Saturday, February 4
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
12-12,6-6Big Sky
67
vs
66
Northern Arizona
6-18,2-9Big Sky
1
2
F
Northern Ariz.
33
33
66
Montana
35
32
67
Photo by: UM Photo/Tommy Martino
Montana win third straight in thrilling fashion
2/4/2023 11:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
A few things would have been hard to imagine following Thursday night's thrilling victory against Northern Colorado. One, that the Grizzlies would play in a game as exciting down the stretch. And two, that Aanen Moody could match his lights-out 26-point performance.
Yet Saturday night, in front of a crowd of over 4,500 Grizzly fans, Moody and Montana delivered with another heart-pounding, fist-clenching, jaw-dropping performance. And it all happened in the alternate N7 Turquoise uniforms, part of Nike's national initiative that encourages Indigenous youth to join in sports and recreational activities.
The guard matched his career-high 26 points from Thursday night. The drama continued until the final buzzer, and even a little bit beyond, as Montana defeated Northern Arizona 67-66, winning their third straight game to get back to .500 on the season (12-12) and in Big Sky play (6-6).
Brandon Whitney made the game-winner for the Grizzlies, and Josh Vazquez had a crucial steal-and-score in the final minute that put Montana into position to win the game. It was one that could have gone either way. Northern Arizona started well, Montana ran ahead during the middle stretches, but the Lumberjacks controlled the game late and had chances.Gallery: (2-4-2023) MBB: Montana vs Northern Arizona (N7)
Montana just wouldn't be denied, turning the poor luck that they had early on in the conference season around. Moody put them into a position to win the game, but it was the entire Grizzly team that pushed the win over the edge and has them back into fourth place in the conference.
"When we huddle up, we pick a guy and they get to say whatever they think the theme is for the day. Griz is the most common thing. Family is probably second-most common, if not a tie," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "And I stripped them of that a while back to say, until you start acting like one and playing like one, you can't say it anymore.
"After the Sacramento State game we had a long conversation, and I said not until you earn that. Tonight, we said family to close it," DeCuire continued. "Families can fight, but you have to find a way to come together and this team has done that this last week and a half."
The Lumberjacks threw everything they had at Montana, outrebounding the Griz 35-28, outscoring them in the paint 40-26 and leading for over 22 minutes. It's the type of game that, so far in 2022-23, had gone against the Grizzlies.
But Montana locked in as a unit defensively down the stretch, holding Northern Arizona to just a single make in their last 11 field goal attempts. It was the defensive play of Vazquez, stripping one of the league's top offensive players Jalen Cone of the ball and laying it in on the other end, that gave Montana its first lead in the final nine minutes of the second half.
"To show up every day, commit every day," DeCuire said of Vazquez. "I don't know if he's missed a practice in four years. He's about all the right things, and when you're locked in like that and you get an opportunity, and you prepare yourself for those opportunities, you're going to make the most of them. Tonight's just another example of hanging in there and having it pay off."
The star of the show, for the second straight game, was Moody. The call-and-response chant of his name with the crowd could barely be heard because the noise level was too high inside Dahlberg Arena as the guard continued to pour it in.
Moody made 7-of-11 three-point attempts in the game, and each seemed to raise the level of difficulty from the shot prior. He is the first Grizzly to make seven threes in a game since Michael Oguine did it back in 2018, also against Northern Arizona.
He scored 18 of his points in the first half, forcing Northern Arizona to completely change defensive schemes to take the ball away from him as much as they could. He still made 2-of-3 in the second half while playing all 20 minutes.
"He believes. He's got a ton of confidence, but he also has an understanding that he's not the only guy on the floor and he plays well with others," DeCuire said. "The thing about him that makes him so special is he shows up every day in a good mood, regardless of what happened yesterday he's got a smile on his face. He's the ultra-competitor, and I'd rank him up there with any of the guys we've had. Guys like him, they make one shot and the hoop gets big."
Northern Arizona defeated Montana in overtime of the first game between the two schools. They looked ready to build upon that early. The Lumberjacks made nine of their first 11 shots to race ahead of the Grizzlies 21-9.
Lonnell Martin Jr. ended Montana's cold start, knocking down a three. Moody followed that up with his second of the night for a little 6-0 Griz run that got it back within seven. Then, lighting seemed to strike Missoula.
