Griz fall at Weber State

Saturday, February 21

Ogden, Utah

7:30 PM

Montana

14-14,8-7Big Sky

Weber State

15-14,9-7Big Sky

Montana

Weber St.

Photo by: Weber State Athletics

2/21/2026 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana men's basketball dropped its third straight game on Saturday night, falling on the road to Weber State by a final score of 92-72. The Grizzlies and Wildcats split the season series.

The Grizzlies (14-14, 8-7 Big Sky) have now dropped five of the last six games after a road win against regular season champion Portland State on Jan. 29. The Wildcat offense led the way as they shot nearly 60 percent for the game in their home gym.

The Wildcats (15-14, 9-7 Big Sky) opened the game with a 10-4 run and led the rest of the way behind the big offensive outing. Viljami Vartianen scored 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. He was a perfect 4-for-4 in the first half to allow the Wildcats to take a big lead.

"Vartianen was having the game of his life to start, and we started slowly," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Last time we played them we scored a ton of points in the paint and we wanted to attack that but the ball wasn't going in."

Montana was able to fight back early behind a big burst off the bench from Brooklyn Hicks. Hicks had 13 points on the night and made a big impact in the first half to help the Grizzlies cut the lead to 18-16 with under 10 minutes to play in the first half.

Weber State outscored Montana 27-16 the rest of the way in the first half and took a 45-32 advantage into the break. It's the second most points the Grizzlies have allowed in a half during league play.

"We just never really regrouped defensively," DeCuire said. "You can't give up 58 percent from the field and 50 percent from three and then struggle in the paint. It was just tough going on both sides of the ball."

Vartianen and the Wildcats remained hot in the second half, leading by as many as 29 points. Weber State shot 33-of-56 (.589) from the floor and 9-of-18 (.500) from 3-point range in the win.

The Wildcats outrebounded the Grizzlies 34-22 and outscored UM 42-30 in the paint. The Grizzlies had a better day in the ball control department with just 10 turnovers. Most of them came in the second half once Montana fell behind.

"Compete. It was all about competing. I thought we were executing and we were getting the shots we wanted for the most part, but the ball wasn't going in," DeCuire said. "Then you start pressing and that's where the turnovers came from. The turnovers came late once we were already down with guys trying to make plays and it kind of snowballed on us."

Money Williams and Kenyon Aguino each scored 15 points, a team high for the Grizzlies. Aguino went 5-of-8 (.625) from the floor, but fouled out in his 22 minutes of action. Williams also led the team with 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Hicks had 13 points, and Te'Jon Sawyer joined them in double figures with 10 points. DeCuire used all 11 healthy players on the roster to try to get something going in the second period.

"Some guys have not been playing well so we wanted to see if somebody could give us something," DeCuire said. "Connor has created momentum for us with his hustle and a couple other guys off the bench we thought could give us some decent minutes. We've had some guys sitting out and it's been a struggle for the last few weeks, so we tried to find a way to create some life on the bench."

Montana will return home next week for a two-game set against Sacramento State and Portland State. The Grizzlies will look for revenge against the Hornets on Thursday before celebrating Senior Night against the Vikings on Saturday.

The regular season finale is on Monday, March 2 on the road against Northern Colorado as Montana finished the season with three games in five days.

"You just have to keep grinding and find ways to keep believing," DeCuire said. "You need a little luck, you need some balls to go in the basket, and you need some misses from your opponent. You just have to keep fighting because it's anybody's game. At this point, it's just one day at a time."