Grizzlies Top 'Cats in Missoula
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Kamarr Davis scored 23 points and Montana benefited from a huge advantage at the free throw line, as the red-hot Grizzlies beat Montana State 67-58 in Missoula on Saturday.
Montana’s win did nothing to clear up the Big Sky Conference playoff race, but it vaulted the Grizzlies, the league’s hottest team other than regular season champion Eastern Washington, into the thick of the hunt. The Grizzlies and Bobcats are each 5-7 in conference play.
Montana’s defensive effort against Bobcat star Jason Erickson was also an enormous difference. Erickson was limited to 1-for-9 shooting. All shots were contested, and most involved contact. “We’re going to have a tough night when Jason struggles,” Durham said. “He missed layups, which is uncharacteristic. I think you have to give (Kevin) Criswell a lot of credit. He and Jason guarded each other very well.”
Durham tagged the early moments of the second half as crucial. “I thought we had some offensive energy off the boards at the start of the second half,” Durham said, “but they came back with some of their own. I thought the two tip-ins (by UM forwards Ryan Pederson and Matt Dlouhy) combined with what Davis did down low, was the difference.”
Kamarr Davis ignited a 12-2 run a three-point play at 10:47 to give the Grizzlies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Most of the night, though, it looked like Bobcat center Calvin Ento would be the difference. Ento finished with a career-high 30 points, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
“Calvin played with a lot of energy, and really played well,” Durham said. Added Ento, “I just tried to play hard.”
MSU shot just 39% for the game, including 32% in the second half. The offensive doldrums carried over to the free throw line, where the ‘Cats were just 11-for-20. Montana, on the other hand, shot 43% for the game, and 67% from the free throw line.
“We didn’t shoot well in the second half,” Durham said. “That was a factor.”
Both Montana State and the Grizzlies each benefited from balanced offense and tenacious defense in the first half. Both teams shot 12-for-16 from the field and had three treys at the intermission. Montana’s built a 34-31 lead on the strength of a 7-for-9 free throw effort, while the ‘Cats were 4-for-7.
Still, the prospects of a Grizzly halftime lead looked improbable with two minutes remaining. MSU led 31-28 when PJ Owsley missed a point-blank layup. Montana’s 34-31 haltime lead was set up almost entirely by Roy Booker. The JC transfer guard followed Owsley’s miss with a runner in the lane, converted a pair of three throws two possessions later, helped force a steal with 20 seconds left to set up a final shot, then missed the shot that Matt Dlouhy tipped in at the buzzer. Montana led 34-31 at the half.
"That was a tough stretch, right at the end of the first half," Durham said.
Montana’s win did nothing to clear up the Big Sky Conference playoff race, but it vaulted the Grizzlies, the league’s hottest team other than regular season champion Eastern Washington, into the thick of the hunt. The Grizzlies and Bobcats are each 5-7 in conference play.
Montana’s defensive effort against Bobcat star Jason Erickson was also an enormous difference. Erickson was limited to 1-for-9 shooting. All shots were contested, and most involved contact. “We’re going to have a tough night when Jason struggles,” Durham said. “He missed layups, which is uncharacteristic. I think you have to give (Kevin) Criswell a lot of credit. He and Jason guarded each other very well.”
Durham tagged the early moments of the second half as crucial. “I thought we had some offensive energy off the boards at the start of the second half,” Durham said, “but they came back with some of their own. I thought the two tip-ins (by UM forwards Ryan Pederson and Matt Dlouhy) combined with what Davis did down low, was the difference.”
Kamarr Davis ignited a 12-2 run a three-point play at 10:47 to give the Grizzlies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Most of the night, though, it looked like Bobcat center Calvin Ento would be the difference. Ento finished with a career-high 30 points, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
“Calvin played with a lot of energy, and really played well,” Durham said. Added Ento, “I just tried to play hard.”
MSU shot just 39% for the game, including 32% in the second half. The offensive doldrums carried over to the free throw line, where the ‘Cats were just 11-for-20. Montana, on the other hand, shot 43% for the game, and 67% from the free throw line.
“We didn’t shoot well in the second half,” Durham said. “That was a factor.”
Both Montana State and the Grizzlies each benefited from balanced offense and tenacious defense in the first half. Both teams shot 12-for-16 from the field and had three treys at the intermission. Montana’s built a 34-31 lead on the strength of a 7-for-9 free throw effort, while the ‘Cats were 4-for-7.
Still, the prospects of a Grizzly halftime lead looked improbable with two minutes remaining. MSU led 31-28 when PJ Owsley missed a point-blank layup. Montana’s 34-31 haltime lead was set up almost entirely by Roy Booker. The JC transfer guard followed Owsley’s miss with a runner in the lane, converted a pair of three throws two possessions later, helped force a steal with 20 seconds left to set up a final shot, then missed the shot that Matt Dlouhy tipped in at the buzzer. Montana led 34-31 at the half.
"That was a tough stretch, right at the end of the first half," Durham said.
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