Griz host Orediggers on Wednesday night

Wednesday, December 17

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

Montana Tech

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Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/University of Montana

12/16/2025 10:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's basketball team will wrap up the home portion of its non-conference schedule on Wednesday night when they face off against Montana Tech inside Dahlberg Arena. The game will tip at 7:00 p.m.

It marks the third straight season that the Orediggers will head west down I-90 for a game against the Grizzlies and the sixth time that Montana has hosted Tech under head coach Travis DeCuire.

The game presents Montana (6-5) with a chance to clinch a winning record in the non-conference with only a road trip to #11 Louisville remaining. It would be the sixth straight time that the Grizzlies enter Big Sky play at .500 or better.

Montana is coming off a resounding win last Wednesday against Salish Kootenai, knocking off the Bison 102-46. It was a historic day for the Grizzlies as they shot over 70 percent as a team for the first time since 1968.

It was a balanced offensive effort with 10 of the 11 players that took the court scoring and seven of them reaching double figures. Tyler Isaak and Money Williams led the way by becoming the first pair of Grizzly teammates to record a points-assists double-double in the same game.

Isaak finished with 16 points on better than 80 percent shooting and a new career high 10 assists. Williams scored 10 points and dished out a game-high 11 assists.

As a team, Montana finished with 30 assists, the second most in a single game in program history. It brought UM's season average up to 17.1 assists per game, which ranks 61^st nationally.

Montana will hope to put together another balanced effort in the final non-D-I contest of the season. They have defeated Montana Tech in back-to-back seasons and will look to make it three straight against the Orediggers on Wednesday night.

Fans are asked to wear their best holiday attire to the game in celebration of the final home game of 2025.

CLOSING OUT THE NON-CONFERENCE
Montana has just two games remaining in the non-conference portion of the season. They open Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 1 at home against Northern Arizona.

If Montana is able to win at least one game, they will clinch a .500 or better non-conference record for the sixth straight season. It would be the 8^th time in 12 years under DeCuire that Montana is .500-or-better entering Big Sky play.

DECEMBER RECORD
Montana has been very good at home in the month of December under head coach Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies are 30-5 (.857) at home in December and have won 22 of the last 24 games inside Dahlberg Arena during the month.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE (X2)
It's been a rare enough feat in Montana history to record a double-double with points and assists. From 2000-06 to the 2024-25 season, there had only been 10 instances of a player recording 10 points and 10 assists in the same game.

In Montana's win over Salish Kootenai, two players did it in the same game for the first time in program history. Money Williams had 10 points and 11 assists and Tyler Isaak had 16 points and 10 assists as they became the first pair in program to finish with 10+ assists in the same game.

SHARING THE SCORING LOAD
Montana had seven different players score in double figures in the win over Salish Kootenai on Dec. 10. It's the most double-digit scorers in the same game in program history. Tyler Isaak led with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

