Beasley’s shot saves the day, propels Montana to overtime win at Portland State

Thursday, February 4

Portland, Ore.

8 PM (MT)

Montana

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Portland State

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Montana

Portland State

Beasley’s shot saves the day, propels Montana to overtime win at Portland State

2/4/2021 11:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Game-Tying Shot One-On-One with Beasley Postgame Audio Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

PORTLAND, Ore. – For all of the heartbreak Montana has experienced this season, the Grizzlies were finally on the winning end of a tight basketball game on Thursday night, defeating Portland State, 70-64, in overtime.

Montana led for just more than 3 minutes of regulation, and needed a little bit of help – a couple of times – in the final seconds just to get to overtime.

The Grizzlies trailed by three, 54-51, with under 30 seconds to play, after missing a pair of free throws. Montana's first break, though, came on Portland State's in-bounds pass, when the Vikings turned the ball over and gave Montana another offensive opportunity.

Instead of going for the tie, Montana quickly drove to the basket, but the Grizzlies' layup didn't fall, giving the ball back to the Vikings. After the Grizzlies were unable to steal the inbounds pass again, their only remaining option was to foul, sending Portland State's John Hall to the free-throw line one make away from icing the game.

Instead, Hall missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and after the loose ball was tipped around by Derrick Carter-Hollinger, it was secured by Michael Steadman, who passed the ball up to Brandon Whitney, who slung it to fellow freshman Robby Beasley III.

Beasley took one dribble before launching a 28-foot prayer that swooshed through the net as time expired.

The shot set the game to overtime, and Montana never looked back, scoring first and never trailing in the extended period.

"Everything that could happen happened," seventh-year head coach Travis DeCuire said. "But we won, and that's what is amazing about it. It's good to see the guys grit it out and find a way to make it happen."

WE'RE GOING TO OVERTIME 💯!!!! #GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/DJPZQ16HTH
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2021

Prior to overtime, Montana led on just three occasions: 3-0, 3-2 and 26-25 – the last lead coming by the halftime score.

Despite never leading over the final 19 minutes of regulation, Montana never let Portland State pull away either. The Grizzlies always stayed within eight points, including five or fewer for the final 8 minutes. Montana trailed by just three after a Steadman layup cut the score to 40-37 with 3:37 to play, and Brandon Whitney made it a one-point game, 50-49, after stealing the ball at midcourt and taking it to the hoop.

Montana, though, shot 0-for-2 with a turnover – in addition to two missed free throws – over the next 3 minutes, until Beasley's game-tying 3-pointer.

Four Grizzlies were in double figures for scoring, with Beasley and Whitney each reaching 14, and Kyle Owens and Steadman totaling 12 apiece. Junior Cameron Parker finished the night with six assists, while six different Grizzlies secured four or more rebounds, led by Carter-Hollinger's season-high eight. As a team, Montana was able to out-rebound Portland State, 41-37, despite the Vikings entering the night ranked 18^th nationally for the category.

Whitney lays it in for 2! The Griz take the biggest lead of the night!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/XDbWudJGwC
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2021

Montana shot .452 from the floor, and was able to win even though it took 16 fewer shots than the Vikings. Portland State forced Montana into 24 turnovers – a season high – which led to 24 Vikings points.

The win was Montana's first overtime victory since an equally improbable win in March 2018 vs. Northern Colorado (Big Sky semifinals), and snapped the Grizzlies' six-game losing streak in overtime. It was Montana's second game in a row that went to an extended period.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/6qEL7ovqqG
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2021

