Saturday, February 22
Bozeman, Mont.
7:00 PM
Montana
20-8,13-2Big Sky
89
at
85
Montana State
12-16,7-8Big Sky
1
2
F
Montana
49
40
89
Montana St.
40
45
85
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
DeCuire matches Dahlberg as Griz sweep Cats
2/22/2025 11:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Travis DeCuire's 221st career win, which brings him into a tie with George "Jiggs" Dahlberg for the most in program history, is one that he won't soon forget. His Montana Grizzlies defeated Montana State 89-85 on Saturday night to sweep the season series against the rivals and extend the winning streak to nine games.
DeCuire is in his 11th season with Montana, and credited his staff for the milestone. Associate head coach Chris Cobb has been there for every win. Assistant Jay Flores has been at Montana for nine years. Anderson Clarke, DJ Broome, and Reuben Williams have all played roles over the last half-decade.
"The timing is huge," DeCuire said of matching the record in Bozeman. "You're going to enjoy that a little more, it's going to be a memory. I'm going to shout out my staff. The guys I've worked with for 11 years have been huge. Jono Metzger-Jones, Ken Bone, Zach Payne, Rachi Wortham. Everyone that has worked for us or with us for these 11 years have played a role."
The Grizzlies led wire-to-wire, but Montana State made things interesting down the stretch. It was the closing ability of senior guards Brandon Whitney and Kai Johnson that proved to be the difference in the Montana victory.
The duo combined for 41 points on 68.2 percent shooting and had seven of the final eight made field goals in the game for Montana to close things out down the stretch. Johnson led with 23 points, following up a 25-point performance in his first-ever Brawl back in Missoula.
In Whitney's final game in Bozeman, he scored 18 points on 70 percent shooting to go along with five rebounds.
"His aggression in the second half was huge," DeCuire said of Whitney. "Some of the iso stuff we went to, I usually like to wait a bit longer to get to it, but I felt we were struggling to get good shots and he was ultra aggressive, so we used it as an advantage.
"Kai as a secondary penetrator from the top was huge because everybody was loaded up on (Whitney). On an island, Kai is hard to stay in front of," DeCuire said.
Montana (20-8, 13-2) remains in sole possession of first place in the league standings with three games to go following the win. They have reached the 20-win mark for the second straight season and sixth time overall under DeCuire.
It hasn't been an easy road for Montana, a team that played the 8th hardest non-conference schedule in the country according to the NCAA Net Rankings. It's the tough road trips in the non-conference that have put this team in position to go on a nine-game winning streak and withstand a rowdy crowd in Bozeman.
"We draw a tougher schedule than anybody in this conference. To get 20 wins when you're playing top 50 teams, top 20 teams, over and over on the road, it's hard to do," DeCuire said. "We're not playing four non-division-1s or sub 300 teams, we're playing teams that are competing to win their conferences. I think that challenge carries over into conference, so for this team to go out and win 20 games with the schedule that they've had is huge."
Five different Grizzlies reached double figures in a yet another balanced offensive night for a team that has been among the nation's best on that end of the floor in February. The Grizzlies shot 54.5 percent as a team, the eighth straight game over 50 percent from the floor.
The Grizzly offense remained hot, just as it has been all month, in a scorching first half. Montana faced down the crowd early and took some of the energy out of the gym by scoring the first seven points of the game and jumping out to a 10-2 lead.
Brandon Whitney got the Grizzly lead into double figures at the 12-minute mark with a three-point play, giving an early preview of what the veteran would do for much of the night.
The game saw plenty of momentum swings, and the Cats were able to claw back within two points at 26-24, but the Grizzlies regained the momentum down the stretch. Money Williams had a pair of three pointers during the stretch, and helped create a steal that led to a Joe Pridgen layup with two minutes left that gave Montana a 45-34 lead.
The Grizzlies would enter halftime with a 49-40 advantage. The 49 points were the most in a first half for Montana this season. They did it by shooting 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range and 53.1 percent from the floor.
Johnson and Sawyer each had 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play, and the Grizzlies had six different players record at least one assist in a free flowing first half of play.
Montana State got hot early in the second half, making five straight shots to cut the Grizzly lead down to just a single point at 53-52.
