Montana’s tournament run ends in Big Sky semifinals

Friday, March 12

Boise, Idaho

8 PM

Montana

15-13, 7-9BSC

Eastern Washington [Semifinals]

15-7, 12-3BSC

Montana

Eastern Washington

Photo by: Brooks Nuanez/Skyline Sports

Montana’s tournament run ends in Big Sky semifinals

3/12/2021 11:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

BOISE, Idaho – Montana's dream of a three-peat came to an end on Friday night at Idaho Central Arena, with No. 2 seed Eastern Washington handing the Grizzlies a 78-50 loss.

Despite Friday's result, Montana's season ended with momentum, winning six consecutive games prior to Friday, including an upset over No. 3 seed Weber State to advance to the Big Sky semifinals as a No. 6 seed. Montana, which won the 2018 and 2019 tournament titles, had won a Big Sky Conference record eight consecutive tournament games dating back to 2018; no other team in Big Sky history has won more than six consecutive games.

Eastern Washington shot .564 from the floor (31-of-55) while Montana was held to a .345 clip (20-of-58), its second-lowest percentage of the season. The Grizzlies were also out-rebounded 40 to 25. Brothers Jacob and Tanner Groves combined for 39 points on 18-of-27 shooting for Eastern Washington. Montana was led by junior Cameron Parker, who scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, in addition to three assists. Junior Mack Anderson scored nine points, while freshman Josh Bannan pulled down 10 rebounds.

"Tough one," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "They've had our number this year obviously. They shot the ball lights out and did all the things, detail wise, to play at a high level. We had it handed to us today, and for me that's an opportunity for us to grow."

Griz freshman Brandon Whitney scored on Montana's first offensive possession to give the Grizzlies a 3-2 lead, but Montana went more than 7 minutes before scoring again, as the Eagles jumped out to a 13-3 advantage. The Grizzlies attempted to weather the storm and were within nine, 20-11, before the Eagles went on another big run.

Brandon Whitney dropping the 3 right out of the gate!#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/qvEu5ixlCz
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) March 13, 2021

After an 11-0 run early in the contest, Eastern Washington scored 17 consecutive points to take a commanding 37-11 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds to play in the opening half. Montana was scoreless for 6 minutes, missing eight consecutive, and 12 of 13, shots. On the other end of the floor, Eastern Washington barely missed, making six in a row and 14 of 18 at one point.

Montana's best offensive stretches came midway through the second half when the Grizzlies out-scored the Eagles over a 5-minute period, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor with Parker scoring nine consecutive Griz points. Moments later, Montana scored six consecutive points, and nine of 11, including a massive dunk through the lane from Kyle Owens, followed by a 3-pointer from the sophomore.

What a play by Parker to KO 🤩#GrizHoops #GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/cLvNOsRWsG
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) March 13, 2021

"There were a lot of us that were frustrated at halftime, saying this is not how we want to go out," Parker said. "We were very embarrassed with the effort we gave at the start of the game. We just didn't want to get punked."

Montana, which once trailed by 38, cut the deficit to 26 after holding the Eagles to 2-of-11 shooting over the game's final 9 minutes. However, the 28-point margin of defeat was the largest in tournament history for the Griz.

The loss also marked the first time in the last nine tries that Montana lost a semifinal matchup, and was the first time since 1994 that a single team has beaten Montana three times in a season.

Gallery: (3-12-2021) MBB: vs. Eastern Washington - Big Sky Semis (03.11.21)

Montana finished the 2020-21 season that will forever be remembered for COVID-19 protocols, canceled games and no fans with a 15-13 record, extending the program's streak of .500 or better seasons to 13 in a row. Montana is one of just 19 teams nationally who can boast that claim.

Additionally, there is optimism within the program as Montana was one of 10 teams in the entire country in 2020-21 with zero seniors on its roster. Montana consistently started three true freshmen, a group that set a program record with more than 750 points scored.

"With a young group, that's what we are experiencing," DeCuire said. "I remember in 2016, the season we had and the group we had like this that ended like this and I remember the offseason we had that led to the runs in 2018 and 2019. When you have a young team that runs into a roadblock, you learn from it. And you learn more from wins than losses."