Griz take winning streak into N7 Game on Saturday

MONTANA (11-9, 5-2 BIG SKY) vs. IDAHO STATE (10-10 3-4 BIG SKY)
Saturday, Jan. 24 / 4:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

ANNUAL N7 GAME
Montana will debut brand new N7 uniforms this year as part of Nike's mission to inspire and enable 2 million Native America and Aboriginal youth in North America to participate in sport and physical activity.

The N7 logo this season was designed by Kendallynn Charging, an Indigenous artist and Missoula resident. For more on the logo and the N7 initiative, click HERE.

PREVIEW
Montana will look to make it three straight wins on Saturday afternoon when they host the annual N7 game inside Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies host Idaho State at 4:00 p.m.

The Griz rode a big second half on Thursday and the hot shooting of Tyler Thompson to a win over longtime rival Weber State in a battle between two teams tied for third place in the league standings.

The Wildcats led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took the lead into the break, but four 3-pointers from Thompson in the early stages of the second half swung the momentum in Montana's favor. They would go on to a dominant 81-65 win.

Money Williams scored his 1,000^th career point in the second half to become the 38^th Grizzly to reach the mark. He's the 6^th fastest to the 1,000-point milestone and the 9^th player to do it under Coach DeCuire.

Montana now prepares for an Idaho State team that has lost its last two games, including a 74-62 loss in Bozeman on Thursday night. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran on the call.

N7 HISTORY
This is the 4^th straight year that Montana has participated in the N7 game. The Grizzlies are 2-1 in the previous three versions, beating Sacramento State last year and Northern Arizona in 2023. They lost to Eastern Washington in 2024.

Montana has new turquoise uniforms this year, but dating back to 2023 they are 3-1 when donning the special alternate jerseys.

MONEY REACHES 1K
Money Williams reached 1,000 points in his 67^th career game on Jan. 22 against Weber State. He became the 38^th member of Montana's 1,000-point club and the 9^th player to reach 1,000 points while playing for Coach DeCuire.

He is the 6^th fastest player to reach 1,000 points in program history. Martin Breunig and Anthony Johnson both reached the milestone in 56 games, which is the fewest in program history to reach 1,000.

Ahmaad Rorie did it in 58 games. Aanen Moody needed 61 games. All four players started their careers elsewhere and transferred to Montana. Ken McKenzie reached 1,000 points in 64 career games.

McKenzie started his career at UM but played a froshmore season that did not count toward his career games played or points total. He scored his 1,000^th varsity point in his 64^th varsity game.

Williams is the fastest player to 1,000 points that played as a freshman, and the 2^nd fastest amongst players that began their careers at UM.

THOMPSON'S TOUCH
Tyler Thompson has had one of the better freshman seasons in program history and he delivered his signature performance on Jan. 22 in an 81-65 win over Weber State. Thompson went 7-of-9 from three-point range to lead a Grizzly comeback over the Wildcats.

Montana trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half before Thompson caught fire. The redshirt-freshman made 7 threes in 10 minutes of game time to turn a Grizzly deficit into a double digit lead.

He's averaging over 10 points per game and ranks 15^th in the NCAA in three-point percentage at 44.7. Thompson is just the fourth Grizzly in the last decade to make 7-or-more threes in a game, joining Aanen Moody, Michael Oguine, and Bobby Moorehead.

60 PERCENT SPLIT
Montana has shot over 60 percent from the floor in consecutive games. They had their best shooting performance against a D-I team this century in the win at Northern Arizona, making 67.9 percent of their field goal attempts.

They followed that up with a 62.0 percent shooting performance in a win over Weber State. Montana is the only Big Sky team to shoot 62.0 percent or better against a D-I opponent this year.

In the last two Big Sky Conference seasons, Montana has shot better than 62 percent five times. They had done so just five times total from 2003-2024.

ELITE SHOOTING
Montana has been one of the best shooting teams in the country this season, ranking 19^th in field goal percentage (.503), 13^th in free throw percentage (.778), and 55^th in three-point percentage (.364).

Over the last three seasons, Montana is shooting .494 from the floor. It's the 3^rd best mark in the NCAA and tied with Northern Colorado for the best in the Big Sky.

GRIZ NOTES

The Griz are 9-1 when going on a scoring run of at least 10 points.
The 11-point deficit that Montana overcame on Thursday night was the largest of the season for the Grizzlies. It was also just the second time that Montana won a game when trailing at the half.
When Tyler Thompson scores in double figures, Montana is now 8-2.
Montana is 2-0 with its current starting lineup of Williams, Thompson, Kepley, Aguino, and Sawyer.
The Griz have a better field goal percentage in 16 of 20 games this season and are 11-5 in those games. They are 0-4 when the opponent shoots a higher percentage.
Montana has shot over 55.0 percent five times, going 4-1 in those games.
The Grizzlies are just 2-4 in games that have tipped before 5:00 p.m. this season. They are 9-5 in games that begin after 5:00.
For the season, Montana is now shooting over 50 percent from the floor.
Brooklyn Hicks scored 13 points on Thursday, reaching double figures off the bench for the 11^th time this season.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (10-10, 3-4 BIG SKY)

The Bengals are currently on a two-game losing streak, falling at home to Eastern Washington on Jan. 17 and losing Thursday night in Bozeman.
They are 3-6 on the road this season and 1-2 away from home in Big Sky play. The only road win for ISU came against winless Northern Arizona.
Head coach Ryan Looney is in his 7^th season at Idaho State. Looney has a 78-122 (.390) record with the Bengals.
Idaho State ranks exactly 195 in the country in both scoring offense (76.2) and scoring defense (74.0). The 2.3 scoring margin is 207^th in the NCAA.
The Bengals are an excellent rebounding team, ranking inside the top 90 nationally in rebound margin at +4.2.
They block 4.3 shots a game to rank 2^nd in the Big Sky and 72^nd nationally.
The bench has been excellent for the Bengals, who lead the Big Sky with 31.2 points from the reserves this year. It's the 35^th most in the country.
Caleb Van De Griend leads the Bengals in scoring at 13.2 points per game. He's also the leading rebounder on ISU's roster with 7.0 per game.
Van De Griend plays fewer than 20 minutes a game off the bench, averaging over 26.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per 40 minutes.
Jamison Guerra has 90 assists this season to lead the Bengals. He also scores 10.7 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from three-point range.
The Bengals have four players averaging at least 10 points per game. Connor Hollenbeck averages 12.8 and Martin Kheil averages 10.4.
Evan Otten leads the Big Sky and ranks 44^th nationally with 35 blocks.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BENGALS
Montana has been dominant in the all-time series against Idaho State with a 116-46 overall record. The Grizzlies have a 73-14 mark in Missoula and are on a 15-game winning streak over the Bengals inside Dahlberg Arena. The last home loss was in 2008.

Coach DeCuire is 9-0 against Idaho State at home and 20-2 vs. the Bengals overall.

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Hicks

Tyler Thompson

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics