Saturday, February 17
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
17-9,8-5Big Sky
88
vs
69
Montana State
11-15,6-7Big Sky
1
2
F
Montana St.
30
39
69
Montana
40
48
88
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke
Seniors shine as Griz sweep Cats
2/17/2024 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
For the sixth time in the last 10 seasons, the Montana Grizzlies have swept the season series over the rival Montana State Bobcats. The Griz dominated the Cats for the second time this year and won 88-69 in Missoula on Saturday night.
Montana (17-9, 8-5 Big Sky) won the hustle chart, outrebounding MSU by 13 and winning 15-6 in the second chance points category behind a season-high 15 offensive rebounds. The all-senior starting lineup delivered for Montana with four players in double figures combining for 83 of Montana's 88 points.
Aanen Moody led the way with 29 points, his second highest scoring output of his career, on a night that the senior surpassed the 1,500-point mark in his career. Josh Vazquez had 15 points with four made three, and Brandon Whitney had nine points and seven assists in leading the offense.
The front line of Dischon Thomas (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Laolu Oke (10 points, 12 rebounds) brought the energy early and it propelled Montana to the big win. Oke had eight offensive rebounds and Thomas contributed three on the offensive end.
"I spent an hour with the upperclassmen on Monday before practice and the energy has been high all week," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Those guys really set the tone tonight. Loose balls, contested shots, crashing the glass. I said to the guys if we win the hustle chart tonight we win the game, and I think we did that."
It's the 14th win for DeCuire over the Bobcats. He passes Wayne Tinkle and is now tied with his own head coach from his playing days for the best winning percentage in the rivalry. He and Blaine Taylor share identical 14-4 records.
It's the sixth time that DeCuire has swept the season series against MSU, and he improves to 8-1 at home against the Bobcats. The Grizzlies have now won 12 of the last 13 games inside Dahlberg Arena in the rivalry.
"To be spoken of in the same sentence as guys like Blaine Tyalor means a lot," DeCuire said. "He's the best coach I've ever been around, best basketball mind I've been around, so to have my name mentioned next to his is a big deal and a dream. No matter what, I'll never really surpass him. I think he's the golden child here in Montana and deserves to be, but without him I wouldn't be standing here."
The Grizzlies set the tone early, and Oke played a massive role in the start. He had six offensive rebounds in the opening minutes of the game, and had as many on that side as the Bobcats did total 13 minutes into the game.
It helped the Grizzlies overcome a slow start offensively. Montana opened the game just 5-of-19 from the floor and missed their first five three-point attempts. But they were winning the hustle categories, and it kept them in it.
The Bobcats were ahead 23-22, but a 5-0 run from Moody gave the lead back to Montana for the rest of the night. The shots began to fall in bunches, as Vazquez hit a couple of threes in the final minutes of the first half to go along with a nice run from Thomas to extend the lead out to seven points.
The final play of the opening half led to a wide open corner three from Jaxon Nap, and the sophomore knocked it down to give Montana a 40-30 lead at the break. The Griz had a 23-13 advantage in rebounding and an 8-2 lead in second chance points in the opening 20 minutes.
Montana State had a 7-0 run early to take the lead and found some offensive rhythm early, but the Griz allowed just two made field goals over the final eight minutes of the half.
"I thought it could have been a double figure lead earlier in the first half," DeCuire said. "They put a new offense in and we had to use a timeout to adjust our defense, and fortunately I know coach pretty well over there and was able to make some adjustments to save us in the first half and then we did a good job executing in the second half against it."
The Bobcats were able to knock it into single digits early in the second half, but Montana caught fire from deep to put the game well out of reach. Moody hit a three pointer with 10 minutes left that made it 65-47 Montana. It was the seventh three of the opening 10 minutes for Montana, who scored all of their points in that stretch at the free throw line or beyond the arc.
Moody hit four threes in the second half alone and scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes. He did it in nearly every way, and was a missed free throw away from his second career 30-point game.
"He's one of those guys that if the ball goes through one time he's on fire, and we know that," DeCuire said. "The guys do a phenomenal job of finding him. When it was time to set screens they set good ones for him, and then there were some times that, when he gets going we let him chase a little bit, and he did a good job of that and finding himself some open spots."
