THE MATCHUP
The Montana men’s basketball team hosted Idaho State in the Big Sky Conference home opener for the Grizzlies. ISU entered the game with a 2-9 record, including 0-2 mark in league play.
THE RESULT
The Griz led for all but 20 seconds, shooting 47 percent from the floor, forcing 16 turnovers and only committing six TOs themselves and put five players in double figures scoring, led by Josh Bannan’s 19 points, to post a 78-54 win over the Bengals. The victory moved Montana to 2-1 in Big Sky Conference play, 9-5 overall. ISU has lost nine of its last 10 and sits at 2-10 overall.
THE STANDOUTS
Montana sophomore forward Josh Bannan scored 19 points and ripped down 10 rebounds to pace the Grizzlies. He was 8-of-12 from the floor.
“He picked his spots and that’s why he was 8-for-12,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said. “I can’t remember a shot he shouldn’t have taken, can’t remember a turnover, no doing something he shouldn’t try to do. You want guys to be aggressive, make plays and play to their strengths but you also have to play with the guys around you and he did a phenomenal job of that tonight.”
The sophomore backcourt of Robby Beasley III and Brandon Whitney each scored 11 points with Beasley hitting three 3-pointers and Whitney dishing out four of Montana’s 16 assists. They rotated playing on the ball and Montana only turned the ball over six times all evening.
Junior post Mack Anderson, a Bozeman product who is the only Montanan on Montana this season, scored 12 points despite battling foul trouble and playing just 13 minutes. He was 3-of-3 from the floor, 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Junior Kyle Owens was the fifth Griz who reached double figures scoring, notching 10 points for the Griz, who went 27-of-57 from the floor, including 8-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Malik Porter had 13 points and 11 rebounds to pace Idaho State. Bullish post Brayden Parker scored 15 points in 20 minutes of action while point guard Tarik Cool scored 13 points but committed four turnovers before fouling out.
QUOTEABLE
“We did a phenomenal job tonight,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said. “We made some adjustments offensively and I thought the guys did a good job with our tempo, our pace. We were a lot faster, more aggressive in terms of our spacing, getting to the paint and finding the right shots.”
“They want to hold on to the ball for 30 seconds, then pack the paint and make you play slow so the big thing for us was to get the ball off the glass and get up the floor as fast as possible and make them play transition D, which isn’t their strength because that’s not really their game.”
BOX SCORE (CLICK)
POST-GAME AUDIO
SOCIAL
WHAT’S NEXT
Montana hosts Weber State on Saturday. The Wildcats posted an 85-75 win at Montana State on Thursday night in Bozeman. The Griz ripped Weber in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament last March. WSU is 3-0 in Big Sky Conference play.
“It plays a role in the conference tournament when you have a quick turnaround and you don’t really have a chance to have a full practice, a full preparation,” DeCuire said. “Tough skin helps. For us, if we can turn it around quickly, we can definitely turn it around when we have time to prep. We will do the best we can and make the most of every opportunity we have.”
