Wednesday, December 4
Missoula, Mont.
7:00 PM
Montana
6-3,0-0Big Sky
71
vs
67
South Dakota State
7-3,0-0Summit League
1
2
F
South Dakota St.
27
40
67
Montana
38
33
71
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
Griz win fourth straight to match best start since 2018-19
12/4/2024 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
It got interesting down the stretch, but the Montana men's basketball team won for the fourth straight time on Wednesday night with a 71-67 victory over South Dakota State. The Grizzlies led for over 38 minutes and had an 11-point halftime lead, surviving a late run by SDSU to improve to 6-3 on the year.
It's the best start for Montana since going 6-3 in the 2018-19 season, and comes against very good competition. South Dakota State came into the game 7-2 on the year and in the top 100 of the NCAA NET Rankings.
They averaged over 80 points per game, but Montana held them to just 67, their lowest point total of the season. South Dakota State is a team that loves to shoot threes, but Montana gave up a season-low four makes on 17.4 percent shooting from the arc.
"It was a tough battle. Our guys grinded it out and defense won the game for us," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "To hold them to 27 points in the first half and give ourselves a little, we didn't shoot it very well in the second but we defended well enough."
Montana had four players in double figures, led by Malik Moore with 16 points. Austin Patterson played huge off the bench, scoring 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. Brandon Whitney (12) and Joe Pridgen (11) were also in double figures.
It's the second straight game that Moore has led the team in scoring. He made two threes and had a highlight-reel slam on a breakaway. After missing the first five games, he's been a very welcome addition to the starting lineup.
"The biggest thing for him is his versatility. Regardless of who is on the floor he can play, whether it's at the point, on the wing, he gives us a lot. And right now, he's probably our best defender and that's where his minutes are earned. He's locking guys up for stretches for us."
The first half set the tone for Montana, as they forced the Jackrabbits into 12 turnovers. They also limited them to just 35.5 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. They allowed just two points over a nearly seven-minute stretch through the middle of the half that allowed Montana to jump ahead 21-10.
"The help was in all the right places. We executed well in the ball screens. There are some things they do in their actions, some tendencies that we did a good job of executing defensively and slowing down," DeCuire said of the defensive success. "The second half they kind of went away from those and made adjustments, and we had to adjust to the adjustments. It took us until about the three-minute mark to figure that out."
The Grizzlies ended the night with eight steals, their second-most against a D-1 opponent this season. The defense came from all over the court with seven different players recording a steal and four different players recording a block.
Montana had the lead into double-figures for nearly half of the first period, and went ahead by 13 points on a steal-and-slam from Amari Jedkins that made it 25-12.
The hosts shot nearly 50 percent in the first half and had eight different scorers in an impressive display. They led 38-27 at the break.
South Dakota State started chipping away early in the second half, getting it back to 43-39 following an 8-0 run. They had another 6-0 run later as part of a stretch that saw the Jackrabbits make 8-of-11 field goal attempts to tie the game up at 53-all.
Kai Johnson provided the response for Montana, scoring on a driving lay-up. After a free throw from Pridgen, Patterson knocked down a clutch three to get the lead back up to six points.
The senior was huge in the second half, making a pair of timely three-pointers and giving the Grizzlies great defensive effort on top of it. Amari Jedkins also had an impactful game off the bench, scoring four points to go with four rebounds.
"I think the fact that we have depth means everyone stays ready because no one knows who is going to end the game. Whoever is playing well is going to stay on the floor," DeCuire said. "Austin Patterson was huge for us in the second half with big shots and scrapping, getting his hands on loose balls and forcing turnovers. Some other guys weren't themselves today on the defensive side, so we had other guys pick up the slack in that regard. Stay ready, that's what we say."
South Dakota State battled back and had it within one possession again with five minutes to play at 61-58. Money Williams, who finished the night with nine points and four assists, drove the lane and kicked a no-look pass to Brandon Whitney in the corner.
The 5th year guard knocked it down, giving Montana more breathing room. After entering the night 0-for-7 from three-point range on the season, Whitney hit both of his attempts from the arc. He was 5-of-7 shooting overall on the night with some big buckets.
"All of his shots were timely," DeCuire said. "Even in the first half, the two mid-range pull-ups we hadn't scored in a while and we went to something to get him some space to play and the two pull-ups go in and he starts off 2-for-2. That was huge. And then Money made the right play on the kick in front of our bench… Brandon Whitney making that three was huge."
Whitney also moved into a tie with Marc Glass for 7th place in program history with 369 career assists.
Malik Moore had a dunk a few possessions later, and then Williams hit on some free throws to make it a 5-0 Grizzly run and give them a comfortable 69-60 lead inside of two minutes. Then things got interesting.
South Dakota State made a three, and Montana turned it over to give them two more points. The teams traded misses, and then another Grizzly turnover led to a Jackrabbit basket with 33 seconds remaining that cut the lead to 69-67.
