Montana State men beat Griz for first rivalry win since 2017

THE MATCHUP

The first basketball Brawl of the Wild of 2022 was both delayed (because of Montana State’s football team playing in the national championship game on Saturday) and diminished (the women’s game was canceled due to COVID protocols in the MSU program). In a rare Sunday game, the men’s teams faced off at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman to open the rivalry slate for the season.

THE RESULT

Montana State trailed for the first 12 minutes of a back-and-forth, well-played first half. Amin Adamu’s triple, which came in the middle of a personal 8-2 run for the senior guard, gave the Bobcats a 23-21 lead with eight minutes, four seconds to go until halftime. Montana State never trailed again in a 66-59 win. The ‘Cats led 36-33 at halftime, pushed the advantage to double digits early in the second half and weathered a late Montana run that cut the deficit to three points. It was Montana State’s first win over the Griz since 2017, making it third-year MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle’s first-ever win over his in-state rivals.

THE STANDOUTS

Adamu poured in a season-high 19 points for Montana State, hitting 3 of 4 shots from behind the arc. The ‘Cats shot 6 of 12 on 3-pointers overall.

Jubrile Belo didn’t score in the first half for Montana State but finished with a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds, plus four blocks. The 6-foot-9 junior forward punched down a number of emphatic dunks, including one with under a minute left that provided the final exclamation point for the ‘Cats.

Cam Parker scored just two points in the first half for Montana but finished with 18. The senior guard scored 11 of the Grizzlies’ first 15 points after the break, helping them claw back from a 13-point deficit, and his 3-pointer closed the deficit to three points with under five minutes to go before the ‘Cats closed the game out.

Robby Beasley finished with 15 points and Josh Bannan 11 for Montana. Along with Parker, they combined to score all of Montana’s points in the second half.

TWO THOUGHTS

1. Belo picked up attention for his double-double and his big dunks, including one where he backed Bannan under the basket, turned and slammed it on the Montana big, Shaq-style. The MSU big might have had an even bigger impact on defense, especially early in the second half when he forced Mack Anderson into a weak hook shot and a travel and then blocked Bannan on a reverse layup, all in the first three-and-a-half minutes after the break. Montana didn’t try to feed the post for the rest of the game. That partially worked out for the Griz, as it pushed them in the direction of Parker and Beasley’s dribble-drive game, but it also made the visitors one-dimensional on offense.
2. Adamu, Montana State’s leading scorer, didn’t score for the final 14-plus minutes of the game, but the Bobcats’ role players made big plays as the hosts put the game away down the stretch. Xavier Bishop, who’s certainly not a role player but shot just 4 of 13, exploded away from his defender for an and-1 layup to answer Parker’s late 3-pointer and push the Bobcats’ lead from three back to six with just over four minutes to go. Montana never got the game that close again. Kellen Tynes, who played just eight minutes, stripped Parker under the basket with just over a minute left and MSU ahead by just four points.

QUOTABLE

“I kept telling the guys the last eight minutes, you can’t wait for something to happen. You can’t wait for the rebound to come to you. You have to go make the play. You have to be aggressive, and if you’re not aggressive, you’re not going to win the game. Our guys, give them all the credit, they made those plays.” – Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle

“Games like that, that just reminded me of the tournament last year. You have to win games like that by making toughness plays, like getting charges or chesting up and getting a stop.” – Montana State forward Jubrile Belo

“I think they did a better job defensively than we did tonight. Going into any game, if you give up over 50% from the floor and from 3 and you shoot below 40%, it’s going to be a tough one to win. I think we did a good job fighting back, getting ourselves back into the game. Our defense got us back into the game, and I think we had a little more scrap in the second half than we did in the first. If we do a better job setting the tone defensively in the first half of the game, I think it’s a different outcome.” – Montana head coach Travis Decuire

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WHAT’S NEXT

Montana (11-6, 4-2 Big Sky Conference) hosts Southern Utah on Thursday.

Montana State (12-5, 4-2) then sees the Thunderbirds come to Bozeman on Saturday. It’s the only scheduled game next week for both Treasure State teams.