Cold streak continues with loss to NDSU

Wednesday, December 3

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

4-5,0-0Big Sky

North Dakota State

6-3,0-0Summit League

North Dakota St.

Montana

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

12/3/2025 10:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

It's been a tough recent stretch for the Montana men's basketball program and that continued on Wednesday night against North Dakota State in the first game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Bison knocked off the Griz 81-72 inside Dahlberg Arena.

Montana falls to 4-5 on the year after its fourth straight loss. Montana shot better than North Dakota State from the floor on the night, but advantages in second chance points (19-6) and fastbreak points (23-7) allowed the visitors to pull away.

"They were way more consistent than us," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I have to do a better job preparing us defensively. You look at the stats and they scored every way they could. We have to do a better job as a staff to improve on the defensive side of the ball."

Money Williams led Montana on the night with 21 points, five assists, and four rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Tyler Isaak and Brooklyn Hicks with 11 and Courtney Anderson Jr. with 10 off the bench.

Montana came out on fire, scoring on the first three possessions to go ahead 7-2 within the first two minutes. North Dakota State would respond quickly and use a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 11-9.

It was a battle for much of the first half with the lead trading hands four times over the next several minutes. Anderson Jr. knocked down a jumper with 7:18 to go in the first half that tied things up at 23-all.

North Dakota State would take the lead from there and hold it for the rest of the game to give Montana its first four-game losing streak since 2020 and the first three-game home losing streak since 2004.

After falling behind by double digits early in the second half, Montana made several runs to get back into the game. Hicks provided a huge spark off the bench, and had 7 points during an 8-0 Grizzly run that made it 51-48.

As soon as they got back within one possession, NDSU quickly extended the lead back out. Anderson Jr. connected on a jumper in the paint and followed it up with a three that brought Montana back within two points with just under 10 minutes to go.

It was one of four occasions within a five-minute span that the Grizzlies got within two points. They had chances to tie or take the lead, but the shots just didn't fall.

"It was bad timing on breakdowns," DeCuire said. "We would get three, four, five stops in a row and then we would kill our own run either with a turnover or we didn't finish a possession by getting a rebound or a loose ball."

The biggest difference in the night was the offensive rebounding from North Dakota State. The Bison grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and turned them into 19 second chance points. They attempted four more shots than Montana, a number that would have been much higher if Montana didn't attempt the final 11 field goals of the game as they started fouling the Bison.

Montana shot 48 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range in the game. They also had 34 points in the paint as they balanced where the shots were coming from on the floor.

"We got great shots and we got the ball into the areas that we wanted, we just didn't get enough shots and that's the problem," DeCuire said. "You have to find ways to get more shots, whether it's turning your opponent over or rebounding the ball."

Montana will have a chance to break the losing streak this Saturday when they travel to Grand Forks, N.D. to take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. North Dakota lost 90-58 at Idaho on Wednesday night.

"We have work to do, there is still a lot of potential for us, and that's why you play the game," DeCuire said. "Once we all go pack our bags and lay down to sleep, we need to hit a reset button and prepare for North Dakota. Nothing helps a loss better than a win."