Last-second three sinks Griz as Bannan joins 1,000-point club

Thursday, January 12

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

8-9,2-3Big Sky

Weber State

8-9,3-1Big Sky

Weber St.

Montana

Photo by: UM Photo/Tommy Martino

Last-second three sinks Griz as Bannan joins 1,000-point club

1/12/2023 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies and Weber State Wildcats, the Big Sky's two winningest programs of all time, never seem to fail in living up to the high expectations of the rivalry game. Thursday night in Missoula was no different. Unfortunately for Montana, it was a last-second three from Weber State that clinched a road victory for the Wildcats 59-57.

The Griz led for over 16 minutes and took a lead down the stretch on multiple occasions. Josh Bannan scored twice in the final 90 seconds to give the Griz a pair of leads, including a dunk with 31 seconds left that put them up 56-55. But an errant inbounds pass with four seconds on the clock gave Weber State a finally look that they took advantage of.

"You hold a team in the 50s, you win. So offensively, I thought we held ourselves down," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We had some stretches where it took some minutes to get the ball to go in the basket. Then we got hot and played good basketball for stretches, but we just had too many times where we'd come down three or four times in a row by sharing the ball, and then just take questionable shot after questionable shot and let them back in the game.

It spoiled what looked to be a special night for Montana and Bannan. The junior forward scored his 1,000^th career point early in the first half to become the 10^th fastest player to the milestone. He is the 35^th total Grizzly to do it, and one of just 18 players in UM history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

Here's the bucket that gets @BannanJosh into the 1,000-point club at Montana!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ucZMjkZzos
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 13, 2023

He ended the night with 12 points and seven rebounds as one of three Grizzlies in double figures. Aanen Moody led Montana with 17 points, while Dischon Thomas added 11.

The game turned into a defensive struggle, as two of the best in the conference on that side of the ball gave everything they had. It also was a game of runs, as the two teams combined for six different scoring runs of at least eight points. In a low scoring affair, it made for some drastic momentum shifts.

And yet down the stretch, the two sides were locked in. In the final eight minutes neither team led by more than three points. The teams were even in most statistical categories. Montana shot 2 percent better, but Weber State grabbed seven more rebounds. The Grizzlies had two more assists, but the Wildcat bench scored four more points. They were even on points in the paint and turnovers.

It made for a game filled with drama, even if it didn't look to be out of the gates. The Wildcats made their first three shots of the night and raced out to a 9-0 lead. Montana, after missing its first six, finally connected on a three-pointer from Thomas. It sparked the Grizzlies.

After missing their first six, Montana would go on to make six of the next seven attempts from the floor. Moody was on fire, hitting three shots from beyond the arc during the stretch. The last triple capped off a 16-2 Griz run and put them ahead 16-11.

The Griz defense fed off the energy. After allowing Weber State to make their first three attempts, Montana locked in to limit them to only three of their next 13 attempts. It was a game of hot and cold on both sides. Both teams had three different stretches in the game where they missed at least five consecutive shots.

In a low scoring first half, a last second three from Dillon Jones gave the visitors a three-point halftime lead. Montana responded out of the locker rooms with another hot streak, scoring on the first three possessions of the half to bust off an 7-0 run and take a 32-28 lead.

Lonnell Martin Jr. was a key part of the run, finishing a reverse layup on a back cut and then hitting a triple. The Wildcats bounced right back with a 6-0 run of their own. After trading some baskets, Weber State made three straight threes for a 9-0 run that put them ahead 45-39.

Needing an answer, it was Dischon Thomas that stepped up for the Griz. He knocked down a three, finished on a nice move inside and then connected from distance again for a personal 8-0 run that gave the lead back to the hosts at 47-45.

Another triple from @DischonThomas who has eight points this half and caps an 8-0 Griz run! We're back on top inside Dahlberg. You won't want to miss the end of this one!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/rw7wD6TnZZ
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 13, 2023

There seemed to be chances for Montana to extend it, but they would make just one field goal over the next four and a half minutes. It allowed the Wildcats to hang around.

"Instead of taking a six-point lead and making it 10, it's cut to one point or a deficit. Discon (Thomas) got hot, brought us back, gave us the lead and we had all the momentum," DeCuire said. "We needed to just keep taking care of the ball and finish it up. Make free throws and don't turn it over."

The game found itself tied up at 52-all with Weber State in possession when Martin Jr. sacrificed his body for his second charge drawn of the game, forcing the turnover and giving the Grizzlies a chance on the other end to take the lead. They went to the thousand-point scorer in Bannan, who delivered with a layup to put Montana up 54-52.

The Wildcats answered with an and-one play on the other end, retaking a one-point lead. Then Bannan, in an attempted handoff to Moody, nearly lost the ball. Instead, he recovered it and found a wide-open lane to the rim. He finished a two-handed slam, giving the Griz the 56-55 advantage with thirty seconds to play.

BANNAN SLAM! From near disaster to jubilation, the lane clears and Bannan takes off to put us up by one!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ilODiDMaEM
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 13, 2023

Montana's defense delivered a stop, and Moody was able to hit one of two from the line. Dillon Jones drew a foul on the other end, heading to the stripe needing to make both to tie it up with four seconds remaining. He missed the first, made the second. Montana led by one with just four seconds to play.

Then on the inbound, Martin Jr. caught his foot on the basket and tripped entering the ball. Weber State took the pass, swung it to an open player, and knocked down the game winning three.

The loss drops Montana to 2-3 in Big Sky play, and is the third straight Thursday night heartbreaker.

"It was quiet," DeCuire said of his locker room. "You've got two losses in conference that you should have walked away with wins, this one maybe more so than Northern Arizona, but we had position in that game and we've let them slip away. I feel like our offense is hurting us in terms of just not continuing to score the ball. That puts pressure on your defense."

The positive for Montana is that they are undefeated in the bounce-back games on Saturday. They will hope to do so again this week against an Idaho State team that fell from the ranks of the unbeatens after losing in Bozeman Thursday.

"We've been good with our back against the wall, but you can't keep playing with fire and eventually you have to get over the hump."

Gallery: (1-12-2023) MBB: Montana vs Weber State

GRIZ NOTES

This is the first loss of the season for Montana in a game in which they outshot their opponent. They came in 8-0 when finishing with a better shooting percentage.
Mack Anderson was solid off the bench again, playing a season-high 23 minutes and grabbing seven rebounds to share the team lead.
Aanen Moody went 3-of-7 from three-point range. He has at least one made three in every game this season.
Montana have held a lead in the final seven minutes of all five Big Sky games this season.
The Grizzlies were 5-1 this season when holding their opponents to fewer than 60 points. It is the third time Montana has been held in the 50s, dropping them to 0-3 in such games.