Saturday, January 25
Missoula, Mont.
7:00 PM
Montana
13-8,6-2Big Sky
77
vs
70
Montana State
8-13,3-5Big Sky
1
2
F
Montana St.
30
40
70
Montana
42
35
77
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Montana
Johnson lifts Griz to 77-70 win over Cats
1/25/2025 11:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kai Johnson, starting for the first time in over two months, stole the show on Saturday night in his first ever Brawl of the Wild to lead Montana to a 77-70 victory over the Montana State Bobcats.
Johnson scored 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting and led a fantastic team effort in the defensive end to help Montana win for the 17th time in the last 19 tries at home against the Cats.
"Just attack and be aggressive and get back to my game," Johnson said of his mentality on Saturday night. "I had a little two-game rough stretch but just stayed confident in my abilities and the work I've put in my whole life to go out there and do what I do."
The Grizzlies (13-8, 6-2 Big Sky) scored 17 points off turnovers, forcing 13 Bobcat turnovers on the night. They also limited MSU (8-13, 3-5 Big Sky) to just four made three-pointers and gave up just four second-chance points.
Paired with a hot night from Johnson and balanced scoring behind him, and it resulted in Montana leading for more than 35 of the 40 minutes.
"I feel like tonight was the best we've executed on the defensive side of the ball all year," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "And then our consideration. When we really needed a basket, whether it was the first or second half, we did a really good job of taking advantage of some things that we saw, but also getting to the second and third options."
Montana State had a quick 4-0 lead before a 7-0 Grizzly run put the hosts back in charge. The teams traded baskets in the early-going and Montana State went ahead 21-20 on a three-point play with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Then Johnson scored on a drive to the hoop to start a 22-9 Grizzly run over the final nine minutes. Johnson had 10 of the 22 points, and went into the halftime break with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Montana scored the final six points of the half, heading into the locker rooms with all of the momentum after shooting 63.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Malik Moore hit a three-pointer early in the second half and Johnson followed it up with a three-point play to put Montana ahead 48-31 in the early stages of the second half. The Grizzlies led by double figures for a large portion of the half, thanks in large part to the play of Joe Pridgen.
Pridgen had eight Montana points in a row early in the second half, and 10 out of 12 for Montana at one point. He scored 10 points on perfect shooting over the final 20 minutes, and ended the game with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds.
"Our patience side-to-side and our ball screen motion really saved us because we were able to milk the clock a little bit and then pick some things up against some switches," DeCuire said. "Joe Pridgen got going for us a little bit, but Kai Johnson was the difference."
Johnson had six straight on his own over a two-minute stretch that made it 69-57 Montana, and gave them enough of a cushion to withstand a field goal drought of nearly six minutes to end the game.
Montana State went on a 7-0 run following his last make to cut the lead to five points. They had another 6-0 run in the final two minutes to get within one possession at 73-70, but they never had the ball within a possession as Montana made its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
The Grizzlies offense may have cooled off down the stretch, but it was the ball control that was key to the win. Montana did not commit a single turnover in the second half. MSU had five. It led to 13 more shots from Montana on the night.
"You won't lose if you take care of the ball. If you get more shots than your opponent, you typically win, especially when you're getting good shots," DeCuire said. "I think for us, the ball pressure helped, they took advantage of it a little bit with space to drive, but we forced some turnovers to make up for it. The biggest thing is if you take care of the ball and get a shot every time down the floor, you give yourself a great chance and we did that tonight."
The Grizzlies did well defensively on the three-point shooting of the Bobcats. They average nearly nine makes per game, but went just 4-of-12 on Saturday. The Griz also held the Cats leading scorer, Brandon Walker, well below his season average.
"Just paying attention to the details. Some guys we covered one way, some guys we covered another, and I felt like our guys did an incredible job of maintaining the coverage," DeCuire said. "We knew who was going to shoot the threes in what situations, and they did a good job, they countered some stuff, but I just thing our guys did a great job understanding the personnel scout."
It was Johnson's best game of the season as the Western Washington transfer's 25 points were a career high against a D-1 opponent. He had the hot hand early, and the Grizzlies fed him throughout the night.