Montana went to the veteran Whitney to help them weather the storm. Whitney had 11 out of 16 Montana points over a four minute stretch, which included three separate and-one finishes as he got to the rim effectively all night.
The Grizzlies scored nine straight to build the lead back into double figures at 72-59 during a streak of six straight made field goals.
The Bobcats still wouldn't go away, going on an 11-2 run to answer back and cut the lead down to four. The see-saw battle continued to tilt back and forth as Johnson and Whitney combined for a 6-0 Grizzly run with three straight made baskets that pushed the lead to 86-77.
Montana State pulled within a possession in the final minute, but two clutch free throws by Te'Jon Sawyer put the game away at 89-85.
"We keep putting the same thing on the board. Play physical. Play tough. Play like a winner," DeCuire said. "I thought we did that tonight. We were definitely tough, they made runs, they played good ball. They were executing on offense and found some things that we struggled with, but Brandon Whitney and Kai Johnson just kept answering."
The game slowed significantly in the second half as the teams combined for 39 free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes. The Bobcats attempted 24 of them, but it was Montana's efficiency at the line that helped the guests pull out the win as Montana shot 12-of-15 (.800) from the line in the second half.
Montana controlled the ball all night, committing just seven turnovers compared to 11 assists. They have been under 10 turnovers in six of the last eight games.
Malik Moore had 14 points on 50 percent shooting, and Joe Pridgen added 13 points and four rebounds. Sawyer also reached double figures with a dozen points, including the clutch free throws down the stretch. It's not the first time he has been in that position during the winning streak, and he's delivered every time.
The Grizzlies sweep the regular season series against Montana State for the second straight season and seventh time in 10 years of games under DeCuire, who improves to 16-5 against the rivals.
The milestones, the records, the rivalry dominance are all well and good, but the most important thing on Saturday was that the win keeps Montana in first place all alone entering the final week of the season. They will hit the road next week to play at Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday.
The Grizzlies will then return home on Monday, March 3 for the regular season finale on ESPN2 against Eastern Washington.
DeCuire is in his 11th season with Montana, and credited his staff for the milestone. Associate head coach Chris Cobb has been there for every win. Assistant Jay Flores has been at Montana for nine years. Anderson Clarke, DJ Broome, and Reuben Williams have all played roles over the last half-decade.
"The timing is huge," DeCuire said of matching the record in Bozeman. "You're going to enjoy that a little more, it's going to be a memory. I'm going to shout out my staff. The guys I've worked with for 11 years have been huge. Jono Metzger-Jones, Ken Bone, Zach Payne, Rachi Wortham. Everyone that has worked for us or with us for these 11 years have played a role."
"Tonight's milestone is a GRIZ milestone"
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 23, 2025
Celebrating a rivalry sweep, our 9th straight win, and @CoachDeCuire's 221st career win 🎉#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/b7wd9oLJoW
The Grizzlies led wire-to-wire, but Montana State made things interesting down the stretch. It was the closing ability of senior guards Brandon Whitney and Kai Johnson that proved to be the difference in the Montana victory.
The duo combined for 41 points on 68.2 percent shooting and had seven of the final eight made field goals in the game for Montana to close things out down the stretch. Johnson led with 23 points, following up a 25-point performance in his first-ever Brawl back in Missoula.
In Whitney's final game in Bozeman, he scored 18 points on 70 percent shooting to go along with five rebounds.
"His aggression in the second half was huge," DeCuire said of Whitney. "Some of the iso stuff we went to, I usually like to wait a bit longer to get to it, but I felt we were struggling to get good shots and he was ultra aggressive, so we used it as an advantage.
"Kai as a secondary penetrator from the top was huge because everybody was loaded up on (Whitney). On an island, Kai is hard to stay in front of," DeCuire said.
Montana (20-8, 13-2) remains in sole possession of first place in the league standings with three games to go following the win. They have reached the 20-win mark for the second straight season and sixth time overall under DeCuire.
It hasn't been an easy road for Montana, a team that played the 8th hardest non-conference schedule in the country according to the NCAA Net Rankings. It's the tough road trips in the non-conference that have put this team in position to go on a nine-game winning streak and withstand a rowdy crowd in Bozeman.