Connor Dick (15) and Amari Jedkins (13) set new career highs while Te'Jon Sawyer (13), Brooklyn Hicks (13), Tyler Thompson (11), and Money Williams (10) each reached double figures.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana shot 70.5 percent from the floor against Salish Kootenai. It's the first time since 1968 that Montana has shot over 70 percent in a game, and the 5^th best shooting percentage in the NCAA this year.
The Grizzlies have scored 100+ points in three games already this season. It's tied for the most 100-point games in a single season in program history. The Grizzlies also reached the century mark three times in 1965-66 and 1990-91.
10 of 11 players that took the floor last Wednesday scored for Montana.
Montana is 6-1 when going on a 10-point scoring run during the game.
The Grizzlies have more turnovers than their opponents in nine of the 11 games this season.
This is the 4^th game that Montana will play on a Wednesday this season. They are 2-1 in Wednesday games so far.
The Grizzlies ranked 2^nd through 6^th in scoring on the team are all averaging between 8.7 and 9.8 points per game.
In six wins, Montana is averaging 92.0 points per game. In the five losses, they are averaging just 74.2 points per game.
UM has scored at least 41 points in the second half of every game this season. They have reached 50 points in four second halves.
In three previous games against non-D-I opponents, Montana is averaging 93.7 points per game and holding opponents to just 42.0. They have a scoring margin of 51.7 in the three games.
Montana has shot 57.0 percent against non-D-I opposition this year while holding opponents to 26.4 percent.
Montana overcame a halftime deficit for the first time this season at North Dakota (12/6). The halftime leader had gone on to win the game in 10 of the first 11 games this season.
The game at North Dakota on Saturday featured 12 lead changes and 8 ties. Both figures are season highs for Montana.
Montana overcame a 10-point deficit at North Dakota (12/6). It's the largest come-from-behind win this season for the Griz, and the largest since coming back from 14 points down against Eastern Washington last March.
Montana has a better field goal percentage than its opponent in 9 of 11 games this season.
Montana is 4-0 when finishing with more rebounds than its opponent.
The Griz played in seven straight games decided by single digits from Nov. 11 to Dec. 6.
Montana has been .500 or better through 10 games every season since 2020-21.
The Grizzlies have allowed 80+ points in six of the 11 games this season.
Tyler Thompson is 14-of-26 (.538) from three-point range over the last four games. He's made multiple threes in all four.
Money Williams recorded his 3^rd double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 assists against Salish Kootenai (12/10).
He now has two games with 10+ assists this season. It's tied for the 6^th most in the country. Purdue's Braden Smith leads with six games. He's the first Grizzly since Cameron Parker in 2021-22 to have two 10-assist games in the same year.
Tyler Isaak recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists against Salish Kootenai (12/10). The 10 assists are a new career high for Isaak.
Connor Dick set a new career high with 15 points in the win over Salish Kootenai (12/10). He went 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Amari Jedkins set a new career high with 13 points against Salish Kootenai (12/10). He went 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Money Williams is the only player in the NCAA this season averaging at least 19.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING MONTANA TECH (10-3, 4-3 FRONTIER)

This game will count as an exhibition for Montana Tech.
Former Grizzly Rhett Reynolds has started all 13 games for the Orediggers this season. Reynolds spent two years with the Grizzlies, appearing in 11 games. This season at Tech, he is averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
There are 14 Montanans on the Oredigger roster, including four players born and raised in Missoula.
This is the third straight season that Montana and Montana Tech have faced off. The Grizzlies won the previous two meetings by an average score of 88.5 to 63.5.
Montana Tech is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation at the NAIA level. The Orediggers have gone 2-3 since the previous poll was released. The NAIA will release a new poll on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The Orediggers have won two straight games after going on a three-game losing streak through the end of November and start of December.
This will be the first road game for them in nearly a month after having played five straight games on Kelvin Sampson Court at Valley Bank Arena in Butte.
Hayden Diekhans has done a bit of everything for Tech this season. The back-to-back Frontier Conference Player of the Year is averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Brayden Koch, a junior from Helena, is averaging 16.2 points per game and has made 32 threes on 39.5 percent shooting this year.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE OREDIGGERS
Montana leads the all-time series 49-12. The Grizzlies are 17-5 in Missoula and have won the previous two games in the series. Montana Tech's only win in the last 80 years in the series came in 2019 when they won 74-72 in Missoula. The Grizzlies had won 12 straight prior to that result.

SNAPPING THE HOME LOSING STREAK
Montana snapped a three-game losing streak inside Dahlberg Arena last Wednesday against Salish Kootenai. It's the longest home losing streak for the program since 2004. The Grizzlies fell to Lamar and Oakland in the Blaine Taylor Classic and then lost to North Dakota State in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
Montana reached 100 points in a game for the third time this season in the win over Salish Kootenai. The Grizzlies have tied the program record for most 100-point games in a single season already with 20 games still to go.

They also have a 106-41 win over Northwest Indian (11/3) and a 102-93 win at UNLV (11/11).

The only other times that a Montana team has scored 100-plus points three times in a season came in 1965-66 and 1990-91.

GRIZ VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Montana will face off with Louisville on Saturday. The Cardinals are ranked #11 in the latest AP Poll released on Monday, Dec. 15. This will be the 4^th straight season that Montana has played against a Top 25 program and the 5^th game in that stretch.

The Grizzlies have lost 19 straight games against ranked opponents. The last win came on March 16, 2006 when they defeated #20 Nevada 87-79 in the NCAA Tournament. Coach DeCuire is 0-11 against ranked opponents.