FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Montana took just two free-throw shots on Thursday, but that ended up being the difference. The Grizzlies held a seven-point lead with just more than 3 minutes to play, but wouldn’t score again as Northern Arizona closed the game on an 8-0 run to win, 57-56.
Montana had two chances from the free-throw line in the closing 30 seconds but missed the front end of one-and-ones both times. The second allowed the Lumberjacks to run the length of the court and draw a foul with 2.2 seconds to play. NAU’s Cameron Shelton made both attempts to give the Lumberjacks the final advantage, 57-56.
The Grizzlies led for 33 minutes on Thursday, including by as many as nine points in the second half. The Lumberjacks responded with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 36-35. From there, though, it looked as if Montana had regained control.
Sayeed Pridgett, who entered the night averaging 19.7 points per game, took just one shot attempt through the game’s first 33 minutes. He didn’t score his first point until there were 6 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the contest, but once he did, the hoop opened up for the senior.
Pridgett scored eight points during a 2-minute stretch, and coupled with a breakaway dunk from Derrick Carter-Hollinger, it looked as if Montana would beat NAU for the 11th straight time under Travis DeCuire.
A Kendal Manuel 3-pointer with 3:33 to play pushed the Grizzlies’ lead back to seven, 56-49, but they wouldn’t score again. Over the final 3 minutes, Montana was 0-for-2 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over three times.
The result is eerily similar to two other games Montana wishes it could have back. Montana led by seven with under 2 minutes to play at Weber State before losing in overtime. In the team’s non-conference finale at Omaha, the Grizzlies led by five with 29 seconds to play before also losing in overtime. Turnovers and missed free throws were also major factors in those defeats.
Montana lost on Thursday despite shooting .556 from the floor, including .682 in the second half. Aside from a 1-for-10 stretch to close the first half, Montana made 24 of its 34 shots (.706). The Grizzlies were once again paced by their seniors, with Jared Samuelson (19 points) and Kendal Manuel (16) leading the way. Samuelson shot 9-of-12 from the floor while Manuel played all 40 minutes and knocked down four 3-pointers.
Game Notables
- Thursday marked Montana’s first loss to Northern Arizona since 2014. Travis DeCuire was previously 10-0 against the Lumberjacks.
- The loss snaps Montana’s six-game winning streak dating back to Feb. 1.
- Montana led for more than 33 minutes of the contest, and never trailed by more than four points. The Grizzlies held a nine-point lead in the second half, including a seven-point lead with just over 3 minutes to play.
- Montana shot .556 from the floor, including .682 in the second half (15-of-22).
- It marked the eighth time in the past nine games that the Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots.
- Despite both teams being held in the 50s, both teams shot better than 60 percent in the second half.
- Aside from a 1-for-10 stretch to close the first half, the Grizzlies 70.6 percent of their shot attempts (24-of-34).
- Montana didn’t take its first free-throw attempt until the final 25 seconds of the contest, finishing 0-for-2.
- The Grizzlies turned the ball over 14 times, marking just the second time in the past 18 games that the Grizzlies have lost the turnover battle.
- Thursday marked the second time this season the Grizzlies have lost when holding their opponent under 70 points (13-2).
- Over the past four games, Montana’s opponents are averaging just 52.8 points per game, with none scoring more than 63 points.
- Senior Kendal Manuel scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from deep.
- Manuel scored seven of Montana’s first 12 points to help the Grizzlies jump out to an early lead and also buried a big 3-pointer to give Montana a 56-49 advantage with 3:33 to play.
- Manuel played all 40 minutes.
- Senior Jared Samuelson scored a team-high 19 points, making nine of his 12 shot attempts.
- Junior Timmy Falls had five assists, including four during a stretch of 3:22 in the second half.
- Senior Sayeed Pridgett took just one shot through the game’s first 34-plus minutes, but scored eight points during a 2-minute stretch to put the Grizzlies back in front.
- Pridgett’s eight points were a season low, snapping a stretch of 41 straight games in double figures, which dated back to February 2019 and was the nation’s fifth-longest active stretch.
- Montana scored on its first two offensive possessions and jumped out to a 12-5 lead following a 7-0 run.
- The Grizzlies entered the locker room with a 24-22 lead, despite being held scoreless for the final 4 minutes of the first half, missing nine of their final 10 shot attempts.
- The 24 first-half points was Montana’s lowest total since Dec. 30 vs. Sacramento State (20).
- The 46 combined first-half points were a season low for Montana and an opponent.
- After averaging 41.0 first-half points over the previous 11 games, Montana has been held to 26.0 over the past two games.
- Coming out of halftime, Montana scored nine of the first 11 points to open up a game-high nine-point lead (35-26 with 15:39 to play).
- NAU responded with a 10-0 run of its own, making five consecutive shots and forcing the Grizzlies into three straight turnovers. The Lumberjacks took their first lead of the night at 36-35 (13:13).
- Montana led by seven, 56-49, with 3:30 to play, but down the stretch shot 0-for-2 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over three times.
Quoting DeCuire
(on missed opportunities at the end of the game)
“We’d like to have those two free throws back, but it’s very difficult to make those shots when no one’s been there. Overall, though, if we don’t turn it over 14 times it doesn’t get to that point.”
(on the final sequence)
“I’m thinking we’ll make two (free throws to go up three) and make the decision if we should foul or guard, but it just didn’t go in. We fouled them on the other end and they converted.”
(more on the final stretch)
“Sayeed (Pridgett) was creating some stuff for us offensively with ball screens. We gained momentum and we had a big enough lead to win the game, but we couldn’t get a shot off at the end. We turned it over three consecutive times.”
(on what NAU did to limit Pridgett)
“They were doubling him on the block. They didn’t create a lot of room for him to pass out. They were doubling him on the block and when he drove, there were three, four guys, and he turned the ball over a few times.”
(on his team’s offense)
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had a team shoot 68 percent in a half and get out-scored. We were efficient, but it ended up not being enough.”
(on what he told his team after the game)
“We need to be about the right things. We got flustered about a few things that didn’t go our way and we got distracted. We lost sight of what’s important.”
Looking Ahead
With three games to play there’s now a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky standings. Both Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado won on Thursday to move into a tie for first, along with the Grizzlies. The good news for Montana is that Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado will play each other on Saturday in Greeley. Next week, Montana takes on Northern Colorado.
Prior to that, though, Montana will travel to Sacramento State, a spot where the Grizzlies overcame a road defeat at Portland State two nights prior to beat the Hornets and lock up the No. 1 seed.