Moody hit a step-back jumper to cut the lead to five. NAU missed on the other end, and Moody knocked down a transition three while being fouled on the other end. He converted the four-point play to cut the lead to just a single point. Another Lumberjack miss, led to another chance for Moody. He may not have even looked at the hoop, catching and hoisting on the move to score his ninth points of the 49-second span.
After the Lumberjacks took their largest lead of the night at 11 points, Moody would go on to score 12 of the next 17 for the Grizzlies as they swung the game back in their favor. An 11-0 Grizzly run was capped off by a jumper from Martin Jr. that made it 27-23.
Northern Arizona responded to the atmosphere inside the gym well, and were able to retake the lead with 12 seconds to play in the half. That's when things started to get even more video game-like for Moody. After a Grizzly timeout, he hoisted from close to the half court logo, a rainbow of a shot that slid directly through the net without touching a sliver of rim. It has his fifth three of the half, and it gave Montana the 35-33 halftime lead.
The Grizzlies expanded on the lead early in the second half. Whitney came out of the break aggressive, getting to the rim to score on Montana's opening two possessions. Dischon Thomas also improved his play in the second half, and after a layup from Thomas and a jumper from Moody the Griz had their largest lead all night at 43-37.
Carson Towt forced his team back into the game, however, and gave Northern Arizona their first lead in over 10 minutes with a layup. A jumper on their next trip down the floor made it a 6-0 scoring run for NAU and put them ahead of Montana 55-52.
Thomas answered with a three, part of an eight-point second half for him. He finished the night with 13 points, the second-most on the Grizzly team.
The Lumberjacks went back ahead though, not letting Montana take the lead. They were up four when Moody hit another three. They pushed it right back up to three points. Whitney got his sixth assist of the night finding a cutting Josh Bannan for a huge slam, but still the Griz trailed by a point.
As the clock ticked under a minute, Northern Arizona had the ball and that one-point lead. Jalen Cone, the fourth-leading scorer in the Big Sky at over 17.5 points per game, brought the ball up the court. He had been hounded by Vazquez all night. He went into the body of Vazquez, who maintained good position and backed away.
Cone went to the ground, and Vazquez was able to poke the ball away at midcourt. He scooped it up, winning the race to the other end for a lay-in that put Montana ahead 65-64.
They were the only points of the night for Vazquez, and for the entire Grizzly bench, but they were also the most important. He finished with two points, three rebounds and two steals. And while plus-minus isn't always the most telling stat, it was a good indicator of his value on Saturday. Vazquez was a game-high +14 in his 26 minutes.
He also guarded Cone for most of the night, holding him just 10 points and 0-4 shooting from three-point range. It was part of a fantastic Grizzly effort to keep the Lumberjacks, who lead the league in three-point field goal percentage, to just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
On the other end, Xavier Fuller was fouled and made both free throws, tilting the game back in favor of Northern Arizona 66-65.
The Grizzlies drew up a play, but Northern Arizona guarded well. The ball went to Bannan, then to Whitney. As the shot clock wound down, he attacked the rim and put up a shot in the lane. It hit the rim, bouncing out with 12 seconds on the clock. But there was no quit in Whitney. He bounced right back up, getting his own rebound and finishing his second chance.
"One thing about him, he does that fairly often. If he misses, he goes right back up for the rebound." DeCuire said. "Most guards don't block off, so it was a big play."
Montana went ahead 67-66. The defense on the other end did enough, forcing a tough shot from the Lumberjacks that bounced out. They survived, getting their third consecutive win.
It sets up the final stretch for Montana that sees them on the road for four of the final six and their next three. They start with Idaho State, a team they defeated 84-55 inside of Dahlberg Arena earlier this year, before facing Weber State and Montana State.
The Griz had leads in the final minute against both teams in the first game of the season, but let them slip. They will be looking to prove that they can win against the two sides above them in the conference.
"You're looking at three consecutive opponents that you can easily walk away and say we either beat them or we should have beat them. Now you have to prove it," DeCuire said. "You have to live up to it. But it's an opportunity one at a time. We can position ourselves to be back in a really good spot if we take care of business."
Yet Saturday night, in front of a crowd of over 4,500 Grizzly fans, Moody and Montana delivered with another heart-pounding, fist-clenching, jaw-dropping performance. And it all happened in the alternate N7 Turquoise uniforms, part of Nike's national initiative that encourages Indigenous youth to join in sports and recreational activities.