Game Notables

Thursday's win was Montana's first overtime victory since March 2018, against Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference semifinals. The Grizzlies had previously lost six consecutive overtime contests.
- The win was Montana's first overtime road win since November 2017 at Pitt, and first overtime Big Sky Conference road win since December 2015 at Northern Arizona.
Montana led despite leading for just more than 3 minutes of regulation. The Grizzlies held leads at 3-0, 3-2 and 26-25, but trailed for the final 19 minutes of the second half, until Robby Beasley III's deep game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
- Montana scored the first basket of the overtime period and never trailed, leading for the final 4:20 of the game.
Despite Portland State ranking 18^th nationally for rebounding (40.5 per game), the Grizzlies out-rebounded the Vikings (41 to 37).
- On the season, Montana is a perfect 5-0 when out-rebounding its opponents.
- Eight different Grizzlies had at least three rebounds, with six recording four or more. Sophomore Derrick Carter-Hollinger posted a season-high eight rebounds.
Portland State entered the night ranked fifth nationally for offensive rebounding. The Vikings were near their season average of 14.3 offensive boards per game (13), but were limited to just five second-chance points (two over the game's final 35 minutes).
Four Grizzlies were in double figures for scoring: freshman Robby Beasley III (14), freshman Brandon Whitney (14), sophomore Kyle Owens (12) and senior Michael Steadman (12).
- Steadman shot 6-of-8 from the floor and totaled a dozen points on the night, after being held to two points in the opening half.
- Beasley shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range, with none bigger than his game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
Portland State entered the night ranked 329^th nationally for 3-point shooting (.275), while the Griz defense ranked 46^th, allowing opponents to shoot just .300. Despite this, Portland State attempted 29 3-pointers on the night, converting at just a .207 clip (6-of-29).
Montana won despite turning the ball over a season-high 24 times (previous high was 20). Nearly 40 percent of Portland State's points came off of Montana giveaways (24 of 64, 37.5 percent).
Montana out-shot Portland State (.453 to .362) and had just one fewer made field goal (24 to 25), despite taking 16 fewer shots.
In the overtime period, Montana was 3-of-4 from the floor and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Montana recorded a season-high eight blocked shots, with Carter-Hollinger and Steadman each tallying three.
Playing 20 minutes from his childhood home in Beaverton, Oregon, Parker had a team-high six assists. He also scored four points and secured three rebounds.
Montana used a different starting lineup for the third consecutive game, with Beasley III earning his first career start, Mack Anderson earning his first start of the season and Parker starting for the first time since Montana's season opener.
Montana scored the game's first three points, but shot 0-for-4 with two turnovers over the next several minutes, allowing Portland State to take a 9-3 lead.
Montana wouldn't lead again until a Whitney layup with 4 seconds remaining in the first half (26-25). The Grizzlies closed the half on a 9-2 run, holding the Vikings to one made basket over the final 6:35 (1-of-12 shooting).
The Grizzlies opened the second half with turnovers on three consecutive possessions, allowing Portland State to use a 7-0 run and regain the lead. Montana wouldn't lead again until overtime (56-54).
Despite not holding a lead over the final 19 minutes of regulation, the Grizzlies never let Portland State pull away. The Vikings never led by more than eight points, including five or fewer over the final 8 minutes.
Montana was within a single possession for the final 3:37 of regulation, and down the stretch was within a single point three times.
- After a Whitney steal and layup cut the score to 50-49 with 3:12 to play, the Grizzlies had several opportunities to recapture the lead, but never could:
  - Down 50-49 with 2:35 to play, Montana turned the ball over, allowing the Vikings to push their lead back to three points (52-49).
  - Once again down one point, 52-51, after a pair of free throws, Montana had an opportunity to take a lead but missed a layup with 1:17 left in regulation.
  - The Grizzlies forced two misses on the other end of the court, but with 36 seconds left and the ball, Montana turned the ball over near midcourt, leading to a fast-break layup for the Vikings (54-51).
  - Looking to cut into its three-point deficit, Montana missed two free throws with 26 seconds remaining (54-51).
  - Still down three, the Grizzlies were able to force a steal, but missed a layup with 9 seconds to play (54-51).
  - Montana was forced to foul and got new life after Portland State missed the front end of a one-and-one, leading to Beasley's game-tying 3-pointer (54-54).
Montana had lost its previous two games played at Viking Pavilion.

Gallery: (2-5-2021) MBB: at Portland State (02.04.21)

Quoting DeCuire
"The fortunes hadn't been on our side of the coin up to this point, so it's a positive. It's a growing experience on a positive, which we needed. And we will take what we can get."

"We knew we were beating ourselves for 37 minutes. We were giving them so many extra possessions. But what we didn't do was lack effort, and we kept grinding. That was one of the things that has been a focus of ours the last two weeks: playing through the adversity, having each other's backs and enjoying others' success."

"Toughness is what it takes to win in chaos. Portland State wants to play in chaos, and when you are not used to playing chaotic, because it's not your style, it's hard because you can't implement it in practice to prepare for it. It took us a while to settle down."

Looking Ahead
Montana and Portland State will square off again on Saturday (1 p.m. MT). A win would not only give the Grizzlies a series sweep over the Vikings, but would push Montana's record above .500 for the first time this season.

Parker with another assist to Steadman for 2! 🔥#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/GPhNAQ1QCo
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2021

DJ Carter-Hollinger with the strong left handed finish!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/SuVuPUX3Ab
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2021