Montana gave it away again on the ensuing inbounds pass, and the Jackrabbits had a three-point attempt with 18 seconds left that would have given them the lead. It rattled in-and-out, and Pridgen was there to secure the rebound.
He made his free throws, and a miss at the other end closed out the win for Montana. It's the second time that the Grizzlies have allowed a team back in late, but also the second time they've secure the win.
"That's inexperience. We're trying to hit home runs with a nine-point lead. You're inside a minute, you don't even really need to shoot it yet or at all," DeCuire said. "The worst thing we can do is give it to them. We thought we had a lay-up, we thought we had it over the top, but all we need to do is get it in, they're going to foul us, we make our free throws and win by 11. It's an area of growth for us."
The Grizzlies finish off their non-conference homestand a perfect 4-0. They improve to 6-3 on the season. If they were to win on Saturday, it would be the best 10-game start to a season since the 2005-06 team started 9-1. If you recall, that team would go on to win an NCAA Tournament game.
It hasn't been easy, either. Montana's three losses have come against a trio of opponents that have started the season 24-0. They are all ranked inside the top 15 of the NCAA NET Rankings.
South Dakota State was playing without leading scorer Oscar Cluff, but they are ranked 99th in the NET and have started the season incredibly well. It's was the biggest test of the non-conference season at home, and Montana passed.
"I think our mental toughness has been good to play the schedule we've played and have the outcomes we had at Oregon and Tennessee. We thought we played well at Utah State and we just let go of the rope a little bit in the second half of that game," DeCuire said. "For this group to stick together and still have confidence and be able to pull off games like this less than a month later says a lot about our confidence and mental toughness."
It doesn't get any easier moving forward. Outside of a home game against Montana Tech, the Grizzlies will now finish the non-conference slate with three road games against teams ranked 130th or better in the KenPom. It starts with a road trip to St. Thomas.
The Tommies won by 12 points at Northern Colorado in their first game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, handing the Bears their first home loss of the year. The Grizzlies will need to play well to get a road win and improve to 4-0 in Challenge games.
"When we saw the schedule get set, we knew we were going to have the two best teams in the Summit League," DeCuire said. "They won a majority of the games tonight, so that tells you a lot about where we're at. We've got some work to do Saturday as a conference, and we've got some work to get ready for St. Thomas. There are some similarities to this team, they're going to spread you out and shoot it and we need to minimize the threes. If our defense travels, we're going to be fine."
It's the best start for Montana since going 6-3 in the 2018-19 season, and comes against very good competition. South Dakota State came into the game 7-2 on the year and in the top 100 of the NCAA NET Rankings.
They averaged over 80 points per game, but Montana held them to just 67, their lowest point total of the season. South Dakota State is a team that loves to shoot threes, but Montana gave up a season-low four makes on 17.4 percent shooting from the arc.
"It was a tough battle. Our guys grinded it out and defense won the game for us," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "To hold them to 27 points in the first half and give ourselves a little, we didn't shoot it very well in the second but we defended well enough."
Montana had four players in double figures, led by Malik Moore with 16 points. Austin Patterson played huge off the bench, scoring 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. Brandon Whitney (12) and Joe Pridgen (11) were also in double figures.
It's the second straight game that Moore has led the team in scoring. He made two threes and had a highlight-reel slam on a breakaway. After missing the first five games, he's been a very welcome addition to the starting lineup.
"The biggest thing for him is his versatility. Regardless of who is on the floor he can play, whether it's at the point, on the wing, he gives us a lot. And right now, he's probably our best defender and that's where his minutes are earned. He's locking guys up for stretches for us."
Breakaway slam for @mooremalikk to get him up to 1⃣6⃣ on the night 🌟#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/cHq27YPK72
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 5, 2024
The first half set the tone for Montana, as they forced the Jackrabbits into 12 turnovers. They also limited them to just 35.5 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. They allowed just two points over a nearly seven-minute stretch through the middle of the half that allowed Montana to jump ahead 21-10.
"The help was in all the right places. We executed well in the ball screens. There are some things they do in their actions, some tendencies that we did a good job of executing defensively and slowing down," DeCuire said of the defensive success. "The second half they kind of went away from those and made adjustments, and we had to adjust to the adjustments. It took us until about the three-minute mark to figure that out."
The Grizzlies ended the night with eight steals, their second-most against a D-1 opponent this season. The defense came from all over the court with seven different players recording a steal and four different players recording a block.
Montana had the lead into double-figures for nearly half of the first period, and went ahead by 13 points on a steal-and-slam from Amari Jedkins that made it 25-12.
The hosts shot nearly 50 percent in the first half and had eight different scorers in an impressive display. They led 38-27 at the break.
South Dakota State started chipping away early in the second half, getting it back to 43-39 following an 8-0 run. They had another 6-0 run later as part of a stretch that saw the Jackrabbits make 8-of-11 field goal attempts to tie the game up at 53-all.
