Griz rout Lumberjacks for biggest league win in 27 years

Saturday, January 13

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

11-6,2-2Big Sky

Northern Arizona

7-10,0-3Big Sky

Northern Ariz.

Montana

Photo by: Tanner Ecker

Griz rout Lumberjacks for biggest league win in 27 years

1/13/2024 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana needed to rebound on Saturday against Northern Arizona and they did so in emphatic fashion, routing Northern Arizona 90-47 for the largest Big Sky Conference win since 1997. The Griz shot 52.9 percent from the floor and made a season-high 14 threes on 51.9 percent shooting.

The Grizzlies (11-6, 2-2 Big Sky) outscored Northern Arizona 47-24 in the first half and kept the pressure up in the second half. Montana had 21 assists to just five turnovers and held the Lumberjacks to just 37.0 percent shooting, the lowest by a Montana D1 opponent this year.

Gallery: (1-13-2024) MBB: Montana vs Northern Arizona

There were five different runs of eight straight points or more by Montana in the game, including a game-high 13-0 run in the second half. The game was never in doubt. Northern Arizona scored first, but Montana went ahead 6-2 and it was never within a possession after that.

This is the third straight game that Montana has made at least 10 threes. It's also the fifth time that Montana has scored 90-plus points. It's the most 90-point games in a single season since the 1994-95 team did it six times under coach Blaine Taylor.

The Grizzlies also outrebounded the Lumberjacks by 11, had more second chance and bench points, and won the paint 42-30.

Dischon Thomas scored the first 11 points of the game for Montana in a spectacular first half for the forward. He helped Montana build an 11-4 lead and went into the break with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from deep.

𝒀𝑶𝑼'𝑽𝑬 𝑮𝑶𝑻 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑲𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 🤯@dischonthomas can't be stopped right now. He's already up to 22 points and needs just 9 more for 1,000 in his career!#BANDTOGETHER x #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/kCwd2KAbTb
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 14, 2024

He nearly outscored the Lumberjacks by himself in a half that saw him match his career high for threes. He scored eight straight points for Montana later in the half, and when he hit a three with five minutes to play had 22 of the first 35 points for Montana.

"He was locked in. We talked about shot selection and that caught us Thursday night," DeCuire said of Thomas. "We were one pass away from open shots and we make one more and we win that game. I just thought the ball movement was incredible and it found DT in the corner a couple of times and once he makes a shot you kind of give it to him, get out of the way, and let him go."

The Grizzlies went ahead by 20 points on a Moody three the next trip down the floor, and would only let NAU back within that margin once the rest of the way.

Montana had a perfect first half in terms of ball control, dishing out 10 assists without a single turnover. It's been a strength of the team this year as the Griz rank inside the top 50 in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio, and it will only go up after the 21/5 performance on Saturday.

"Everyone on the floor is a shot maker, so we always talk about good to great," DeCuire said. "There is no reason to take bad or questionable low-percentage shots when the guy next to you can make shots as well. When we share, we're also more productive on the defensive side of the ball."

The offense excited the crowd of nearly 3,000 fans that braved subzero temperatures to watch the Griz play, but it's the defense that really stood out to DeCuire. Montana forced NAU into 13 turnovers and held them to just a single made three. They got better as the game went on, holding the Lumberjacks to zero made threes in the second half.

After a 98-92 overtime loss on Thursday, DeCuire enjoyed seeing his defense rebound.

"Defense is all we've talked about since Thursday night. It's just showing up defensively and don't worry about the offense," DeCuire said. "We've been putting enough points on the board to win games, we just have not defended in conference well enough to be a competitor in the standings. To hold this team under 40 percent is big for us and then we still had the same production offensively, so good balance."

The Lumberjacks had just a single player in double figures while Montana had an impressive team box score.

Thomas led the way with his 22 points, all of which came in the first half. He's now just nine points away from scoring 1,000 in his career. Aanen Moody also made five threes and scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Brandon Whitney facilitated the offense, dishing out a career high 11 assists. He came up short of the double-double with seven points, but also added two steals and three rebounds in his 27 minutes. He is now averaging 7.4 assists per game over the last five.

He set up plenty of wide-open threes for Montana. It's the most made threes in a game since the Griz also hit 14 against Weber State last February. They've made 14 or more just eight times under DeCuire.

"Our shot selection has definitely gotten better. There were some not so select threes that we were taking in November and mid-December," DeCuire said. "We cut back on those and our percentages have increased. The ability to establish the paint opens up things and our ability to attack whether it's Whitney in penetration or the posts down low, they've got to make a decision to let us play 1-on-1 or help, and if they help we make them pay."

Josh Vazquez scored nine points, all from behind the arc. Laolu Oke had a bounce back game individually with 10 rebounds and three assists. He also scored six points on perfect shooting and had the lone block on the night for the Griz.

Montana were able to get all 13 players that dressed into the game and had 11 players score. Rhett Reynolds knocked down his first career three from way downtown for the final points of the night for Montana. The bench celebrated, as did everyone inside Dahlberg Arena, as it put the perfect cap on an impressive night.

The freshman Chase Henderson getting in on the action and the bench is loving it 😄#BANDTOGETHER pic.twitter.com/5EHgo9JFDa
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 14, 2024

The Griz will look to keep the momentum from the big win rolling next week against a pair of rivals. Montana heads to Bozeman on Saturday for the Brawl of the Wild before returning home on Monday for a rematch with Weber State.

The Bobcats swept the road trip and are currently in second place in the league at 3-1.

"We've got to bring the same defensive intensity we did tonight," DeCuire said. "If we do that, we'll have some fun and it will be an entertaining basketball game for the Griz."