Griz beat Matadors, win Stew Morrill Classic

Wednesday, November 27

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

5-3,0-0Big Sky

CSUN

5-2,0-0Big West

CSUN

Montana

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

11/27/2024 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

For just the second time in program history, the Montana Grizzlies will have a 5 in the win column as the calendar turns to December. They picked up the fifth win on Wednesday night, defeating CSUN 83-75 in the championship game of the Stew Morrill Classic for their third win in the last four days.

Montana led for nearly 34 minutes, holding the dangerous Matadors offense in check in the first half and doing enough in the second half to keep the lead. CSUN entered the night on a five-game winning streak and had averaged over 90 points per game during the stretch.

They were held to just 27 points in the opening half, and Montana turned a six-point lead at the break into an eight-point win at the end of the night. The Grizzlies defeated Denver on Sunday and Utah Tech on Monday, completing the sweep of the event to claim the title.

"We showed growth," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I think this is about as well as we've executed a defensive game plan to hold them to 27 points in the first half really set the tone for the second. We gave up some easy buckets in the second, but our defense won this game for us."

Joe Pridgen was named the Tournament MVP after another outstanding performance. Pridgen scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds for his first double-double in a Grizzly uniform. It's the 11^th double-double of his career.

Malik Moore had a bit of a coming out party for the Grizzlies. After missing the start of the season nursing an injury, Moore returned to play all three games this week. There were signs of rust in the first two games, but he broke loose for Montana on Wednesday.

Moore scored a game-high 22 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. On top of that, he led Montana with four assists. He scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half, coming up clutch down the stretch.

"He's a good player. He's very skilled, athletic and with size at the guard spot, so he creates a lot of versatility for us because he can play the point, he can play off the ball, he can play in a three-guard lineup, and we used him in all of those rotations tonight," DeCuire said. "Obviously he made some big shots for us."

1⃣9⃣ points for Malik.@mooremalikk | #GrizHoops pic.twitter.com/FsZVAzz1Fa
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 28, 2024

CSUN shot just 38.5 percent from the field in the loss. Montana won the rebounding battle 44-41, and were effective getting to the free throw line with a 29-9 advantage in makes from the stripe.

The keys to the game for Montana were to limit CSUN in transition in the paint, and perform well on the glass. It was mission accomplished in all three facets for the Grizzlies, as they had the 12-11 advantage on the fast break. CSUN did outscore Montana in the paint, but the Griz matched their season high against D-1 opponents with seven blocks.

"Three things we talked about. One was get back because of their transition points," DeCuire said. "Two, minimize paint touches and shots in the paint. And then rebound the ball. For us, I put on the board if we outscore them in transition and the paint, we win the game. I know we minimized those areas big time."

Pridgen had the first four points of the game and Money Williams connected on an early three to give Montana an early 7-3 lead. CSUN had an 8-0 run after that to go ahead 11-7, and retook the lead at 18-15. But Pridgen threw down a massive two-handed slam that cut the lead to one, and Brandon Whitney gave Montana the lead again at 19-18.

When Pridgen scored two possessions later, it started up a 9-0 Montana run that gave them the lead for good. The Griz ended the half on a 14-7 run, taking a 33-27 advantage into halftime.

The defense was the key for the Grizzlies. CSUN outshot them 37-28 in the first half, but Montana held them to just 29.7 percent from the field and 3-of-15 (.200) from three-point range.

Montana needed to protect the rim, and they did so very impressively.

"Te'Jon Sawyer at the rim," DeCuire said of the keys to the defensive performance. "We talked about needing to contest every shot that they took. We knew we would give up some threes because we were so packed in. I thought Te'Jon, Joe, and Amari when he was in there did a good job of walling and contesting shots around the rim. I thought we did a good job of making them miss."

CSUN made a run in the second half, scoring seven straight points to cut it to 50-46 Montana. But on the next trip down the floor Kai Johnson hit a clutch triple. The Griz then had a 7-0 run in just 51 seconds starting off with another thunderous dunk from Pridgen.

They led for double figures most of the way down the stretch, and took their biggest lead at 15 points after a tip-in layup from Pridgen. The transfer battled hard all night and all week. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in the tournament.

"He's going to make the play. One thing about him, if you're going to make mistakes, err in aggression and not in passiveness," DeCuire said. "His aggression has been huge for us, it gives us confidence, and that tip-in on the miss at the end was huge. He's always in the right place, and if something doesn't go right, he gave you the effort and it's not going to be from a lack of that. He's been incredible for the culture of the locker room."

Joe Pridgen is must-see TV 📺#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/tjevPUy3qq
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 28, 2024

Pridgen was joined on the All-Touranment by Kai Johnson and Brandon Whitney.

Johnson had 15 points and five rebounds on Wednesday night. He averaged 12.3 points per game in the tournament, and had the game-winning play for Montana on Monday night against Utah Tech.

Whitney scored 10 points and had four rebounds and two assists in his 31 minutes on Wednesday. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on the week, and played a much larger role than the numbers show.

Montana showed their depth on the week as a whole. They went nine players deep on Wednesday, and all nine have been x-factors in individual games at some point this season. It makes deciding a lineup difficult for DeCuire and his staff.

"Guys stayed ready. I think the staff did a good job of picking up on the vibe of who was in rhythm and who was performing well," DeCuire said. "Most of it was defensive for us, and it's interesting that the guys that are usually your better defenders are going to be the ones that reap the rewards on the other end of the floor. I thought that happened."

Gallery: (11-27-2024) MBB: (11.27.24)

Montana is now 5-3 on the year with a small break coming up over the Thanksgiving weekend. Their three losses have come against teams that are a combined 19-0 this season. It's only the second time they have won five games in November, joining the 2007-08 Grizzly squad. They've won three straight D-1 games.

And the scary part is, Montana is still figuring itself out. This was the first action that Moore has seen all season. Jensen Bradtke and Te'Jon Sawyer have both missed time. Other players have been out of practices. The rotation is still coming together, but DeCuire likes what he sees so far.

"Successful," DeCuire said of the week at home. "And I think the biggest thing for us is to have three division one wins in November with a roster that has not been set. Malik appears for the first time this week. Te'Jon has been in-and-out. Joe and Whitney are really the only guys that have been at every practice, so for us our chemistry is coming and I think we still have a long way to go before we starting playing together completely, but I think they've come a long way."

2024 STEW MORRILL CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Joe Pridgen, Montana (MVP)
Kai Johnson, Montana
Brandon Whitney, Montana
Marcus Adams Jr., CSUN
Keonte Jones, CSUN
Beon Riley, Utah Tech
Hakim Byrd, Utah Tech
Nicholas Shogbonyo, Denver