Sunday, January 9
Bozeman, Mont.
5 PM
Montana
11-6, 4-2BSC
59
at
66
Montana State
12-5, 4-2BSC
1
2
F
Montana
33
26
59
Montana State
36
30
66
Cats earn victory in Bozeman
1/9/2022 10:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOZEMAN, Mont. – For just the second time in the past 21 tries, dating back to the 2010-11 season, Montana State won the Brawl of the Wild, beating Montana 66-59 on Sunday night inside Worthington Arena.
The Grizzlies, who were in first place in the Big Sky standings entering the game, fell to 4-2 in Big Sky play, having already played four of the five other teams with a winning record.
"Kudos to the Cats; they showed up ready to play," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "A loss is a loss, I take them all the same. To me, it's watch the film, take some notes, make some adjustments and find some ways to improve. Obviously it's a rivalry game, but every game we play is a rivalry. We have to be up for every single game."
The Grizzlies' night started as good as they could have hoped, with sophomore Josh Bannan scoring just 11 seconds into the contest and then banging a 3-pointer on Montana's next trip up the floor to give the visitors a 5-0 lead just 42 seconds into the game.
Montana and Montana State battled basket for basket over the next 7 minutes – a span that featured four tie scores and no separation by more than two points – but unbeknownst to the Griz at the time, they would never hold a lead again.
Montana State took a three-point lead into the locker room (36-33), scoring 19 of the final 31 points of the half, and extended the lead early in the second half. Montana was forced to use two early timeouts as the Bobcats scored 12 of the first 14 points to open the second half, building a 13-point advantage, 48-35, with 15:14 to play.
It marked just the second time in 13 games that DeCuire has trailed the Cats by double figures (also a 14-point deficit in a 2017 loss in Bozeman, the only other time DeCuire has lost to Montana State).
"We knew they would try to post up, and (Jubrele) Belo presents an issue for everyone in the conference," DeCuire said. "He draws a lot of fouls and he's physical, so we emphasized on him, but probably did so too much because that opened up a lot of uncontested shots for (Abdul) Mohamed and Adamu, and that's why those guys go 5-for-6 from 3."
Gallery: (1-9-2022) MBB: at Montana State (1.9.22)
Despite trailing by 13, Montana chipped away at the deficit, cutting the score to five points, 52-47, with 8:28 still to play. The rally came almost single-handedly from senior guard Cameron Parker.
Parker started the game slow, being limited to just 6 first-half minutes, scoring two points and tallying one assist. But he scored 10 of Montana's first 14 points to open the second half, and the Grizzlies' run coincided with Parker checking into the game for the first time of the second half.
Parker was able to drive to the basket at will, either making easy layups or drawing contact and connecting on seven free throws. His biggest shot, though, came with 4:34 to play, with his 3-pointer in front of the Griz bench cutting the score to a single possession at 56-53.
"We were struggling offensively in general; we just didn't have a good flow," DeCuire said. "He got it going off the ball screen, getting to the rim. He did a phenomenal job of being ready to go and getting us back into the game."
"Our defense got us back into the game," DeCuire said. "We had opportunities, and maybe if we get a shot in that last situation (instead of turning the ball over), we make it and things look different. I thought we had a little bit more scrap in the second half than in the first half. We just have to do a better job of setting the tone in the first half."
Montana was held to .396 shooting and 59 points, its third-fewest of the season. Meanwhile, Montana State shot .511 from the floor (third-best among Griz opponents), including 6-of-12 (.500) from 3-point range. Both teams had 11 turnovers, while Montana narrowly out-rebounded Montana State, 31 to 30.
Montana State had three players in double figures for scoring, led by Adamu, who totaled 19 on 7-of-13 shooting. The Grizzlies also had three players in double figures, paced by Parker's 18, 16 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Robby Beasley III totaled 15 points while Bannan recorded his fourth consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Montana will have another big opportunity on Thursday, facing a Southern Utah team that won the Big Sky regular-season title in 2021 and was the preseason favorite to repeat as champs. After that, the Grizzlies will have already played all five teams, aside from themselves, who currently hold a winning record in league play.
"Looking at the stretch we've already played, especially with several of these big games being on the road, if you would have told me we'd be 4-2 at this point, we'd take it," DeCuire said. "We like where we're at, we're in a good spot. We just need to keep improving, and hopefully we see that on Thursday against Southern Utah."
The Grizzlies, who were in first place in the Big Sky standings entering the game, fell to 4-2 in Big Sky play, having already played four of the five other teams with a winning record.
