Bengals shock Grizzlies

Thursday, February 19

Pocatello, Idaho

7:00 PM

Montana

Idaho State

The Montana Grizzlies face Montana State University at Robin-Selvig Court on February 14, 2026 in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn / University of Montana

2/19/2026 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies were stunned on the road on Thursday night, falling 73-69 to Idaho State inside Reed Gym. Montana led by as many as 10 points, but a hot streak from Bengal guard Gus Etchison pushed the hosts past the Griz. The loss drops Montana to 14-13 overall and 8-6 in Big Sky play.

"We got stagnant. Te'Jon (Sawyer) picking up two fouls in the first half killed us, especially so early in the half, and then we got stagnant offensively," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "29 points to one guy is hard to manage. Somebody has to explode to match that, or you have to guard the other guys better, and tonight we didn't have enough balance."

It was a game of runs for both sides. Montana started the game making 90 percent of its shots over a long stretch and held a 10-point lead in the first half. Idaho State countered late and took a two-point lead into halftime.

Montana once again had a great start to the second half, flipping the momentum and retaking an 8-point lead at 54-46. But from there the Bengals went on a 24-9 run to seize control for good.

It was a terrific start for the Grizzlies, particularly on the offensive end. The Grizzlies made 9-of-10 from the field to start the game, including a 4-for-4 start from beyond the arc, to jump out to a big early lead.

Brooklyn Hicks' second three off the bench in his first minutes of action gave the Griz a 25-18 advantage.

Montana went up by 10 points in the first half after a 5-0 run, capped by a desperation three-pointer from Money Williams, with 7:49 to play in the half. But a key piece of the early run was Te'Jon Sawyer, who picked up a few early fouls and missed the rest of the half.

The Bengals closed the half on a 10-2 run and led 39-37 at the break.

Montana started the second half strong, making four early three-pointers to move ahead 51-44 after a 14-5 start to the period. They took their biggest lead of the second half at 54-46 following a three-point play from Grant Kepley.

Etchison took over from that point, getting hot from the floor as part of an 18-point second half. He scored eight straight points for the Bengals to allow them to take a 58-57 lead. Montana would answer and take a lead at 63-62 with 6:25 to play.

It would be the last lead, and the last field goal, for the Griz. Idaho State went on an 8-0 run to go up 70-63 with four minutes to play. Money Williams scored six points off free throws late and the Griz were able to pull within two at 71-69 with 2:42 on the clock, but they couldn't get the shots to fall on the road.

"We were trying to play through Te'Jon in the second half and get him touches, which we did do," DeCuire said. "To be honest, we got good looks. Tyler Thompson had some wide open threes down the stretch, if one or two of those go in it is a different basketball game. Money Williams had some open looks that didn't go in. When you aren't shooting the shots you typically shoot for percentage and you let a guy go off on the other end, it's going to be hard to win."

Montana shot 46 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range in the loss. Once again, the difference in the score was the difference in field goals attempted. Montana shot better percentages from the floor than Idaho State, but the Bengals attempted 10 more shots.

Williams led Montana with a solid stat line of 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tyler Thompson and Brooklyn Hicks joined him in double figures with 10 points each. Grant Kepley and Kenyon Aguino had 9 apiece, and both matched Williams with a team high 6 rebounds.

The Grizzlies had 14 turnovers and allowed 10 offensive rebounds to ISU. Montana had 11 assists to Idaho State's 7 and led for nearly 24 minutes of game time. The Bengals outscored the Griz 47-15 off the bench.

Montana will look to get back in the win column on Saturday night in Ogden against Weber State. The Wildcats won over Montana State in overtime on Thursday night 82-79 to improve to 8-7 in Big Sky play.

"We have to respond and we have to find a way to stay in front of guards, keep them out of the paint, and contest shots," DeCuire said. "If we do that, I think we will be fine defensively and then offensively we need to take care of the ball and get the shots we've been getting. We just need more of them, and right now we're allowing our opponent to shoot more shots than us."