Moore scores career high 30 points in close loss

Saturday, December 7

St. Paul, Minn.

1:00 PM (MT)

Montana

6-4,0-0Big Sky

St. Thomas

7-4,0-0Summit League

Montana

St. Thomas (MN)

Photo by: Jackson Wagner

12/7/2024 3:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's basketball team fell in the final game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge on Saturday afternoon. The Griz battled against a tough St. Thomas team, but dropped a close road contest 88-81.

"They are a really good team," head coach Travis Decuire said. "We knew that this week we were going to be playing the top two teams in that conference, I don't even think it's close. This was an opportunity for another top win and a quad-2 game on the road with a like opponent. If you would have told me we shoot 52 percent from the floor, I would have told you we'd defend well enough to win, but 88 is just too much to give up."

Malik Moore scored a career-high 30 points for Montana in the effort. The Pepperdine transfer made his first three attempts from three-point range and ended the day shooting 11-of-13 from the field.

Moore is the first Grizzly to make at least six three-pointers in a game since Aanen Moody had eight against Eastern Washington on Feb. 29 last season. It's the second 30-point game by a Grizzly player this season, joining Money Williams' Tennessee effort.

"His aggression," DeCuire said on what he liked from Moore. "Obviously, he's been scoring the ball his last three games very well, but he's a willing passer, he's a playmaker, and we've put him on good players defensively. He's been consistent on both sides of the ball and he's been a big bonus for us."

1⃣8⃣ now for @mooremalikk 🔥#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/RK8jxmMz8Q
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 7, 2024

Williams also had a solid all-around day with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists. He made four three-pointers on seven attempts to match his career high for makes from the arc.

Jensen Bradtke also reached double figures off the bench, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Griz outshot St. Thomas from field 52.5-50.0, and made a season-high 12 three-pointers while shooting 50 percent from the arc. The offense was impressive for Montana as they also finished with a season-high 22 assists.

St. Thomas outscored Montana 40-34 in the paint, and also made 21 free throws to just seven for Montana.

"It set the tone. There was a point in time going into the first media of the second half where the fouls were 11-2, and the first foul call of the game on the first possession was for us. I don't know that we were aggressive enough, we settled for a lot of midrange shots, we had opportunities to get to the rim and didn't, so maybe we didn't attack enough."

Both teams started the game red-hot, making the first eight combined three-pointers of the contest. It was expected from the Tommies, who like to play fast and shoot a lot of threes. But Montana has struggled from the arc this year.

It wasn't the case on Saturday, as Malik Moore and Money Williams combined to start the game 6-for-6 from three.

The Griz took a 22-18 lead after an impressive spinning finish through the lane with 14:42 to play. Both sides were playing efficient basketball with 40 combined points before the first media timeout.

The spin cycle even had the home crowd gasping 🌀@mooremalikk | #GrizHoops pic.twitter.com/ACZC29GBn4
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 7, 2024

Moore opened the game with 11 points in the first five minutes, scoring in double figures for the third straight game.

Montana continued to lead, but the teams were trading baskets through much of the first half. Pridgen got things going, scoring six straight Grizzly points to turn a 26-25 lead into a 32-28 advantage.

6⃣ for 6⃣ from three-point range to start 😳 pic.twitter.com/mqGrBw1LAy
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 7, 2024

The Griz pushed the advantage up to 34-29, but a cold spell offensively allowed the hosts to retake the lead. St. Thomas used a 6-0 run during a nearly five-minute drought for Montana to retake the lead at 35-34.

Jensen Bradtke ended the drought with a bucket, and added a corner three down the stretch. After the 6-for-6 start, Bradtke's triple was the only make from the arc on the final 10 attempts of the half for the Griz.

They went into the break down 40-39 after leading for nearly 17 minutes of the opening period. Montana shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the opening period and outrebounded St. Thomas 19-17. They had the advantage in fastbreak points (9-0) and paint points (18-16), but committed nine fouls compared to just two for St. Thomas.

The Tommies went 9-for-10 at the charity stripe, and Montana did not have a single attempt from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.

St. Thomas started the second half well, extending the lead out to 53-46. Bradtke scored four straight to cut into it, and Moore was able to get to the rim to complete a 6-0 Griz run that made it 53-52.

Moore stayed hot, hitting back-to-back three pointers to get up to 21 points on the day and cut the Tommies lead back down to one again. Every time the Griz inched closer, St. Thomas would find an answer and push the lead back out.

The Griz got back within five several times down the stretch, but St. Thomas held on for the 88-81 win.The Grizzlies fall to 0-4 on the road this season.

It still matches the best 10-game start under DeCuire in his 11 seasons. The 6-4 Grizzlies will return home next Tuesday for the final home game of December, taking on Montana Tech at 7:00 PM. The Griz close out the month and the non-conference schedule with road games at Northern Iowa and San Francisco.