Griz extend streak with first road win of the season

Sunday, December 17

San Jose, Calif.

3 PM (MT)

Montana

6-4,0-0Big Sky

San Jose State

6-6,0-0Mountain West

Montana

San Jose St.

Griz extend streak with first road win of the season

12/17/2023 6:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Montana men's basketball completed the season-sweep of San Jose State and improved to 2-1 against the Mountain West and 6-4 overall with an 86-75 win on Sunday afternoon. It's the first road win of the season for the Grizzlies, who had their best offensive performance against a D1 opponent this season.

It's the fourth straight win for Montana.

The Grizzlies had a 49-point second half to overcome a deficit at the break. It was the first time in a game this season that the lead changed hands in the second half, and Montana was able to push it to double figures for another big win.

Montana shot 48 percent from the floor and went 23-of-27 from the free throw line. The biggest advantage came on the glass, where Montana outrebounded San Jose State 44-24. The +20 advantage was the largest against a D1 opponent this season, and the 44 rebounds were also a season high.

Aanen Moody and Laolu Oke each played a big role in that. Moody led Montana with 21 points and pulled down a career high eight rebounds. Oke had 16 points, 15 rebounds in a dominant game down low. He had seven offensive rebounds, and also made a career-high six free throws in an efficient night at the line.

Oke nearly had a double-double in the second half alone, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the final 20 minutes. He went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the second half as well.

"I thought they did a good job of blocking him off in the first half. He wore them down, he just kept coming and they gassed out and couldn't keep him off the glass in the second half," DeCuire said. "We got a lot of second chances and tip ins and a couple of passes out that we drew some fouls on.

"But the 6-for-7 was the biggest thing because they were big possessions where you're trying to pull away and if you go 0-for-2 or 1-for-2 and they hit a three on the other end it's a different game," DeCuire continued. "For him to put it away from the free throw line was huge."

Gallery: (12-17-2023) MBB: at San Jose State (12.17.23)

Freshman Money Williams continued his impressive start to his career with 15 points and seven assists. He is averaging exactly 7.0 assists per game over the last three as his distribution numbers have increased.

The Grizzlies also got a big game from Giordan Williams, who hit a pair of late threes to help extend the Griz lead out of reach and had a season-high 11 points. He went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Brandon Whitney had a crucial defensive performance off the bench to limit one of the best passing and attacking guards in the country. It was part of a complete team performance from Montana, who had 10 players take the floor and nine of them play at least five minutes.

"We've talked about this since June. You never know who the guys is going to be that jumps up and has a big game for us," DeCuire said. "It was easy for the two NorCal guys to assume it would be their day considering how well they played against them last time. Giordan Williams hit big shots down the stretch. Obviously (Oke) with 15 rebounds and Moody with eight rebounds to double them up on the glass and hold them to one attempt was huge."

As DeCuire noted, it was a bit of a homecoming game for several Grizzlies. Money Williams is from nearby Oakland and Te'Jon Sawyer is from San Francisco. The duo torched San Jose State for 38 total points in the first meeting between the two teams.

Montana has seven total players from the state of California on their roster, and a number of coaches from the state as well.

It was part of another impressive bench performance for Montana. They outscored the San Jose State reserves 26-13. It's the third straight game with 26 bench points, and the eighth time this season Montana have had at least 25 points from the reserves.

They withstood an impressive shooting display from San Jose State in their home gym. The Spartans had been 4-0 at home this year, and Montana entered winless on the road, but they ended both streaks after the big second half.

It was a high-scoring first half between the two teams as they combined for 77 total points with both teams shooting at least 44 percent. Montana led for nearly 14 minutes, but a late Spartan run gave them the halftime advantage.

Montana had an early 8-0 run to jump ahead 16-10. Moody hit a pair of triples during the run, and scored 10 of the first 16 Grizzly points in the game. He had just three points in the last meeting between the two teams.

The Griz held the lead until San Jose State tied it up at 25-all. Money Williams had his fifth assist in the opening minutes of the game to set up Laolu Oke for an easy lay-in that gave Montana the lead back. The Grizzlies were shooting 11-for-20 from the field to start the game.

Te'Jon Sawyer had a big impact off the bench, going 4-for-4 in the game and making three shots in the first half. He had a season-high 17 points in the first meeting between the two teams.

"Te'Jon Sawyer was able to carry us a little bit offensively," DeCuire said. "He went 4-for-4 from the floor and got big back-to-back possessions for us where we got the ball in the paint and loosened them up a little bit."

They would make just 4-of-14 to close the half. San Jose State caught fire from deep to take the lead. They made three straight from the arc at one point and closed the half making five of their final 10 shots for a 40-37 half time advantage.

The Grizzlies came out of the half hot. Dischon Thomas made a three, Moody converted an and-one finish and Oke threw down a slam for an 8-0 run out of the break on perfect shooting. It gave them a 45-40 lead. It was the first second-half lead change in a Griz game all season.

Foul trouble threatened Montana in the second half with both Money and Moody picking up their third fouls with more than 14 minutes to play. Money would only play 10 second-half minutes and 21 total minutes as a result, but still went off for 10 points, two assists, and two rebounds in the second period.

The Spartans used another hot streak shooting to retake the lead at 59-58. They connected on three straight from the arc, but Montana answered with twos on the other end to keep the hosts from building up a lead.

The offense started to click for Montana following that point, but more important was a great defensive stretch. They forced San Jose State into 10 misses on the next 11 shots to go on a big run to take the lead late.

"It was just a couple of defensive breakdowns on us more so than what they were doing to create those shots," DeCuire said. "We came out of the timeout a lot more focused and that's when the run started."

San Jose State went ahead 63-60, but Money answered with an aggressive stretch to give Montana the lead for good. He made four straight free throws and then had a lay-up to make it 66-65. The layup started a 12-1 run for Montana.

The run included eight straight points as Giordan Williams caught fire. He hit two threes in quick succession to extend the lead to double-figures at 76-66. Montana made five of its final eight shots from the field and went 20-for-21 from the free throw line in the second half for the double-digit win.

"I thought our depth got them," DeCuire said. "They were very fatigued at about the eight minute mark and I don't think they ever recovered. Our ability to go five deep in the first half and get guys rest I think caught up with them."

Montana gave up a season-high 11 threes to San Jose State, but outside of a couple of short bursts of offense did well to hold San Jose State in check.

"Our defense won the game down the stretch," DeCuire said. "We finally found a defensive coverage. I had noticed some things in film that switching the five man wasn't something they would execute and post up. We went to it late game and minimized their attempts."

The Grizzlies will now try to extend the winning streak to five games and complete another season sweep against UC Davis on Tuesday. They will have short rest in between, but enter red-hot and ready to win again on the road.

They won 78-65 against the Aggies in the first meeting between the two teams back in early November. Dischon Thomas had 23 points and four other Grizzlies reached double figures in the win.

"Tough matchup," DeCuire said of UC Davis. "There are some similarities with the three point shooting and the guards attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line. The size isn't the same, but two prolific scorers that are both averaging over 20. They're coming in hot, so our defense is going to be challenged and our patience offensively against the zone and changing defenses and things that they do to try to slow us down."

It's been an important week for Montana, who will begin Big Sky play next week. The Grizzlies traveled to San Jose early, and have been together as a team for Money Williams during a tough stretch. The team is not only enjoying a four-game winning streak, but also enjoying the time together, which could prove to be very important in March.

"This group right now is about as tight as any group that we've had in December," DeCuire said. "I think they want it so badly that they want it for one another more so than themselves. They are a very selfless group that has given up a lot. The time spent together is huge."