Saturday, February 5
Pocatello, Idaho
6 PM
Montana
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at
86
Idaho State
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Montana
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Idaho State
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Photo by: Derek Johnson
Idaho State routs Montana for 1st win in series since 2009
2/5/2022 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
POCATELLO, Idaho – Everything was set up for Montana on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies were coming off of a narrow loss to first-place Weber State on Thursday and were getting a get-right game against a last-place Idaho State that was coming off of a lengthy COVID-19 pause.
Montana had beaten Idaho State 22 straight times dating back more than a decade, but all of that was thrown out the window once the ball was tipped.
Idaho State made eight of its first nine shots and never cooled down, running away from Montana, 86-63, for its first win in the series since December 2009.
"At the end of the day, our competitive spirit wasn't where it needed to be," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "They took the first punch and hit us pretty hard, and we never got going."
Montana never led, falling behind by nine points just 7 minutes into the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers cut the deficit to 21-18, and the Grizzlies were again within a possession at 28-26, before Idaho State used a 6-0 run and then scored the final five points of the first half to enter the locker room up 10, 43-33.
"We felt OK going into halftime, knowing we just needed to get a few stops," DeCuire said. "We did, but then we didn't score the ball, being a little reluctant to shoot from the outside."
The Big Sky Conference's top defense – which ranked in the top 30 nationally for scoring defense – gave up 86 points to a team that averages just 61.7 points per game. The Grizzlies had no answer for the Bengals, which shot .625 from the floor and .500 from 3-point range.
"Defense killed us tonight," DeCuire said. "Mack (Anderson) was limited, and without him, our defense isn't quite as good. His activity is important to a lot of the things we execute."
Montana shot .412 overall, but just .333 in the second half and 2-of-16 from deep. In addition to poor field-goal defense, the Grizzlies were out-rebounded, 37 to 15, and recorded just six assists compared to eight turnovers.
The Grizzlies were led by Whitney (19 points) and Cameron Parker (15), in addition to 11 on 5-of-8 shooting from junior Kyle Owens, who was seeing his first extended action in nearly a month.
The Grizzlies will have a short turnaround to get back on track, hosting preseason favorite Southern Utah on Monday night at 7 p.m.
"We had a heart-to-heart talk," DeCuire said. "We have a quick turnaround and I think our guys will be motivated and excited to play Southern Utah."
The Grizzlies were coming off of a narrow loss to first-place Weber State on Thursday and were getting a get-right game against a last-place Idaho State that was coming off of a lengthy COVID-19 pause.
Montana had beaten Idaho State 22 straight times dating back more than a decade, but all of that was thrown out the window once the ball was tipped.
Idaho State made eight of its first nine shots and never cooled down, running away from Montana, 86-63, for its first win in the series since December 2009.
"At the end of the day, our competitive spirit wasn't where it needed to be," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "They took the first punch and hit us pretty hard, and we never got going."
Montana never led, falling behind by nine points just 7 minutes into the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers cut the deficit to 21-18, and the Grizzlies were again within a possession at 28-26, before Idaho State used a 6-0 run and then scored the final five points of the first half to enter the locker room up 10, 43-33.
The Grizzlies trailed by double digits for the final 18 minutes of the second half and by 20 or more over the final 10 minutes.Whitney coming out strong with his second drive of the game!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 6, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/KylyyDD8fz
"We felt OK going into halftime, knowing we just needed to get a few stops," DeCuire said. "We did, but then we didn't score the ball, being a little reluctant to shoot from the outside."
The Big Sky Conference's top defense – which ranked in the top 30 nationally for scoring defense – gave up 86 points to a team that averages just 61.7 points per game. The Grizzlies had no answer for the Bengals, which shot .625 from the floor and .500 from 3-point range.
"Defense killed us tonight," DeCuire said. "Mack (Anderson) was limited, and without him, our defense isn't quite as good. His activity is important to a lot of the things we execute."
Montana shot .412 overall, but just .333 in the second half and 2-of-16 from deep. In addition to poor field-goal defense, the Grizzlies were out-rebounded, 37 to 15, and recorded just six assists compared to eight turnovers.
Montana's top-two scorers on the season were held to just seven combined points on 2-of-6 shooting, as sophomore Josh Bannan failed to reach double figures for the first time since before Christmas (five points, one rebound).Parker down the lane‼️
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 6, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/4XXGManKvX
The Grizzlies were led by Whitney (19 points) and Cameron Parker (15), in addition to 11 on 5-of-8 shooting from junior Kyle Owens, who was seeing his first extended action in nearly a month.
The 23-point loss was the second-largest Big Sky defeat under DeCuire and just the fifth double-digit loss in 140 league games. Following a four-game winning streak, Montana was 8-2 in Big Sky Conference play entering its road trip. The Grizzlies are now 8-4, but the one bit of solace is that six of the team's final eight games are at home, where Montana is a perfect 11-0 on the season.KO ‼️
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 6, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/M16JuxFJoM
The Grizzlies will have a short turnaround to get back on track, hosting preseason favorite Southern Utah on Monday night at 7 p.m.
"We had a heart-to-heart talk," DeCuire said. "We have a quick turnaround and I think our guys will be motivated and excited to play Southern Utah."
VAZQUEZ FOR 3️⃣!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 6, 2022
💻: https://t.co/pmLdUVuGnO #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Il7ZW0Qz4x
Team Stats
UM
ISU
FG%
.412
.625
3FG%
.125
.500
FT%
.905
.792
RB
15
37
TO
8
14
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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