Undermanned Griz hold off Lights

Tuesday, November 22

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

3-3,0-0Big Sky

MSU Northern

2-1

Mont. St.-Northern

Montana

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/UM Athletics

11/22/2022 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

An undermanned Montana team playing its fourth game in six days got a good test from the MSU-Northern Lights on Tuesday night in Dahlberg Arena. It took another Josh Bannan double-double and a big night from Jonathan Brown off the bench for the Grizzlies to get the 62-51 win.

It was a good opportunity for Montana's bench players, as the Griz (3-3, 0-0 BSC) entered the night without the starting backcourt of Aanen Moody and Brandon Whitney. The story of the night in their absence was the play of redshirt-junior Jonathan Brown. He came off the bench in the first half and ended up seeing 35 minutes of action, by far his most in a Grizzly uniform.

He made the most of the time, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He also had three steals, one of which he turned into a breakaway dunk where he seemed to levitate for a few extra seconds before throwing it down left handed, and three rebounds.

"With his athleticism, he's going to make some plays. He got some steals, he gets to the rim and finishes, but the biggest thing is he's shooting for percentage right now," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "That's very important to us, and I think he knows what a good shot is for him and he can get to them with his speed."

It was a good start to the game for the Griz and Josh Bannan, who earlier in the afternoon was named the Big Sky Player of the Week. On the first Montana possession, Bannan stepped back and hit a three. The Lights hung around though and forced Montana into a dry spell. It allowed them to take a 6-5 lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the first half. It would be the last lead for the visitors.

Brown, in off the bench, drove the lane and evaded the defense with a nice euro-step to put Montana back on top for good. The Grizzlies were struggling shooting the ball, but at the second media timeout they had already forced five turnovers from the lights.

The freshman Jaxon Nap gets his first made bucket as a Grizzly!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/HZvTAVTv5N
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 23, 2022

Montana got another boost off the bench from freshman Jaxon Nap. He scored his first bucket in a Grizzly uniform on a tough drive to the lane and then knocked down a shot from the arc for five early points. Montana's first 19 points came from the combination of Bannan (10), Nap (5) and Brown (4).

They led 17-10, then MSU-Northern cut back into the lead. The Griz went on a 6-0 run, but again a couple made baskets from the lights cut it to just five points late in the half. Montana would close the half on their best run of the game and would that padded the lead enough to be comfortable the rest of the way.

Brown hit a three, and then after a Montana free throw on the next possession he made the play of the game. He poked the ball away from the Lights player on the perimeter, scooping it up with open floor between him and the basket. He raced down the floor, checked behind him to make sure he was clear for takeoff, and then went up. A couple of defenders attempted the chase down block, but just as they did Brown seemed to elevate even further. His slam made it a 6-0 run, and Bannan closed the half out with a pair of free throws to give the Grizzlies the 33-20 lead.

My goodness the man can 𝑭𝑳𝒀! Jonathan Brown levitates and throws it down with the left hand. @jwbrown235 has three steals and nine points .#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/2cBvlAFCkZ
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 23, 2022

The first half belonged to Josh Bannan, who scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He also had five rebounds at the break. In the second half, he turned it into his third double-double in the last four games with a 15/12/4 stat line. The junior continues to average a double-double on the season, but crucially has been improving his playmaking. He has led Montana in assists in all six games.
"I'm excited about his growth. Something we talked about in the spring was assists," DeCuire said. "He needs to average more assists, he needs to be able to create for others and make better decisions with the ball. He's doing that. He had the ability to be a stat stuffer for us last year with scoring and rebounding, now he's doing more."

In the second half, he got some help from his fellow forward Dischon Thomas. As the Lights started keying in on Bannan, it opened space for Thomas to operate. He capitalized on it. Thomas pced the Montana offense in the second half, hitting some clutch buckets and scoring a team-high 11 points in the second period. MSU-Northern continued to hang around until his late three put it out of reach.

Northern hit five of their first 12 threes in the second half to add some tension to the game for DeCuire and his team, but they would never get within seven points. The size and athleticism would prove too much for the NAIA opponent, who are still 6-0 on their season as this game was an exhibition for them.

Gallery: (11-22-2022) MBB: Montana vs. MSU-Northern (11.22.22)

The Grizzlies held an advantage on the boards, grabbing 40 to Northern's 32, and also outscored the Lights by eight in the paint. But the smaller team had a definite game plan designed around keeping Montana out of the paint and forcing them to win the game with jump shooting.

"I thought they did a phenomenal job defensively sagging and keeping the ball out of the paint," DeCuire said of the Lights. "It made it very difficult for us to take advantage of our size. Then when you have quick, scrappy players that can shoot, it was difficult for our bigger guys to keep them from getting shots."

The transition game is where Montana really separated themselves, scoring 10 while not allowing a single fast break point to MSU-Northern. The Griz would shoot a tick over 40 percent from the floor for the game, including 35 percent from the arc.

A defense that has come alive since the opening week road trip continued to hamper the shooters of the opposing team. Northern would make just 34 percent of their shots on the night. A team that hoped to shift the momentum with three-pointers nearly did so with a run in the second half, but in the end they would make just 26 percent of their 27 attempts from the arc.

The win improves the Griz to 3-3 on the season, and caps off this homestand with a 3-1 overall record.

"I think it was a successful week. You get three out of four, you've got to be happy with that," DeCuire said. "Selfishly, I would love to have had four. I think we're growing. It's still a roller-coaster ride but we're showing signs of a team that has potential when conference time rolls around."

Montana now hits the road for games against Air Force on Sunday and Southern Miss in a week's time. It caps off an action-packed November for the Griz that will see them play eight games in the month, including this busy stretch at home. The Griz will now have just one game inside Dahlberg Arena in the next month.

It's career three No. 💯 for Josh Vazquez!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/8C3SwINnr8
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 23, 2022

GRIZ NOTES

Josh Vazquez made his 100th career three in the win. The senior had eight points in 34 minutes.
Freshman Jaxon Nap got his first career made field goal in the win. He had previously scored from the free throw line in the loss to Xavier.
Bannan continues to average a double-double on the season. He has three on the year and is currently averaging 14.8 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Dischon Thomas scored in double-figures for the fifth time in six games for Montana. The Colorado State transfer is averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds this year.
The Grizzlies outrebounded their opponent for the third time in the last four games. Last season, Montana had an advantage on the boards in just nine of their 31 games.