THE MATCHUP
Montana won on the final possession two times in as many home games last weekend to extend its season-long winning streak to three entering Thursday’s matchup at Idaho State. The Griz took the Bengals apart in the first matchup in Missoula, hitting 13 3-pointers en rout to an 84-55 victory. ISU was 6-4 in other Big Sky games.
THE RESULT
The Griz had a nine-minute stretch without allowing a point to the Bengals in the second half, helping UM build a double-digit lead on the way to a 69-61 victory at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho. Montana never trailed in the game, completing the season sweep of the Bengals and Beating ISU for the 25th time in the last 26 matchups.
The Griz moved over .500 in conference play (7-6) and overall this season (13-12) with the win. ISU is now 6-6 in conference play.
THE STANDOUTS
Perimeter shooting provided the difference in the game as Dischon Thomas and Lonnell Martin Jr. combined for eight made 3-pointers on a night Montana went 10-of-18 from deep. Thomas led UM with 16 points while Martin Jr. was in double figures for the fourth time in his last five games with 12 points. The duo outshot the Bengals on their own, as Montana held Idaho State to just 3-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Montana had four players in double figures as Josh Bannan (14 points) and Aanen Moody (11) also hit the mark. Moody came up just shy of a major career milestone, increasing his scoring total to 998 points across his five years that included previous stops at North Dakota and Southern Utah.
Brock McKenzie scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bengals.
BOX SCORE
QUOTABLE
“One, we talked about playing harder. I didn’t think we played hard enough in the first half. Two, I had a couple of adjustments up my sleeve defensively and offensively that we went to late with the ball movement, and you know Lonnell made some big shots.”
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire
“I congratulated them. I think they are playing together as well as they have all year on both side of the ball. They are sharing, they are supporting one another coming into timeouts. They are giving each other positive reinforcement and there’s no bickering.
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire
“But the biggest thing I reminded them of is that you can play well and lose and have a nasty taste in your mouth. You can play not as well as you want and win, and be OK with it. So we’ve just got to play hard and play to win every night and we will be happy with the product we put out there most of the time.”
SOCIAL
What’s Next
Montana gets another crack at Weber State. The Wildcats downed Montana State 73-63 on Saturday to move to 8-4 in league play. WSU trailed 57-56 with 1.9 seconds left against Montana in Missoula only to force a turnover and win in basically walk-off fashion thanks to Steven Verplancken’s 3-pointer with less than a second to play that gave WSU a 59-57 win.
“That one hurt, just the way that we lost it,” DeCuire said. “We know we played well enough to beat them but now we’ve got to do it again. It’s going to be hard in their place, but there is a lot more to play for so I think this group is going to be heavily motivated to go in and play the right way, play hard and play together.”