Johnson said the crowd was "everything" for his team tonight, and he fed off the energy they brought. He certainly made the most of his first rivalry game, and it all started early with some tough baskets in the lane.
"At that point, you hit a couple of shots, you're playing good defense, the team is playing good, you just kind of get in this flow state and it's just instincts at that point," Johnson said.
DeCuire has known that Johnson has performances like this in him. The blessing and the curse of this Montana team is that there are several ball-dominant players like Johnson that can take over any given game.
Johnson had just nine points over Montana's previous three games. He made 11 shots on Saturday to get his form back and then some.
"He played his game. He's good with the ball in his hands and he has been all year," DeCuire said. "We created some opportunities for him, spaced the floor and went to a shooting lineup with Joe at the five which helped spread the floor and get to some things."
Montana improved to 9-1 at home in the rivalry under Coach DeCuire, who won his 214th game to inch ever closer to the program record of 221 set by "Jiggs" Dahlberg.
There was a crowd of nearly 6,000 on hand to witness the Grizzly victory, which also improved DeCuire to 15-5 overall against the rivals. The majority of Montana's roster was playing in its first rivalry game on Saturday night.
"I didn't even really discuss it very much. I love this environment, this is what being a Griz is about, this support," DeCuire said. "We recruited them to that, so they knew that everyone would show up for this game. I remember when they would show up for all of them, but we appreciate the support. They were loud, they were energetic, and we had a sixth man tonight."
The Grizzlies won't have long to revel in the victory as they have another big game coming on Thursday night. Portland State, sitting right behind Montana in the league standings at 5-2, comes to town on Thursday night.
Montana then hosts Sacramento State in the annual N7 Game on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings have won three straight games and have separated themselves as the clear third-place team in the league, setting up a huge showdown for Thursday evening.
"I think it's healthy for us to get this one behind us so we can get back to us," DeCuire said. Not about the crowd and things like that, but just play our best basketball and this is how we're going to win. It's a big week, it's our biggest week of the year. If we take care of home, we've already won enough road games to put ourselves in a really good spot."
Johnson scored 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting and led a fantastic team effort in the defensive end to help Montana win for the 17th time in the last 19 tries at home against the Cats.
"Just attack and be aggressive and get back to my game," Johnson said of his mentality on Saturday night. "I had a little two-game rough stretch but just stayed confident in my abilities and the work I've put in my whole life to go out there and do what I do."
Finger roll to get him to 2⃣1⃣ on the night. @LetItFlyKai | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/D6goeckg65
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 26, 2025
The Grizzlies (13-8, 6-2 Big Sky) scored 17 points off turnovers, forcing 13 Bobcat turnovers on the night. They also limited MSU (8-13, 3-5 Big Sky) to just four made three-pointers and gave up just four second-chance points.
Paired with a hot night from Johnson and balanced scoring behind him, and it resulted in Montana leading for more than 35 of the 40 minutes.
"I feel like tonight was the best we've executed on the defensive side of the ball all year," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "And then our consideration. When we really needed a basket, whether it was the first or second half, we did a really good job of taking advantage of some things that we saw, but also getting to the second and third options."
Montana State had a quick 4-0 lead before a 7-0 Grizzly run put the hosts back in charge. The teams traded baskets in the early-going and Montana State went ahead 21-20 on a three-point play with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Then Johnson scored on a drive to the hoop to start a 22-9 Grizzly run over the final nine minutes. Johnson had 10 of the 22 points, and went into the halftime break with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Montana scored the final six points of the half, heading into the locker rooms with all of the momentum after shooting 63.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Malik Moore hit a three-pointer early in the second half and Johnson followed it up with a three-point play to put Montana ahead 48-31 in the early stages of the second half. The Grizzlies led by double figures for a large portion of the half, thanks in large part to the play of Joe Pridgen.
Pridgen had eight Montana points in a row early in the second half, and 10 out of 12 for Montana at one point. He scored 10 points on perfect shooting over the final 20 minutes, and ended the game with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds.
"Our patience side-to-side and our ball screen motion really saved us because we were able to milk the clock a little bit and then pick some things up against some switches," DeCuire said. "Joe Pridgen got going for us a little bit, but Kai Johnson was the difference."