"He got banged up a little bit a while back and just wasn't himself for a few weeks," DeCuire said. "I think now he's got his mojo back, and when he plays the way he did tonight we are going to be the most aggressive team often."
The hustle plays were the difference makers in the game. Montana had a 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, a 15-6 advantage in second chance points, and a 28-24 lead in points in the paint. The Grizzlies also forced more steals and blocked more shots while taking care of the ball very well against a team that likes to cause havoc. They had just eight turnovers in the game, which led to just four MSU points.
The crowd of nearly 6,000 fans had plenty of reason to celebrate down the stretch as the Grizzlies put the game away in fashion. Oke had his second two-handed slam of the game at the five-minute mark to make it a 17-point Griz lead, and they would go on another late 9-0 run to extend the lead to as many as 23 points.
The three-point barrage, mixed with some outstanding defensive possessions and highlight reel slams, provided energy for the crowd all night long.
"It's not even really about how many come, it's about the energy," DeCuire said. "I mentioned it at the pep rally last night, when their energy is high, we play well. I said that to the students' section after the game. When you show up and play a role, we win. This is why the guys came to Montana. They knew there would be moments like this, and they want to perform."
The Grizzlies were swept in the season series against the Cats last year for the first time in nearly two decades. They have re-established control in the series with the 10th season sweep in the series since 2010.
"It's fun. I think sometimes what we forget is that athletics is a roller coaster. There is no one that is on top of the mountain all of the time. When you're the program with the bullseye on your back, you're going to get everyone's best punch every night. It's hard to sustain that for 10 consecutive years, and COVID didn't help," DeCuire said.
"Sometimes you just have to hang in there, plug away, and stick to your guns on the things you believe in," he continued. "When you do things the right way, it typically works out more often than not and that's why we've won as many as we have."
The Grizzlies are now 10-3 at home on the year and will be back again next weekend for games against Sacramento State and Portland State.
Montana (17-9, 8-5 Big Sky) won the hustle chart, outrebounding MSU by 13 and winning 15-6 in the second chance points category behind a season-high 15 offensive rebounds. The all-senior starting lineup delivered for Montana with four players in double figures combining for 83 of Montana's 88 points.
Aanen Moody led the way with 29 points, his second highest scoring output of his career, on a night that the senior surpassed the 1,500-point mark in his career. Josh Vazquez had 15 points with four made three, and Brandon Whitney had nine points and seven assists in leading the offense.
𝐴𝑅𝐸 𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝐾𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐼𝑁𝐺!? @AJMoody9 somehow gets this to fall and has now scored 1,500 points in his decorated career! pic.twitter.com/dxK7oijenX
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 18, 2024
The front line of Dischon Thomas (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Laolu Oke (10 points, 12 rebounds) brought the energy early and it propelled Montana to the big win. Oke had eight offensive rebounds and Thomas contributed three on the offensive end.
"I spent an hour with the upperclassmen on Monday before practice and the energy has been high all week," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Those guys really set the tone tonight. Loose balls, contested shots, crashing the glass. I said to the guys if we win the hustle chart tonight we win the game, and I think we did that."
It's the 14th win for DeCuire over the Bobcats. He passes Wayne Tinkle and is now tied with his own head coach from his playing days for the best winning percentage in the rivalry. He and Blaine Taylor share identical 14-4 records.
It's the sixth time that DeCuire has swept the season series against MSU, and he improves to 8-1 at home against the Bobcats. The Grizzlies have now won 12 of the last 13 games inside Dahlberg Arena in the rivalry.
"To be spoken of in the same sentence as guys like Blaine Tyalor means a lot," DeCuire said. "He's the best coach I've ever been around, best basketball mind I've been around, so to have my name mentioned next to his is a big deal and a dream. No matter what, I'll never really surpass him. I think he's the golden child here in Montana and deserves to be, but without him I wouldn't be standing here."
The Grizzlies set the tone early, and Oke played a massive role in the start. He had six offensive rebounds in the opening minutes of the game, and had as many on that side as the Bobcats did total 13 minutes into the game.
It helped the Grizzlies overcome a slow start offensively. Montana opened the game just 5-of-19 from the floor and missed their first five three-point attempts. But they were winning the hustle categories, and it kept them in it.