"We draw a tougher schedule than anybody in this conference. To get 20 wins when you're playing top 50 teams, top 20 teams, over and over on the road, it's hard to do," DeCuire said. "We're not playing four non-division-1s or sub 300 teams, we're playing teams that are competing to win their conferences. I think that challenge carries over into conference, so for this team to go out and win 20 games with the schedule that they've had is huge."
Five different Grizzlies reached double figures in a yet another balanced offensive night for a team that has been among the nation's best on that end of the floor in February. The Grizzlies shot 54.5 percent as a team, the eighth straight game over 50 percent from the floor.
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐇𝐈𝐌 😤
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 23, 2025
15 points on 6-of-7 shooting for @bwhit_12 #GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Xz5218pjaj
The Grizzly offense remained hot, just as it has been all month, in a scorching first half. Montana faced down the crowd early and took some of the energy out of the gym by scoring the first seven points of the game and jumping out to a 10-2 lead.
Brandon Whitney got the Grizzly lead into double figures at the 12-minute mark with a three-point play, giving an early preview of what the veteran would do for much of the night.
The game saw plenty of momentum swings, and the Cats were able to claw back within two points at 26-24, but the Grizzlies regained the momentum down the stretch. Money Williams had a pair of three pointers during the stretch, and helped create a steal that led to a Joe Pridgen layup with two minutes left that gave Montana a 45-34 lead.
The Grizzlies would enter halftime with a 49-40 advantage. The 49 points were the most in a first half for Montana this season. They did it by shooting 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range and 53.1 percent from the floor.
Johnson and Sawyer each had 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play, and the Grizzlies had six different players record at least one assist in a free flowing first half of play.
Montana State got hot early in the second half, making five straight shots to cut the Grizzly lead down to just a single point at 53-52.
Montana went to the veteran Whitney to help them weather the storm. Whitney had 11 out of 16 Montana points over a four minute stretch, which included three separate and-one finishes as he got to the rim effectively all night.
The Grizzlies scored nine straight to build the lead back into double figures at 72-59 during a streak of six straight made field goals.
The Bobcats still wouldn't go away, going on an 11-2 run to answer back and cut the lead down to four. The see-saw battle continued to tilt back and forth as Johnson and Whitney combined for a 6-0 Grizzly run with three straight made baskets that pushed the lead to 86-77.
KJ1 taking over down the stretch 🤬@LetItFlyKai | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ZAe0kjBuHu
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 23, 2025
Montana State pulled within a possession in the final minute, but two clutch free throws by Te'Jon Sawyer put the game away at 89-85.
"We keep putting the same thing on the board. Play physical. Play tough. Play like a winner," DeCuire said. "I thought we did that tonight. We were definitely tough, they made runs, they played good ball. They were executing on offense and found some things that we struggled with, but Brandon Whitney and Kai Johnson just kept answering."
The game slowed significantly in the second half as the teams combined for 39 free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes. The Bobcats attempted 24 of them, but it was Montana's efficiency at the line that helped the guests pull out the win as Montana shot 12-of-15 (.800) from the line in the second half.
Montana controlled the ball all night, committing just seven turnovers compared to 11 assists. They have been under 10 turnovers in six of the last eight games.
Malik Moore had 14 points on 50 percent shooting, and Joe Pridgen added 13 points and four rebounds. Sawyer also reached double figures with a dozen points, including the clutch free throws down the stretch. It's not the first time he has been in that position during the winning streak, and he's delivered every time.
The Grizzlies sweep the regular season series against Montana State for the second straight season and seventh time in 10 years of games under DeCuire, who improves to 16-5 against the rivals.
The milestones, the records, the rivalry dominance are all well and good, but the most important thing on Saturday was that the win keeps Montana in first place all alone entering the final week of the season. They will hit the road next week to play at Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday.
The Grizzlies will then return home on Monday, March 3 for the regular season finale on ESPN2 against Eastern Washington.
Team Stats
Mont
MSU
FG%
.545
.536
3FG%
.421
.357
FT%
.808
.606
RB
29
31
TO
7
9
STL
8
1
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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