Eastern Washington, 36 to 31, on Thursday, the Eagles held the edge on Saturday, 37-31, including 22 to 10 in the first half.
Montana turned the ball over a season-low-tying nine times, but also forced the Eagles into just six giveaways.
Freshman Josh Bannan scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, in addition to nine rebounds. Bannan scored 16 of his points in the second half.
- Bannan has now been in double figures for scoring in four consecutive games, averaging 14.3 points on .649 shooting during that span.
Junior Cameron Parker had a rare points-assists double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing out a season-high 10 assists.
Freshman Robby Beasley III finished the game with 16 points (14 in the second half) while playing a game-high 35 minutes.
Junior Mack Anderson earned his second consecutive start, scoring seven points and pulling down four rebounds, while blocking three shots.
Eastern Washington missed its first three shot attempts on Saturday; on Thursday, it took the Eagles 18 shots before they missed their third attempt.
Montana fell behind by double figures just 5:04 into the game (13-3) and trailed 17-3 less than 8 minutes into the game. At that point, Eastern Washington was shooting 8-of-13 from the floor while Montana was 1-of-11, missing eight consecutive shots at one point.
After going more than 5 minutes without a basket, Montana used a mini 9-2 run to get within seven points, 19-12. During that spurt, sophomore Kyle Owens scored on back-to-back possessions while Montana stopped Eastern Washington's offense on three consecutive trips up the court (two forced misses and a turnover).
Eastern Washington used a 10-0 run over the final 3 minutes of the first half to enter the locker room on top, 49-27. The Eagles were out-shooting the Grizzlies, .571 to .346, and were out-scoring them in the paint, 24-10, at halftime.
Eastern Washington's run extended to 15-0 as the Grizzlies shot 0-for-7 with four turnovers over nearly 7 minutes across both halves.
Eastern Washington led by as many as 29 points (67-38 with 13:34 to play) before Montana cut the deficit to as few as 12 points in the closing seconds.
Montana used a different starting lineup for the 10^th time this season, including the eighth different unit in the past 10 games.
Montana is now one of 10 teams nationally to start three freshmen in a game this season, joining: Kentucky, Duke, Kansas State, Washington State, Marist, Sacred Heart, North Carolina, Arizona and James Madison.
- Montana's trio of true freshmen have combined to earn 39 starts, one shy of tying a school record (set last year).
Montana was swept by Eastern Washington, marking just the fifth time in the past seven seasons that Montana has been swept by an opponent.
Montana has now lost three consecutive games for the first time since opening the season 0-4.
The Grizzlies have lost back-to-back home games and are 3-6 at home against Division-I competition dating back to March 2020. Prior to that stretch, the Grizzlies owned the nation's 18^th-best home record from the 2017-18 through 2019-20 seasons.

Gallery: (2-20-2021) MBB: vs. Eastern Washington (02.20.21)

Quoting DeCuire
(on Eastern Washington's talent)
"The better team won. They're a well-oiled machine right now, scoring at a very high rate. Their pace offensively and their versatility are very hard to slow down. Once we were able to get our offense going we were fine, but we just couldn't dig ourselves out of the hole we built."

(on finding consistency)
"Everyone who is playing has played well, they just haven't all put it together at the same time. With such a young group, you want a consistent approach to every game, and we're not there right now."

(on staying together through tough losses)
"I do feel like we have a team that is playing way better basketball in February than we were in January. We have to keep plugging away and be the best basketball team we can be tomorrow, and then the day after that, the day after that, and then see where we're at going into the conference tournament. Right now, there's no one in the locker room who's ready for the season to be over. We're still grinding."

Parker ➡️ Owens#GoGriz #GrizHoops pic.twitter.com/VyswY8Ae0F
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 20, 2021

Looking Ahead
Montana has two weeks remaining in the regular season, and will use it to try and gain momentum and positioning entering the Big Sky Conference tournament in Boise, Idaho. The Grizzlies (9-12, 5-9 Big Sky) travel to fourth-place Idaho State next week before hosting winless Idaho.