Griz open Big Sky tournament with win over Idaho

Wednesday, March 10

Boise, Idaho

3 PM

Montana

14-12, 7-9BSC

Idaho [First Round]

1-21, 1-17BSC

Idaho

Montana

Photo by: Brooks Nuanez/Skyline Sports

3/10/2021 6:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

BOISE, Idaho – Montana opened the 2021 Big Sky Championship with a 69-64 win over Idaho on Wednesday afternoon inside Idaho Central Arena.

The Grizzlies led for the final 29 minutes of the game, but the contest wasn't without drama, as Idaho cut a 15-point deficit to three points with 31 seconds to play. Montana, though, locked down and forced two misses on defense while making four free throws to keep control of the game.

With a young roster, Montana has just one player who had played in a Big Sky tournament game prior to Wednesday, and it showed early. Idaho blitzed Montana with 11 early points, jumping out to a nine-point lead and holding Montana to 1-of-8 shooting.

Once Montana found its stroke, though, the Griz turned up the heat. After falling behind 11-2, Montana scored the game's next 11 points to take a lead it would never relinquish.

During Idaho's scoreless drought, which lasted more than 5 minutes, the Vandals turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions before missing their next four shot attempts. Through Idaho's first 13 possessions of the afternoon, Montana forced the Vandals into turnovers seven times.

Meanwhile, Montana got point production from four different Grizzlies during its spurt, tying the game with a Brandon Whitney driving layup and taking the lead on a Mack Anderson tip-in with 9 minutes, 38 seconds to play in the first half.

Whitney takes the lane to tie up the game 11-11.#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/Fse8TFJN0S
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) March 10, 2021

Montana used another double-digit run moments later, scoring 10 consecutive points, including a pair of Josh Vazquez 3-pointers, to build an 11-point advantage.

Vazquez had the best performance of his career, scoring 21 points, including a career-best five 3-pointers. The sophomore also stole four passes and deflected six more, playing a major role in Idaho's 17 turnovers.

Steal ✅
3 pointer ✅

Josh Vazquez is leading the team with 17 points!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/gyVqY3qJUB
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) March 10, 2021

In addition to Vazquez, Montana had four players with eight or more points, including freshmen Whitney (13) and Robby Beasley III (12). Whitney also led the team with four assists. Sophomore Kyle Owens scored eight points, hauled in five rebounds and stole three passes. Freshman Josh Bannan scored eight points and led the team with six rebounds, including a major offensive rebound with 2:15 to play.

Montana shot nearly 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but was held to 28 percent in the second half, and didn't make a single shot over the final 8 minutes. The Grizzlies did make 11 free throws down the stretch, though, maintaining a lead every time Idaho made a run.

With the victory, head coach Travis DeCuire earned his 141st win at Montana, tying his former head coach Blaine Taylor on the school's all-time wins list.

Gallery: (3-10-2021) MBB: vs. Idaho - Big Sky First Round (03.10.21)

Quoting The Griz
(DeCuire on the game overall)
"Hard-fought victory. Idaho did what they've done all year, really. They played a lot of teams close and just have not found a way to pull off W's. We flirted with a lot of games down the stretch. It was a gritty win, and we will take them how we get them."

(Vazquez on settling in offensively)
"We had patience after that initial run. Once we started not settling for one shot, we started moving it around, getting in the paint and we got into a rhythm and flow."

(DeCuire on Vazquez's performance)
"I think the biggest thing for him was what he did on the defensive end. The deflections, the steals, creating extra possessions for us. He's made a lot of big shots here for us lately. That's what he does. He shoots the ball. I think he's handled some changes we've gone through as well as anyone could. It's a sign of the selflessness he has."

(DeCuire on a young roster)
"This was different, especially when you are talking about tournament play but the whole season has been like that. For us, I only had one guy on my roster that has played in a conference tournament game. So this was a learning experience for all of us, and for us to come out with a win is huge."

(Beasley on his first Big Sky tournament game)
"To be honest, I was a little spooked first half and started out slow. I missed my first two shots and was getting beat on defense. I settled down and just focused on defense with energy."

Looking Ahead
Montana has now won seven consecutive Big Sky tournament games dating back to 2018 and will next face No. 3 seed Weber State on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Griz and Wildcats – who rank first and second in Big Sky history for wins, conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances – will be playing against each other in the tournament for the eighth time in the past 11 tournaments (6-1).