Kai Johnson provided the response for Montana, scoring on a driving lay-up. After a free throw from Pridgen, Patterson knocked down a clutch three to get the lead back up to six points.
The senior was huge in the second half, making a pair of timely three-pointers and giving the Grizzlies great defensive effort on top of it. Amari Jedkins also had an impactful game off the bench, scoring four points to go with four rebounds.
"I think the fact that we have depth means everyone stays ready because no one knows who is going to end the game. Whoever is playing well is going to stay on the floor," DeCuire said. "Austin Patterson was huge for us in the second half with big shots and scrapping, getting his hands on loose balls and forcing turnovers. Some other guys weren't themselves today on the defensive side, so we had other guys pick up the slack in that regard. Stay ready, that's what we say."
𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐉𝐔𝐌𝐏 😱
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 5, 2024
Joe Pridgen has done it again.@ESPNAssignDesk | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/coq2C6Qm4k
South Dakota State battled back and had it within one possession again with five minutes to play at 61-58. Money Williams, who finished the night with nine points and four assists, drove the lane and kicked a no-look pass to Brandon Whitney in the corner.
The 5th year guard knocked it down, giving Montana more breathing room. After entering the night 0-for-7 from three-point range on the season, Whitney hit both of his attempts from the arc. He was 5-of-7 shooting overall on the night with some big buckets.
"All of his shots were timely," DeCuire said. "Even in the first half, the two mid-range pull-ups we hadn't scored in a while and we went to something to get him some space to play and the two pull-ups go in and he starts off 2-for-2. That was huge. And then Money made the right play on the kick in front of our bench… Brandon Whitney making that three was huge."
Corner trey for @bwhit_12 after the no-look dish from @mxney___ 👀#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/HoNOS68xeW
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 5, 2024
Whitney also moved into a tie with Marc Glass for 7th place in program history with 369 career assists.
Malik Moore had a dunk a few possessions later, and then Williams hit on some free throws to make it a 5-0 Grizzly run and give them a comfortable 69-60 lead inside of two minutes. Then things got interesting.
South Dakota State made a three, and Montana turned it over to give them two more points. The teams traded misses, and then another Grizzly turnover led to a Jackrabbit basket with 33 seconds remaining that cut the lead to 69-67.
Montana gave it away again on the ensuing inbounds pass, and the Jackrabbits had a three-point attempt with 18 seconds left that would have given them the lead. It rattled in-and-out, and Pridgen was there to secure the rebound.
He made his free throws, and a miss at the other end closed out the win for Montana. It's the second time that the Grizzlies have allowed a team back in late, but also the second time they've secure the win.
"That's inexperience. We're trying to hit home runs with a nine-point lead. You're inside a minute, you don't even really need to shoot it yet or at all," DeCuire said. "The worst thing we can do is give it to them. We thought we had a lay-up, we thought we had it over the top, but all we need to do is get it in, they're going to foul us, we make our free throws and win by 11. It's an area of growth for us."
The Grizzlies finish off their non-conference homestand a perfect 4-0. They improve to 6-3 on the season. If they were to win on Saturday, it would be the best 10-game start to a season since the 2005-06 team started 9-1. If you recall, that team would go on to win an NCAA Tournament game.
It hasn't been easy, either. Montana's three losses have come against a trio of opponents that have started the season 24-0. They are all ranked inside the top 15 of the NCAA NET Rankings.
South Dakota State was playing without leading scorer Oscar Cluff, but they are ranked 99th in the NET and have started the season incredibly well. It's was the biggest test of the non-conference season at home, and Montana passed.
"I think our mental toughness has been good to play the schedule we've played and have the outcomes we had at Oregon and Tennessee. We thought we played well at Utah State and we just let go of the rope a little bit in the second half of that game," DeCuire said. "For this group to stick together and still have confidence and be able to pull off games like this less than a month later says a lot about our confidence and mental toughness."
It doesn't get any easier moving forward. Outside of a home game against Montana Tech, the Grizzlies will now finish the non-conference slate with three road games against teams ranked 130th or better in the KenPom. It starts with a road trip to St. Thomas.
The Tommies won by 12 points at Northern Colorado in their first game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, handing the Bears their first home loss of the year. The Grizzlies will need to play well to get a road win and improve to 4-0 in Challenge games.
"When we saw the schedule get set, we knew we were going to have the two best teams in the Summit League," DeCuire said. "They won a majority of the games tonight, so that tells you a lot about where we're at. We've got some work to do Saturday as a conference, and we've got some work to get ready for St. Thomas. There are some similarities to this team, they're going to spread you out and shoot it and we need to minimize the threes. If our defense travels, we're going to be fine."
Team Stats
SDSU
Mont
FG%
.406
.448
3FG%
.174
.308
FT%
.917
.688
RB
41
33
TO
15
11
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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/ Men's BasketballG
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