Griz reach 20 wins for fith time under DeCuire

Saturday, March 2

Moscow, Idaho

3 PM (MT)

Montana

20-10,11-6Big Sky

Idaho

11-19,5-12Big Sky

Montana

Idaho

3/2/2024 8:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Aanen Moody continued a red-hot weekend on Saturday afternoon in Moscow, leading Montana to an 80-57 wire-to-wire win over Idaho in the final road game of the season. Moody caught fire again, following up a 35-point performance on Thursday with 22 on Saturday.

The Grizzlies completed the season sweep of the Vandals to improve to 20-10 overall and 11-6 in Big Sky play. Head coach Travis DeCuire has now won 20 games in five of his 10 seasons in charge of the Griz, more than any other coach in program history.

"It's been huge. It says a lot about the players that we have in our program and the staff and the work that everyone puts in. It's been unfortunate the last four years in that we haven't played a full schedule, so when you look at those 17 and 18 wins when you're only playing 29 games it's been difficult to get to that point."

DeCuire made a bit more history with the win, improving to 124-58 in Big Sky play in his career. His 124 wins are the second-most in conference history as he passes former Montana State coach Mick Durham, who went 123-117 in 17 years at MSU. He now trails only Weber State's Randy Rahe in the league's history.

The Grizzlies went ahead 5-0 early and led by double figures for much of the game, pushing the pace against the young Vandals. Freshman Chase Henderson played a big role in that off the bench, matching his career high with 10 points and setting a new career best with four assists.

Dischon Thomas scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. It's the sixth time this season that Thomas has scored 20-plus, and the fourth time that two Grizzlies have scored 20-plus in the same game this season.

Te'Jon Sawyer scored 14 points off the bench and led Montana with eight rebounds. It's Sawyer's fourth straight game in double figures and 15^th overall this season.

Moody led a three-point barrage early for Montana and ended the night making four of his five attempts from the arc. On the weekend, he scored 57 total points on 12-of-16 shooting from three-point range.

He's played over 150 games in his storied career, but has rarely had a weekend as good as this. Moody is playing his best basketball as he enters his final March.

"There is a level of desperation that he's playing with and like I say, it's better to be hot in March than it is in November," DeCuire said.

The Grizzlies outrebounded the Vandals 38-24 and had 15 assists to just nine for Idaho. The Grizzlies shot 52.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range, improving to 14-0 when shooting at least 50 percent and 18-0 when shooting better than their opponent. They held the Vandals to just 37.5 percent shooting and 26.3 percent from three-point range.

It's the 13^th time this season that Montana has scored at least 80 points in a game and the sixth time they've won by 20-plus points.

They were looking to rebound from a loss on Thursday night to regular season champion Eastern Washington, and they delivered. Montana still has not lost consecutive games in conference play. The Grizzlies came out playing hard and looking like a team that wouldn't be denied.

"Our hunger and attention to detail, but really just our willingness to commit to the defensive side of the ball," DeCuire said of the keys to the bounce back. "There was a level of physicality that we didn't play with on Thursday, and we brought it tonight. We just really executed our defensive game plan today."

Thomas came out of the gates hot, scoring five early points to help Montana take an 8-2 lead. Sawyer contributed some free throws off the bench, but it was Moody's deadeye shooting that allowed Montana to really take control. He hit threes on back-to-back possession, both assisted by Henderson, to put Montana ahead 16-5.

Henderson got involved in the scoring with a three of his own, and Vazquez knocked down some early shots as the Grizzly offense couldn't be stopped in the early-going. They made six of their first eight threes over the opening 13 minutes, building a 34-15 lead.

Henderson, who would end up playing a career-high 22 minutes, had seven points and four assists at the break.

"He's playing good ball and he's had some competitive practices all year," DeCuire said of the freshman. "I think his confidence has continued to grow, and Coach Broome has spent some quality time with him over the last three or four weeks and I think that's played a role in his confidence. He's an impact player. The thing about him is that he pushes the pace so well, and I thought that's what got Vazquez and Moody going and a got them a lot of uncontested shots."

The Grizzlies made 7-of-10 attempts from the arc in the first half and were up 41-29 at the break. It's the fourth time in the last five games that Montana has scored at least 40 points in the opening half.

Thomas opened the second half with a four-point play and the Grizzlies would lead by 15 or more for the entire second half as they rolled to win number 20. Thomas also had a block and two steals to go along with his 20 points.

"I've always said that when he's active on the defensive side of the ball, he's going to have more fortune on the offensive side because he's in a flow and doesn't have as much adversity," DeCuire said. "His energy and activity on the defensive side tonight was huge."

The Grizzlies continued to shoot the lights out at the free throw line. They went 17-of-18 on Saturday to improve to 80.2 percent on the season. They are on pace break the school record for the fourth straight season.

Montana will return home for the final game of the season against Idaho State. They remain in a tie for second place in the league standings with Weber State and Northern Colorado, if the Bears are able to win on Saturday night.

The Grizzlies don't own the tiebreaker over either school, so they will need a win on Monday and a loss by one or both teams they are tied with in order to move up in the tournament seeding.

Montana and Idaho State last met on Dec. 30 in a 76-68 Grizzly win on the opening weekend of conference play.

"I think we're both playing a lot different right now, but for them it's post play," DeCuire said of the keys to a win. "That ball is going inside a lot. We're going to have to keep it out of there and guard one-on-one on the block. And then three-point shooting for them. We can't allow Tomley to get going. Offensively, we've got to find ways to space them out and attack the rim as much as possible."