The Bobcats were ahead 23-22, but a 5-0 run from Moody gave the lead back to Montana for the rest of the night. The shots began to fall in bunches, as Vazquez hit a couple of threes in the final minutes of the first half to go along with a nice run from Thomas to extend the lead out to seven points.
The final play of the opening half led to a wide open corner three from Jaxon Nap, and the sophomore knocked it down to give Montana a 40-30 lead at the break. The Griz had a 23-13 advantage in rebounding and an 8-2 lead in second chance points in the opening 20 minutes.
Montana State had a 7-0 run early to take the lead and found some offensive rhythm early, but the Griz allowed just two made field goals over the final eight minutes of the half.
"I thought it could have been a double figure lead earlier in the first half," DeCuire said. "They put a new offense in and we had to use a timeout to adjust our defense, and fortunately I know coach pretty well over there and was able to make some adjustments to save us in the first half and then we did a good job executing in the second half against it."
The Bobcats were able to knock it into single digits early in the second half, but Montana caught fire from deep to put the game well out of reach. Moody hit a three pointer with 10 minutes left that made it 65-47 Montana. It was the seventh three of the opening 10 minutes for Montana, who scored all of their points in that stretch at the free throw line or beyond the arc.
The 11th triple of the game for Montana comes in transition and forces an MSU timeout! pic.twitter.com/mo1u9ukA40
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 18, 2024
Moody hit four threes in the second half alone and scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes. He did it in nearly every way, and was a missed free throw away from his second career 30-point game.
"He's one of those guys that if the ball goes through one time he's on fire, and we know that," DeCuire said. "The guys do a phenomenal job of finding him. When it was time to set screens they set good ones for him, and then there were some times that, when he gets going we let him chase a little bit, and he did a good job of that and finding himself some open spots."
Montana shot 8-of-18 from the arc as a team in the second half, and pulled in offensive rebounds on several of the missed threes. Oke hadn't scored in double figures in Big Sky play and hadn't reached 10 rebounds since late January. He did both on Saturday to record his fourth double-double of the year.Make it TWENTY-NINE points for @AJMoody9 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/lQALWHFcKX
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 18, 2024
"He got banged up a little bit a while back and just wasn't himself for a few weeks," DeCuire said. "I think now he's got his mojo back, and when he plays the way he did tonight we are going to be the most aggressive team often."
The hustle plays were the difference makers in the game. Montana had a 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, a 15-6 advantage in second chance points, and a 28-24 lead in points in the paint. The Grizzlies also forced more steals and blocked more shots while taking care of the ball very well against a team that likes to cause havoc. They had just eight turnovers in the game, which led to just four MSU points.
The crowd of nearly 6,000 fans had plenty of reason to celebrate down the stretch as the Grizzlies put the game away in fashion. Oke had his second two-handed slam of the game at the five-minute mark to make it a 17-point Griz lead, and they would go on another late 9-0 run to extend the lead to as many as 23 points.
𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙬!@LaoluOke with the emphatic jam and it's a BIG Griz lead in Dahlberg pic.twitter.com/6vcVyYldYy
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 18, 2024
The three-point barrage, mixed with some outstanding defensive possessions and highlight reel slams, provided energy for the crowd all night long.
"It's not even really about how many come, it's about the energy," DeCuire said. "I mentioned it at the pep rally last night, when their energy is high, we play well. I said that to the students' section after the game. When you show up and play a role, we win. This is why the guys came to Montana. They knew there would be moments like this, and they want to perform."
The Grizzlies were swept in the season series against the Cats last year for the first time in nearly two decades. They have re-established control in the series with the 10th season sweep in the series since 2010.
"It's fun. I think sometimes what we forget is that athletics is a roller coaster. There is no one that is on top of the mountain all of the time. When you're the program with the bullseye on your back, you're going to get everyone's best punch every night. It's hard to sustain that for 10 consecutive years, and COVID didn't help," DeCuire said.
"Sometimes you just have to hang in there, plug away, and stick to your guns on the things you believe in," he continued. "When you do things the right way, it typically works out more often than not and that's why we've won as many as we have."
The Grizzlies are now 10-3 at home on the year and will be back again next weekend for games against Sacramento State and Portland State.
Team Stats
MSU
Mont
FG%
.462
.469
3FG%
.353
.433
FT%
.882
.833
RB
26
39
TO
9
8
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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