Johnson had six straight on his own over a two-minute stretch that made it 69-57 Montana, and gave them enough of a cushion to withstand a field goal drought of nearly six minutes to end the game.
Montana State went on a 7-0 run following his last make to cut the lead to five points. They had another 6-0 run in the final two minutes to get within one possession at 73-70, but they never had the ball within a possession as Montana made its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
The Grizzlies offense may have cooled off down the stretch, but it was the ball control that was key to the win. Montana did not commit a single turnover in the second half. MSU had five. It led to 13 more shots from Montana on the night.
"You won't lose if you take care of the ball. If you get more shots than your opponent, you typically win, especially when you're getting good shots," DeCuire said. "I think for us, the ball pressure helped, they took advantage of it a little bit with space to drive, but we forced some turnovers to make up for it. The biggest thing is if you take care of the ball and get a shot every time down the floor, you give yourself a great chance and we did that tonight."
The Grizzlies did well defensively on the three-point shooting of the Bobcats. They average nearly nine makes per game, but went just 4-of-12 on Saturday. The Griz also held the Cats leading scorer, Brandon Walker, well below his season average.
"Just paying attention to the details. Some guys we covered one way, some guys we covered another, and I felt like our guys did an incredible job of maintaining the coverage," DeCuire said. "We knew who was going to shoot the threes in what situations, and they did a good job, they countered some stuff, but I just thing our guys did a great job understanding the personnel scout."
It was Johnson's best game of the season as the Western Washington transfer's 25 points were a career high against a D-1 opponent. He had the hot hand early, and the Grizzlies fed him throughout the night.
𝑻𝑯𝑬𝒀. 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻. 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑷. 𝑯𝑰𝑴.
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 26, 2025
14 first half points for Kai. 🔥🔥🔥@LetItFlyKai | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/lRGh4Oc93l
Johnson said the crowd was "everything" for his team tonight, and he fed off the energy they brought. He certainly made the most of his first rivalry game, and it all started early with some tough baskets in the lane.
"At that point, you hit a couple of shots, you're playing good defense, the team is playing good, you just kind of get in this flow state and it's just instincts at that point," Johnson said.
DeCuire has known that Johnson has performances like this in him. The blessing and the curse of this Montana team is that there are several ball-dominant players like Johnson that can take over any given game.
Johnson had just nine points over Montana's previous three games. He made 11 shots on Saturday to get his form back and then some.
"He played his game. He's good with the ball in his hands and he has been all year," DeCuire said. "We created some opportunities for him, spaced the floor and went to a shooting lineup with Joe at the five which helped spread the floor and get to some things."
Montana improved to 9-1 at home in the rivalry under Coach DeCuire, who won his 214th game to inch ever closer to the program record of 221 set by "Jiggs" Dahlberg.
There was a crowd of nearly 6,000 on hand to witness the Grizzly victory, which also improved DeCuire to 15-5 overall against the rivals. The majority of Montana's roster was playing in its first rivalry game on Saturday night.
"I didn't even really discuss it very much. I love this environment, this is what being a Griz is about, this support," DeCuire said. "We recruited them to that, so they knew that everyone would show up for this game. I remember when they would show up for all of them, but we appreciate the support. They were loud, they were energetic, and we had a sixth man tonight."
.@CoachDeCuire 🤝 @MontanaZooCrew pic.twitter.com/mFHcVQDpnr
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 26, 2025
The Grizzlies won't have long to revel in the victory as they have another big game coming on Thursday night. Portland State, sitting right behind Montana in the league standings at 5-2, comes to town on Thursday night.
Montana then hosts Sacramento State in the annual N7 Game on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings have won three straight games and have separated themselves as the clear third-place team in the league, setting up a huge showdown for Thursday evening.
"I think it's healthy for us to get this one behind us so we can get back to us," DeCuire said. Not about the crowd and things like that, but just play our best basketball and this is how we're going to win. It's a big week, it's our biggest week of the year. If we take care of home, we've already won enough road games to put ourselves in a really good spot."
Finger roll to get him to 2⃣1⃣ on the night. @LetItFlyKai | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/D6goeckg65
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 26, 2025
Team Stats
MSU
Mont
FG%
.533
.517
3FG%
.333
.286
FT%
.900
.867
RB
27
25
TO
13
5
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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