The guard matched his career-high 26 points from Thursday night. The drama continued until the final buzzer, and even a little bit beyond, as Montana defeated Northern Arizona 67-66, winning their third straight game to get back to .500 on the season (12-12) and in Big Sky play (6-6).
Brandon Whitney made the game-winner for the Grizzlies, and Josh Vazquez had a crucial steal-and-score in the final minute that put Montana into position to win the game. It was one that could have gone either way. Northern Arizona started well, Montana ran ahead during the middle stretches, but the Lumberjacks controlled the game late and had chances.
Montana just wouldn't be denied, turning the poor luck that they had early on in the conference season around. Moody put them into a position to win the game, but it was the entire Grizzly team that pushed the win over the edge and has them back into fourth place in the conference.
"When we huddle up, we pick a guy and they get to say whatever they think the theme is for the day. Griz is the most common thing. Family is probably second-most common, if not a tie," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "And I stripped them of that a while back to say, until you start acting like one and playing like one, you can't say it anymore.
"After the Sacramento State game we had a long conversation, and I said not until you earn that. Tonight, we said family to close it," DeCuire continued. "Families can fight, but you have to find a way to come together and this team has done that this last week and a half."
The Lumberjacks threw everything they had at Montana, outrebounding the Griz 35-28, outscoring them in the paint 40-26 and leading for over 22 minutes. It's the type of game that, so far in 2022-23, had gone against the Grizzlies.
But Montana locked in as a unit defensively down the stretch, holding Northern Arizona to just a single make in their last 11 field goal attempts. It was the defensive play of Vazquez, stripping one of the league's top offensive players Jalen Cone of the ball and laying it in on the other end, that gave Montana its first lead in the final nine minutes of the second half.
"To show up every day, commit every day," DeCuire said of Vazquez. "I don't know if he's missed a practice in four years. He's about all the right things, and when you're locked in like that and you get an opportunity, and you prepare yourself for those opportunities, you're going to make the most of them. Tonight's just another example of hanging in there and having it pay off."
The star of the show, for the second straight game, was Moody. The call-and-response chant of his name with the crowd could barely be heard because the noise level was too high inside Dahlberg Arena as the guard continued to pour it in.
Moody made 7-of-11 three-point attempts in the game, and each seemed to raise the level of difficulty from the shot prior. He is the first Grizzly to make seven threes in a game since Michael Oguine did it back in 2018, also against Northern Arizona.
He scored 18 of his points in the first half, forcing Northern Arizona to completely change defensive schemes to take the ball away from him as much as they could. He still made 2-of-3 in the second half while playing all 20 minutes.
"He believes. He's got a ton of confidence, but he also has an understanding that he's not the only guy on the floor and he plays well with others," DeCuire said. "The thing about him that makes him so special is he shows up every day in a good mood, regardless of what happened yesterday he's got a smile on his face. He's the ultra-competitor, and I'd rank him up there with any of the guys we've had. Guys like him, they make one shot and the hoop gets big."
Northern Arizona defeated Montana in overtime of the first game between the two schools. They looked ready to build upon that early. The Lumberjacks made nine of their first 11 shots to race ahead of the Grizzlies 21-9.
Lonnell Martin Jr. ended Montana's cold start, knocking down a three. Moody followed that up with his second of the night for a little 6-0 Griz run that got it back within seven. Then, lighting seemed to strike Missoula.
Bad news for our opponents if this guy gets hot...#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/JCBJFoeK8n
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2023
Moody hit a step-back jumper to cut the lead to five. NAU missed on the other end, and Moody knocked down a transition three while being fouled on the other end. He converted the four-point play to cut the lead to just a single point. Another Lumberjack miss, led to another chance for Moody. He may not have even looked at the hoop, catching and hoisting on the move to score his ninth points of the 49-second span.
After the Lumberjacks took their largest lead of the night at 11 points, Moody would go on to score 12 of the next 17 for the Grizzlies as they swung the game back in their favor. An 11-0 Grizzly run was capped off by a jumper from Martin Jr. that made it 27-23.
