Saturday, January 22
Flagstaff, Ariz.
2 PM
Montana
13-6, 6-2BSC
58
at
48
Northern Arizona
6-11, 2-4BSC
1
2
F
Montana
29
29
58
Northern Arizona
21
27
48
Grizzlies compete road sweep with near-wire-to-wire win
1/22/2022 4:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Montana earned a 58-48 road win at Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon, leading for the final 36 minutes, 42 seconds. With the win, the Grizzlies earned a coveted road sweep on the week and will return to Missoula having gone 3-1 on their extended road trip.
"We're playing well right now, and I think a lot of it is confidence," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Not just confidence in themselves, but in their teammates. I think we're doing a good job of allowing guys to be who they are and playing to our strengths."
Northern Arizona got on the board first with a 3-pointer from one of the nation's top scorers in Jalen Cone, but Montana answered with the game's next six points and led for the remainder of the game.
Both teams struggled offensively early on, with the score just 11-9 at the under-12 media timeout. Coming out of the break, though, the Grizzlies went on a 12-0 run, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Lonnell Martin Jr. and holding Northern Arizona to 0-of-8 shooting with three turnovers over a 7-minute stretch.
Both teams shot below 40 percent in the opening half, but Montana entered the intermission with a 29-21 advantage. Montana led by double figures for nearly the entirety of the second half, with senior Mack Anderson scoring 10 seconds into the second half to push the lead to double figures, which would hold until a 7-0 run late brought the score to 51-45 with 3:07 to play.
Montana answered on the other end, though, scoring on its next three trips up the court to keep Northern Arizona at bay and lock up the victory.
The Grizzlies shot just .407 from the field and scored only 58 points – their lowest point total in a win this season – but Montana won on defense, limiting Northern Arizona to 48 points on .353 shooting, including .217 from deep. The Grizzlies also forced Northern Arizona into 13 turnovers while turning the ball over themselves a season-low-tying six times.
The Lumberjacks' top-three scorers this season were all held under their season averages, with only Cone reaching double figures (12 points, seven below his season average that ranks in the top 20 nationally).
"We were just trying to hold them under 50, and (Brandon) Whitney is defensive minded and has the speed to stay with Cone, and he made him work," DeCuire said. "DJ (Carter-Hollinger), (Josh) Bannan and Mack at the 5 spot did a phenomenal job of helping down low."
"When we looked at the first half of the conference schedule, we knew it would be tough, but I think it will pay off now, having so many games at home," DeCuire said. "We have to stay focused and get better and have a couple of guys continue to step up, but we're sitting in a good spot.
"We look forward to trying to hold down the fort."
"We're playing well right now, and I think a lot of it is confidence," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Not just confidence in themselves, but in their teammates. I think we're doing a good job of allowing guys to be who they are and playing to our strengths."
Northern Arizona got on the board first with a 3-pointer from one of the nation's top scorers in Jalen Cone, but Montana answered with the game's next six points and led for the remainder of the game.
Both teams struggled offensively early on, with the score just 11-9 at the under-12 media timeout. Coming out of the break, though, the Grizzlies went on a 12-0 run, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Lonnell Martin Jr. and holding Northern Arizona to 0-of-8 shooting with three turnovers over a 7-minute stretch.
That pushed the Grizzlies' lead to 23-9, but the Lumberjacks wouldn't fold, scoring the next 10 points and keeping Montana off the board for more than 6 minutes.That ball movement tho🤩
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/LQC9uaP5gC
Both teams shot below 40 percent in the opening half, but Montana entered the intermission with a 29-21 advantage. Montana led by double figures for nearly the entirety of the second half, with senior Mack Anderson scoring 10 seconds into the second half to push the lead to double figures, which would hold until a 7-0 run late brought the score to 51-45 with 3:07 to play.
Montana answered on the other end, though, scoring on its next three trips up the court to keep Northern Arizona at bay and lock up the victory.
"They did a phenomenal job of executing the game plan," DeCuire said of his team's defensive effort. "Coach Flo (Jay Flores) had the scout, and there were a couple things that were a little complicated with them (NAU). We did a few things we don't typically do with the dribble-handoff. To not be able to practice them the day before, it's shows a phenomenal job of our guys paying close attention and playing with discipline."BEASLEY FOR 3👀
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/s8iyEeZgJQ
The Grizzlies shot just .407 from the field and scored only 58 points – their lowest point total in a win this season – but Montana won on defense, limiting Northern Arizona to 48 points on .353 shooting, including .217 from deep. The Grizzlies also forced Northern Arizona into 13 turnovers while turning the ball over themselves a season-low-tying six times.
The Lumberjacks' top-three scorers this season were all held under their season averages, with only Cone reaching double figures (12 points, seven below his season average that ranks in the top 20 nationally).
"We were just trying to hold them under 50, and (Brandon) Whitney is defensive minded and has the speed to stay with Cone, and he made him work," DeCuire said. "DJ (Carter-Hollinger), (Josh) Bannan and Mack at the 5 spot did a phenomenal job of helping down low."
Sophomore Josh Bannan once again paced the Grizzlies on both sides of the ball, scoring 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Bannan has been in double figures for scoring in six consecutive games dating back to Dec. 30, averaging 16.5 points per game during that span. A night after making just one shot, sophomore guard Brandon Whitney was hot, scoring 15 points while dishing out three assists and stealing three passes. Martin scored nine points on three first-half three-pointers.STOLEN BY WHITNEY FOR 2‼️
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Pn4bYo4qT1
Montana is now 6-2 in league play and will play eight of its final 12 games at Dahlberg Arena, a location it is 9-0 inside this season. Montana will next host regional rivals Idaho (Thursday) and Eastern Washington (Saturday).Lonnell Martin is on 🔥
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/nQMDz93yfJ
"When we looked at the first half of the conference schedule, we knew it would be tough, but I think it will pay off now, having so many games at home," DeCuire said. "We have to stay focused and get better and have a couple of guys continue to step up, but we're sitting in a good spot.
"We look forward to trying to hold down the fort."
Parker ➡️ Beasley III for 3!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Z7qUH27ot0
Team Stats
UM
NAU
FG%
.407
.353
3FG%
.200
.217
FT%
.900
.700
RB
30
36
TO
6
13
STL
9
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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