Griz fall on last second free throws

Saturday, January 10

Cheney, Wash.

3:00 PM (MT)

Montana

9-8,3-1Big Sky

Eastern Washington

3-13,1-2Big Sky

Montana

Eastern Wash.

Photo by: Jackson Wagner

1/10/2026 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana dropped its first game in Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, falling 66-65 to Eastern Washington in Cheney on a pair of last second free throws from the Eagles. The Eagles closed the game on a 9-0 run to come from behind for the victory.

It was a defensive battle between the two old rivals and it was the late game defense from Eastern that allowed the hosts to pull off the comeback. Montana (9-8, 3-1 Big Sky) went scoreless over the last 3:56.

The Grizzly defense thought that it did just enough for the victory, forcing a missed jumper with four seconds left while holding a one-point lead. But on the rebound Montana was whistled for a foul, sending Eastern Washington to the line for a one-and-one situation.

Alton Hamilton IV knocked them both down to take the 66-65. Montana inbounded the ball and took a timeout in the frontcourt. After a lengthy review, the clock was changed to just 0.5 seconds. The inbounds pass was deflected, ending the game at 66-65.

"You can't go four minutes without scoring. We got great shots, we got the ball in the paint, we got to the free throw line, and we had opportunities in the game that we just didn't take advantage of," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "The biggest thing for us is that I challenged our maturity this morning and we have a moment where we get up and we have the game in control, and then we turn it over and don't even get shots. We never snapped out of it."

Money Williams led Montana with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss. Brooklyn Hicks had 15 points off the bench and Kenyon Aguino joined them in double figures with 11 points to go with 7 rebounds.

The Grizzlies led for nearly 30 minutes overall on the night but couldn't overcome a cold night from three-point range. Montana went just 2-of-14 from the arc while Eastern Washington shot 9-of-21 (.429) from deep.

The Grizzlies won the rebounding battle and dominated in the paint, outscoring the Eagles 40-28 in that category. Montana even kept their turnovers in check, committing just 12 and only allowing four Eagles points off of them.

But the hosts were able to knock down the timely shots late to get the win.

Williams scored the first four points of the game with back-to-back baskets, but Eastern Washington quickly responded with a 6-0 run. It set up a tight first half with neither team leading by more than three points until the final two minutes.

They traded blows back and forth until Montana finally started to gain some control over the game with a 7-0 run. Tyler Thompson had a pair of free throws and a three during the stretch while Aguino added a layup. It gave Montana a 30-22 advantage with just under two minutes to play.

They would take a five-point lead into the locker rooms despite a couple of late three pointers from the Eagles.

Eastern Washington came out of the halftime break with a 7-2 run to tie the game up at 35-all. They took their first lead of the second half on a three pointer from Emmett Marquardt. He hit another triple on the next possession but was called for a technical foul for taunting.

Thompson made two free throws and the Grizzlies scored on the ensuing possession to tie the game back up at 43-all. The Eagles jumped in front 48-45 before Montana went on a game-changing run.

Williams scored 6 straight to give Montana the lead back at 51-48. The Grizzlies then took over with another 8-0 run behind a strong run from Hicks. He pushed the pace to set up an easy lay-in for Tyler Isaak and followed it up with six straight points of his own to give the Grizzlies a 59-50 lead in the final eight minutes.

"We attacked the paint and we were getting what we wanted," DeCuire said of the 14-2 run. "We just didn't finish the job. We've talked about this, it's an area of discipline for us to grow up a little bit in terms of when you get to three minutes and have the ball in transition, you don't have to shoot. We ended up with turnovers and it gave them too many possessions down the stretch."

It was an impressive night for Hicks off the bench. Montana scored just five bench points in Thursday's win at Idaho. Hicks went well past that on his own, but it was his effort and intensity on the other end of the floor that was his biggest contribution.

"He was explosive for a long stretch and his activity on the defensive end was probably even more meaningful. That's what we need, we need guys to give us a punch off the bench."

But following the stretch, the Grizzlies would make just two field goals over the final eight minutes. They only attempted three free throws during the stretch, going 2-of-3.

It allowed Eastern Washington to climb back into the game and eventually win it.

The final seconds were chaotic. Montana had a one-point lead inside of a minute to play. They drained the entire shot clock, setting up a play for Williams to drive the lane. His shot was missed, but a foul was called on the rebound to send Aguino to the free throw line with 23 seconds remaining.

He missed the front end and Eastern Washington called a timeout to draw up a final play. They put the ball in the hands of Isaiah Moses, who ended the night with a game-high 20 points. Moses drove left and pulled up from three-point range, but the ball clanged off the rim and out.

For the second straight possession, a foul was called on the offensive glass. Eastern Washington converted both free throws to take the lead with four seconds remaining.

Montana inbounded the ball and quickly called a timeout, setting up a front court inbounds pass with what appeared to be, at worst, a full second remaining. They initially called it with nearly two seconds on the clock, but a review showed a tip on the inbounds pass that wasn't accounted for and the referees changed the clock to 0.5 seconds.

"I didn't have another timeout and you're thinking that they are adding time. We're saying worst case scenario we have one second, so we drew up a play for that," DeCuire said. "You then get it with 0.5 on the sideline and we had to try to ad-lib with no timeout."

Montana couldn't get a shot off.

The Grizzlies held Eastern Washington to just 45 percent shooting on the night at 25-of-56 overall. The Eagles were just 16-of-35 from two-point range as Te'Jon Sawyer limited Kiree Huie to just 10 points on 40 percent shooting.

The defense was good for long stretches, but Eastern Washington closed the game making five out of six shots over a five minute stretch to take the lead.

"We did a good job in stretches. We were holding them under 40 percent for a while and we got the stops that we needed, we just didn't take advantage in transition," DeCuire said. "They did a good job preparing their guys for this game and their guys did a good job of competing."

Montana will now get a full week off before the next game. They remain on the road, heading to Bozeman to face off with a 3-1 Montana State team. The Grizzlies will then hit the road to Flagstaff for a rematch with Northern Arizona.