Big Sky Conference

Big Sky Roundup: Breunig’s big night keeps Griz in first place, Rahe breaks all-time wins record

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Martin Breunig posted his 10th double double of the season and surpassed 1,000 points in his Montana career in the process as Montana posted a 85-67 win over Northern Arizona in Missoula on Saturday night.

Breunig, a 6-foot-9 senior, hit 12 of his 14 shots from the floor and scored 29 points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds. Breunig now has 1,004 points in his Montana career, the 29th Grizzly to do so. He surpassed Doug Selvig on Montana’s all-time scoring list.

Martin Bruenig waves to the crowd after scoring 29 points to make him one of 29 Griz players to have over 1000 career points during Montana's game against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13, 2016/by Evan Frost for Skyline Sports

Martin Bruenig waves to the crowd after scoring 29 points to reach a 1,000 point milestone against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13, 2016

The win moves UM to 11-2 in Big Sky Conference play, 16-8 overall. The Griz remain a half game ahead of Weber State for first place in the league. WSU defeated Portland State 87-78 on Saturday night. The loss drops NAU to 2-11 in conference, 4-20 overall.

Breunig hit 11 straight shots in scoring a career-high 32 points in Montana’s 82-80 win at Portland State last week. He converted 7-of-10 field goals against Southern Utah and 12-of-14 on Saturday, meaning he is 30-of-35 in his last three games. He is shooting 71.1 percent against Big Sky completion and is averaging 21.3 points per game.

Northern Arizona hit 9-of-18 from beyond the 3-point arc but just 12-of-30 from inside the arc as Montana dominated the interior. UM shot 57.1 percent, including 68.4 percent on two-point attempts. Montana scored 44 points in the paint and owned a 35-22 advantage on the glass. Fabijan Krslovic and Jack Lopez each grabbed six rebounds.

Martin Bruenig looks for an open pass while being double teamed under the hoop by two Northern Arizona defenders on Feb. 13, 2016.

Martin Bruenig looks for an open pass while being double teamed under the hoop by two Northern Arizona defenders on Feb. 13, 2016.

UM freshman guard Michael Oguine scored 16 points. Junior Brandon Gfeller hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points off the bench. Junior point guard Walter Wright hit just 2-of-10 shots and scored six points but dished out 10 assists in 36 minutes.

NAU junior Kris Yanku, the Big Sky’s first-team all-conference point guard as a sophomore last season, came off the bench for a third straight game and led the Lumberjacks in scoring for the third straight contest. Saturday, he hit three 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws for a team-high 21 points.

Next week, Montana hosts rival Montana State, an 80-73 victor over Southern Utah on Saturday.

Weber State 87, Portland State 78 — Weber State head coach Randy Rahe became the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball all-time conference wins leader as Weber State topped Portland State to move to 10-2 in league play. The Wildcats win gave Rahe his 124th Big Sky win, moving him past former Montana State head coach Mick Durham in the all-time rankings.

Weber State (18-7, 10-2 BSC) never trailed as the Wildcats topped Portland State (8-15, 4-8 BSC) to win their 11th straight home game. Jeremy Senglin led Weber State with 24 points and six rebounds while knocking down three 3-pointers. Joel Bolomboy had his 22nd double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Richardson added 14 points with four 3-pointers.

Cameron Forte led Portland State with 17 points on 7-of-15 from the field and pulled down seven rebounds. Calaen Robinson scored 15 points and Donivine Stewart chipped in 12 points for the Vikings.

Idaho 65, North Dakota 64 — Idaho (16-10, 8-5 BSC) hit its final eight shots to top North Dakota (12-12, 7-6 BSC) by one point in Moscow. The win pushed Idaho into fifth place in the conference standings with three weeks to go. Chad Sherwoond and Nahshon George led the Vandals with 11 points each.

Four of the Fighting Hawks’ starters earned double-digits on the scoring front with Corey Baldwin and Drick Bernstein leading the team with 15 points apiece.

Idaho State 66, Sacramento State 64 — Idaho State is off to its best start in league play since the 1993-94 season with an 8-4 record thanks to a win over Sacramento State (10-13, 3-9 BSC) Saturday in Pocatello. Junior guard Ethan Telfair led the way for the Bengals with 19 points. Sophomore guard Geno Luzcando recorded a double-double scoring 13 points and securing a career-high 10 rebounds. Junior forward Kyle Ingram scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.

Sacramento State went on a 17-8 run over the final 8:48, but the Hornets’ couldn’t complete the comeback. Justin Strings topped the Hornets on the scoring front with 24 points.

Eastern Washington 97, Northern Colorado 80 — Austin McBroom led the way with his second-straight performance of 35 or more points, as the Eagles (15-10, 9-4) won for the sixth-straight time and remained unbeaten at home with a win over Northern Colorado (8-17, 5-8 BSC). McBroom finished with 37 points on 10-16 shooting, tying a season-high in the Big Sky.

Not to be outdone, UNC’s Anthony Johnson also tied the Big Sky season-high with 37 of his own on 9-of-22 from the field and a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line.

At the end of Saturday’s contests Montana and Weber State still hold the top two spots in the conference table. EWU and ISU are at third and fourth respectively with Idaho in fifth.

Photos by Evan Frost for Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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