Montana ends regular season with big win at Idaho

Monday, February 27

Moscow, Idaho

7 PM (MT)

Montana

16-13,10-7Big Sky

Idaho

10-21,4-14Big Sky

Montana

Idaho

2/27/2023 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana remained hot on the road Monday night with a 68-53 win over Idaho in Moscow. The Griz started slow, but closed the first half on a 7-0 run and then dominated the second, coming to life with 42 points offensively. It is the seventh win in the last eight games for Montana.

The duo of Josh Bannan and Aanen Moody had big nights yet again, but the stellar play of Brandon Whitney was the story of the game as he led Montana with 20 points. Montana also got another big night from Josh Vazquez off the bench, scoring 14 points for his third straight game in double figures.

The Grizzlies (16-13, 10-7 Big Sky) picked up the first double-digit win since Jan. 14 against Idaho State and swept the season series against the Vandals. It secured the 15^th consecutive winning season for Montana, one of just 15 teams in the country with such a streak.

"It's a big deal. If I felt pressure when I was hired, it was that," DeCuire said of the history of success for Montana. "We all want to hang banners and you can't do that every year. You want to have a team that can compete for that, but the most important thing is you rack up winning seasons.

"You rack up success, and I've tried to define this program with some other things like graduation rates and GPA's and employment of student athletes and I think that's more important, but I am stuck with being the gatekeeper in this situation and fortunately we're able to go with it."

The win concludes the regular season for Montana. The postponed game against Portland State would not change any matchups at the conference tournament regardless of outcome, so it will be cancelled. Montana's next game will be on Monday at the Big Sky Tournament.

OFFICIAL for @BigSkyMBB

🎟️ https://t.co/X28ZHLasbW #BigSkyInBoise pic.twitter.com/SmCuAbzv8z
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) February 28, 2023

This is the eighth time in nine seasons under Travis DeCuire that the Grizzlies have won at least 10 Big Sky games.

The quartet of Bannan, Moody, Whitney and Vazquez combined for 66 of 68 Montana points. It was the defensive effort from the entire team that led to the victory as Idaho was held to just 38 percent from the floor and made only two three-pointers. The 53 points are the fewest allowed by Montana in a Big Sky game this season, and it's the second biggest win in league play.

The performance was completely dominant, as Montana outrebounded the Vandals and finished with seven more assists. They made eight more shots, including six additional threes for an 18-point advantage from deep.

It was a slow start out of the gates for Montana, however, and DeCuire went with a lineup of reserves early. The Grizzlies trailed 11-3 early, and within three minutes Montana had four players off the bench and into the game. Vazquez hit a three that cut into the Vandal lead, but it was the defensive play of Laolu Oke that may have sparked the Grizzly run.

A 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 rejection from @LaoluOke leads to an Aanen Moody three on the other end.#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/n2VNC7dmeJ
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 28, 2023

Oke cut across the paint for a huge rejection. The Grizzlies came up with the rebound and Moody knocked down a transition three that cut the lead to 15-14. It intensified the game, and increased the energy for Montana as the starters re-entered.

"We just weren't ready to play. Clear the bench and play some other guys. Break a sweat and catch your breath. Our guys knew, I didn't really have to say anything. I subbed them and then they were ready to go. The reality is we didn't have very much intensity to start the game and that was the biggest issue. Once we became the aggressor it turned around."

The game stayed close, and Isaac Jones gave the Vandals a 23-19 lead with just under three minutes to play. Then the Montana takeover began. Vazquez hit a triple after an offensive rebound by Bannan to cut the lead to one. Whitney then drove and scored to give Montana its first lead since 3-2. Bannan scored in the final seconds of the half, capping a 7-0 run that gave UM the 26-23 halftime lead.

Bannan continued the run on the first possession of the second, finishing through contact to extend the Grizzly lead to 10 points. He had a stellar run to start the second half, making five out of six shots. Montana had a 19-4 extended run going back to the first half to take a 38-27 lead.

Bannan starts the half with an and-one finish to make it a 10-0 Griz run going back to the end of the first!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/qlMMhEKHbx
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 28, 2023

The Vandals fought back, scoring seven straight to cut the lead down to four points. Moody got into the lane multiple times and Vazquez hit another triple to extend it back out to nine points. Vazquez finished 4-of-5 from three. It was the third straight game with at least three makes from the arc.

Whitney then extended it back into double-figures. It would remain there for most of the home stretch, and it was the offensive play of Whitney that helped seal it. He went 5-of-6 in the second half with 11 points to close it out.

"Whitney closing the game the way that he did. They were going under the ball screen and when teams have done that, they actually haven't been successful because he's too quick to keep him from getting where he wants to get," DeCuire said.

The Grizzlies ended the game on a 6-0 run to produce the 68-53 final score.

DeCuire has a different player take a pen following every win to write down the win total of Montana for the season. It went to three different players tonight, including Dischon Thomas. Thomas was held scoreless, but played a crucial role on the defensive end in limiting Isaac Jones to just 4-of-13 shooting.

"The thing I told the guys at the end tonight that the sign of having a good team is when you win, the pen goes to multiple different people," DeCuire said. "It's not the same guys over and over."

Bannan had his seventh double-double of the season in the win, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. But he made perhaps his biggest impact with his four assists.

"The biggest thing was he handled the ball and did some things away from the basket which spread the floor for us and he was able to drive," DeCuire said.

It opened up the entire floor. The Grizzlies score 42 points in the second, shooting 54.8 percent from the floor. Moody had 15 points and also pulled down five rebounds.

"Our ball movement got better in the second half which is something we've been working on," DeCuire said. "The new offense we're putting in is difficult for guys to read because everything happens so quickly. I thought we caught rhythm in the second half of hitting the second or third side and ended up with a lot of lay-ups."

Montana have had a significant turnaround in the second half of the Big Sky season. At the midway point, Montana were 3-6 with some tough losses in excruciatingly close games. In the second half of the season, the Griz are now 7-1.

The win on Monday night also bucked a trend of close games. They had played in seven straight games decided by fewer than 10 points. It was important for the Grizzlies to get that experience winning in tight situations, but the big win against Idaho was a welcomed experience. Particularly in a potential let-down game with Montana already knowing where it stood in the conference.

The Grizzlies didn't let up, pursuing every loose ball to the final whistle as they grew the lead. It led to DeCuire being able to clear his bench, giving John Solomon his fifth appearance and Trey Lawrence his season debut.

"It was huge, and that was our challenge. We're not moving anywhere in the standings so what can we improve upon to put us in position to be able to win three in a row," DeCuire said. "To me, it's the 50-50 balls. We didn't get them in the first half. When we started to win that battle, that's when we took the lead. In the second half I felt like we got all of them."

Montana concludes the regular season at 16-13. It is the most games above .500 that he Grizzlies have been all season as they head to Boise as one of the hottest teams in the league. Idaho State awaits in the 4/5 matchup at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.