"Kudos to the Cats; they showed up ready to play," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "A loss is a loss, I take them all the same. To me, it's watch the film, take some notes, make some adjustments and find some ways to improve. Obviously it's a rivalry game, but every game we play is a rivalry. We have to be up for every single game."
The Grizzlies' night started as good as they could have hoped, with sophomore Josh Bannan scoring just 11 seconds into the contest and then banging a 3-pointer on Montana's next trip up the floor to give the visitors a 5-0 lead just 42 seconds into the game.
Montana's lead would grow to six points on multiple occasions, but a 6-0 sequence for Montana State – all from guard Amin Adamu – turned a four-point Griz lead into a two-point deficit in the matter of just 37 seconds, giving Montana State its first lead of the game (23-21 with 8:04 to play in the opening half).42 seconds in, 5-0 Josh Bannan!#GrizCat #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/pNQlbyYtSa
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2022
Montana and Montana State battled basket for basket over the next 7 minutes – a span that featured four tie scores and no separation by more than two points – but unbeknownst to the Griz at the time, they would never hold a lead again.
Montana State took a three-point lead into the locker room (36-33), scoring 19 of the final 31 points of the half, and extended the lead early in the second half. Montana was forced to use two early timeouts as the Bobcats scored 12 of the first 14 points to open the second half, building a 13-point advantage, 48-35, with 15:14 to play.
It marked just the second time in 13 games that DeCuire has trailed the Cats by double figures (also a 14-point deficit in a 2017 loss in Bozeman, the only other time DeCuire has lost to Montana State).
"We knew they would try to post up, and (Jubrele) Belo presents an issue for everyone in the conference," DeCuire said. "He draws a lot of fouls and he's physical, so we emphasized on him, but probably did so too much because that opened up a lot of uncontested shots for (Abdul) Mohamed and Adamu, and that's why those guys go 5-for-6 from 3."
Despite trailing by 13, Montana chipped away at the deficit, cutting the score to five points, 52-47, with 8:28 still to play. The rally came almost single-handedly from senior guard Cameron Parker.
Parker started the game slow, being limited to just 6 first-half minutes, scoring two points and tallying one assist. But he scored 10 of Montana's first 14 points to open the second half, and the Grizzlies' run coincided with Parker checking into the game for the first time of the second half.
Parker was able to drive to the basket at will, either making easy layups or drawing contact and connecting on seven free throws. His biggest shot, though, came with 4:34 to play, with his 3-pointer in front of the Griz bench cutting the score to a single possession at 56-53.
"We were struggling offensively in general; we just didn't have a good flow," DeCuire said. "He got it going off the ball screen, getting to the rim. He did a phenomenal job of being ready to go and getting us back into the game."
Montana had a handful of chances to cut the score to a single possession again, including after calling a timeout to draw up a play down four, 59-55 with 91 seconds remaining. The possession ended in a turnover, however, leading to a Montana State dunk that put an exclamation point on the Cats victory..@CameronParker23 splashes down from deep and we've got a one-possession game!!#GrizCat #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ZAdkF4NiN5
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2022
"Our defense got us back into the game," DeCuire said. "We had opportunities, and maybe if we get a shot in that last situation (instead of turning the ball over), we make it and things look different. I thought we had a little bit more scrap in the second half than in the first half. We just have to do a better job of setting the tone in the first half."
Montana was held to .396 shooting and 59 points, its third-fewest of the season. Meanwhile, Montana State shot .511 from the floor (third-best among Griz opponents), including 6-of-12 (.500) from 3-point range. Both teams had 11 turnovers, while Montana narrowly out-rebounded Montana State, 31 to 30.
Montana State had three players in double figures for scoring, led by Adamu, who totaled 19 on 7-of-13 shooting. The Grizzlies also had three players in double figures, paced by Parker's 18, 16 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Robby Beasley III totaled 15 points while Bannan recorded his fourth consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Montana will have another big opportunity on Thursday, facing a Southern Utah team that won the Big Sky regular-season title in 2021 and was the preseason favorite to repeat as champs. After that, the Grizzlies will have already played all five teams, aside from themselves, who currently hold a winning record in league play.
"Looking at the stretch we've already played, especially with several of these big games being on the road, if you would have told me we'd be 4-2 at this point, we'd take it," DeCuire said. "We like where we're at, we're in a good spot. We just need to keep improving, and hopefully we see that on Thursday against Southern Utah."
After Montana State takes its first lead of the night, Robby Beasley has the answer for the Griz!#GrizCat #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/eTUTMVpB6a
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 10, 2022
Team Stats
UM
MSU
FG%
.396
.511
3FG%
.267
.500
FT%
.813
.737
RB
31
30
TO
11
11
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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