Griz get revenge on Bengals, extend winning streak to seven

Thursday, February 13

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

18-8,11-2Big Sky

Idaho State

11-12,6-6Big Sky

Idaho St.

Montana

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

Griz get revenge on Bengals, extend winning streak to seven

2/13/2025 11:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana, playing against the only team in the Big Sky Conference that it hadn't defeated yet this year, took every punch that third-place Idaho State could throw at them on Thursday night. At the end of it all, the Griz walked out of Dahlberg Arena with an 81-68 victory that pushed their winning streak up to seven games.

It's the first seven-game winning streak in Big Sky play since 2018-19, and it keeps Montana (18-8, 11-2 Big Sky) in a tie with Northern Colorado atop the league standings with just five games now to play.

The Bengals had 33 points from the back-to-back Big Sky Player of the Week Dylan Darling, and made a rally in the second half to get within two points in a chippy game that turned into a marathon. Montana scored 18 of the final 25 points in the game for the double-digit victory.

In the last meeting, it was Idaho State's rebounding that proved the difference maker. The Bengals are a top five team nationally in rebounding, and had been outrebounded just three times in 22 games coming into Thursday. They were +13 on the glass in the first meeting.

But on Thursday night, it was Montana that won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Idaho State 38-35.

"Rebounding in the second half," DeCuire said of his keys to the win. "We shared the ball. But more importantly, we just had grit. There were long rebounds we kept coming up with, we fought for balls, and we made it hard for them to get extra possessions. And then we executed and shared the ball down the stretch."

Montana led by as many as 15 points on the night, going ahead early behind the hot hand of Money Williams. The sophomore star led the Grizzlies on the night with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He made three shots from the arc all in a three minute stretch to give the Griz a 19-11 lead at the 10-minute mark of a slow first half.

DeCuire went deep into his bench in the first 20 minutes, playing 10 different players in the opening half. Jalen Foy had played double-digit minutes just once this season, but got 10 minutes of action in the opening half as Montana looked for matchups that favored them.

Foy and the rest of the Grizzly reserves delivered as Montana led by 12 points before a buzzer beating three pointer ended the half for ISU. The Grizzlies still held a 37-28 advantage at the midway point.

There was still reason to feel uneasy, as Montana led by eight at halftime before falling by by in Pocatello earlier this season. Early on in the second, it was Te'Jon Sawyer who set the tone for the Grizzlies.

They have looked like a different team since that loss in Pocatello, one that believes they can and will win every game they play in.

"Same things on the board right now for three straight games. Play physical. Play tough. Play like a winner," DeCuire said. "To start the second half, Te'Jon Sawyer set the tone with the steal and the outlet. The contested pass where somebody else got the steal. His defensive effort early in the second half was huge, we got off to a good start to build on our lead."

The Griz led by 13 before a long review that resulted in a flagrant foul on Malik Moore shifted the momentum of the game completely. There were a pair of long reviews in the second half of a game that lasted well over two hours.

The flagrant foul led to a five-point Idaho State possession, and gave the visitors some momentum. Darling did everything that he could to get his team back into it, getting to the rim possession after possession and earning plenty of trips to the foul line in the process.

The Bengals cut the lead to two points with just over seven minutes to play at 63-61. Montana answered with a 6-0 run to get some separation, and they would close it out emphatically down the stretch. Brandon Whitney had back-to-back scoring drives to put it away in the final minutes.

In a matchup against the physical Idaho State team, it was Montana that won many of the toughness categories on Thursday. The Grizzlies had more rebounds than the Bengals, outscored them 12-11 in second chance points, and dominated in the paint with 44 points to just 34 for ISU.

"We've been harping on it, we have to rebound the ball. I just thought the guys were more physical," DeCuire said. "We spent a lot of time this week, there are no more soft practices the day before the game, we're going to grind it out. The guys have responded."

A trend that has been consistent for Montana throughout the winning streak has been the balanced offense, and that continued. The Grizzlies had five players in double figures with a sixth scoring eight points. Joe Pridgen had 12 points and six rebounds in another efficient night shooting the ball (5-of-7, .714).

Kai Johnson, Malik Moore, and Whitney all had exactly 10 points. There were stretches of the game where each had their turn as the go-to guy in the offense, and all of them delivered.

"I keep saying it, I don't know who is going to score, who is going to get the open shots, who is going to have the explosive game offensively," DeCuire said. "The defense is going to dictate that. They are going to have to decide what they want to take away, we will figure it out, and we'll go somewhere else. We don't have to force it to one guy to win, and I think that's what has made this team special up to this point."

Montana shot 56.1 percent from the floor. They ranked 8^th in the country in field goal percentage entering the night, and improved upon that average by shooting over 55 percent from the floor for the fifth straight game.

The 38 rebounds for Montana is the most in a Big Sky Conference game this season, and they did so against an Idaho State team that ranked 4^th nationally by allowing under 30 opponents on average to their opponents.

DeCuire won his 219^th game in the process, climbing within two of George Dalhberg for the program record. He will look to make it 220, and the Grizzlies will aim for eight straight, on Saturday night against Weber State.

The Wildcats have battled through injuries in a difficult season up to this point, and lost 74-66 in Bozeman on Thursday night.

"They are still dangerous. They are very good defensively," DeCuire said. "We struggled to score the last time we played them, and that was what kind of led to the more efficient playing together. Since that second half we've been pretty efficient. Joe Pridgen getting on the floor. The grit to finish that game off. I think that's when we figured out we could win a close game against good teams. We're going to need to bring the same grit on Saturday."