Griz return to Missoula for home opener - University of Montana Athletics

MONTANA (0-1) vs. SALISH KOOTENAI
Wednesday, Nov. 4 / 7:00 PM / Watch / Tickets

NEW INSIDE DAHLBERG ARENA
Montana is bringing back general admission seating for the 2026-27 season, giving Griz fans the chance to watch hoops for only $10. It's not the only new offering inside the Adams Center this season.

The Grizzlies will also have a "Happy Half Hour" with discounted beer and select concessions items for the first 30 minutes after doors open. There will also be "Bricks for Beers" where fans will get half-price beer and root beer floats for 10 minutes if an opponent misses back-to-back free throws.

N7 UNIFORMS
Montana will wear its turquoise N7 uniforms for Wednesday night's game. The uniforms are 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.

PREVIEW
The Montana men's basketball team will have a short recovery from Monday night's season opener at Oregon as the Grizzlies return to Dahlberg Arena to host Salish Kootenai in the home opener on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.

The Griz put together a solid showing in the season opener as they were tied with the Big 10's Oregon with 10 minutes to play. The Ducks would close the game strong to win 87-69.

There were several strong debuts for the Griz under head coach Travis DeCuire. Jalen Brown and Jordan Clark each scored 19 points and combined for nine assists to lead a reloaded roster in DeCuire's 13^th season at Montana.

Tyler Thompson scored 14 points and freshman Semaj Carter added nine off the bench, playing a key role in Montana's second half run to tie the game.

While he didn't enter the scoring column, transfer big man Clayton Mpiana left his mark on the game with a team-high seven rebounds. Montana outscored Oregon by five in Mpiana's 23 minutes on the floor but were outscored by 23 when he was on the bench.

The Grizzlies were shorthanded in Eugene, missing starting forward Kenyon Aguino and reserve big man Amari Jedkins.

Missoula product Connor Dick made his first career start for Montana in his 45^th career appearance for the Grizzlies.

Josiah Sanders and Noah Benginger also scored their first points as Grizzlies on Monday night. Sanders, a transfer from Cal State Dominguez Hills, had six points and Bendinger, a Boise State transfer, scored two.

Montana went 13-of-30 (.433) from three-point range in the loss. The Grizzlies made at least 13 threes in a game just twice last season

Salish Kootenai comes to town for a second straight season. The Grizzlies won 102-46 last year in a late-night contest after a winter storm forced a power outage inside Dahlberg Arena.

UP NEXT
Montana starts a stretch of three straight away from home with a trip to San Francisco on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Grizzlies will follow that up with a road swing to the Midwest to face off with North Dakota on Nov. 14 and Kansas State on Nov. 16.

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Players Mentioned

Kenyon Aguino

Jalen Brown

Semaj Carter

Jordan Clark

Connor Dick

Amari Jedkins

Clayton Mpiana

Josiah Sanders

Tyler Thompson

University of Montana Athletics