ASKSDFKJDSKFS!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2023
4-4 FROM THREE! 15 POINTS! 9 IN THE LAST 49 SECONDS! ALL OF THE HYPE!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/kjJ05gBwaI
Northern Arizona responded to the atmosphere inside the gym well, and were able to retake the lead with 12 seconds to play in the half. That's when things started to get even more video game-like for Moody. After a Grizzly timeout, he hoisted from close to the half court logo, a rainbow of a shot that slid directly through the net without touching a sliver of rim. It has his fifth three of the half, and it gave Montana the 35-33 halftime lead.
Why not?
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2023
18 in the first half now for Moody. Unreal.#BigSkyTopPlays #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/9miklCOovM
The Grizzlies expanded on the lead early in the second half. Whitney came out of the break aggressive, getting to the rim to score on Montana's opening two possessions. Dischon Thomas also improved his play in the second half, and after a layup from Thomas and a jumper from Moody the Griz had their largest lead all night at 43-37.
Carson Towt forced his team back into the game, however, and gave Northern Arizona their first lead in over 10 minutes with a layup. A jumper on their next trip down the floor made it a 6-0 scoring run for NAU and put them ahead of Montana 55-52.
Thomas answered with a three, part of an eight-point second half for him. He finished the night with 13 points, the second-most on the Grizzly team.
The Lumberjacks went back ahead though, not letting Montana take the lead. They were up four when Moody hit another three. They pushed it right back up to three points. Whitney got his sixth assist of the night finding a cutting Josh Bannan for a huge slam, but still the Griz trailed by a point.
As the clock ticked under a minute, Northern Arizona had the ball and that one-point lead. Jalen Cone, the fourth-leading scorer in the Big Sky at over 17.5 points per game, brought the ball up the court. He had been hounded by Vazquez all night. He went into the body of Vazquez, who maintained good position and backed away.
Cone went to the ground, and Vazquez was able to poke the ball away at midcourt. He scooped it up, winning the race to the other end for a lay-in that put Montana ahead 65-64.
STEAL AND 𝙎𝘾𝙊𝙍𝙀! Vazquez puts us ahead in the final minute!#GrizHoops #BigSkyTopPlays #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/zCHDw9wPHu
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2023
They were the only points of the night for Vazquez, and for the entire Grizzly bench, but they were also the most important. He finished with two points, three rebounds and two steals. And while plus-minus isn't always the most telling stat, it was a good indicator of his value on Saturday. Vazquez was a game-high +14 in his 26 minutes.
He also guarded Cone for most of the night, holding him just 10 points and 0-4 shooting from three-point range. It was part of a fantastic Grizzly effort to keep the Lumberjacks, who lead the league in three-point field goal percentage, to just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
On the other end, Xavier Fuller was fouled and made both free throws, tilting the game back in favor of Northern Arizona 66-65.
The Grizzlies drew up a play, but Northern Arizona guarded well. The ball went to Bannan, then to Whitney. As the shot clock wound down, he attacked the rim and put up a shot in the lane. It hit the rim, bouncing out with 12 seconds on the clock. But there was no quit in Whitney. He bounced right back up, getting his own rebound and finishing his second chance.
"One thing about him, he does that fairly often. If he misses, he goes right back up for the rebound." DeCuire said. "Most guards don't block off, so it was a big play."
𝑬𝑿𝑻𝑹𝑨. 𝑬𝑭𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑻. Whitney sticks with it, and your Griz are back up one with 11.3 to play!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/32iIwbHJdq
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2023
Montana went ahead 67-66. The defense on the other end did enough, forcing a tough shot from the Lumberjacks that bounced out. They survived, getting their third consecutive win.
It sets up the final stretch for Montana that sees them on the road for four of the final six and their next three. They start with Idaho State, a team they defeated 84-55 inside of Dahlberg Arena earlier this year, before facing Weber State and Montana State.
The Griz had leads in the final minute against both teams in the first game of the season, but let them slip. They will be looking to prove that they can win against the two sides above them in the conference.
"You're looking at three consecutive opponents that you can easily walk away and say we either beat them or we should have beat them. Now you have to prove it," DeCuire said. "You have to live up to it. But it's an opportunity one at a time. We can position ourselves to be back in a really good spot if we take care of business."
Team Stats
NAU
Mont
FG%
.484
.466
3FG%
.188
.478
FT%
1.000
.400
RB
35
28
TO
9
9
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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