Post by griz on Jan 24, 2011 12:44:01 GMT -5
www.montanagrizzlies.com/news/?n=2011/95/9500&m=36
Grizzlies lead throughout, drop Cats 75-61
Whatever road weariness the Montana men's basketball team might have been feeling, 7,312 fans helped them forget.
The Griz blitzed Montana State from the opening tip and took an impressive 75-61 win over the Cats in front of a record crowd at the "new" Dahlberg Arena on Saturday night.
Coming off a tough road win at Idaho State on Thursday night in which all five starters played at least 33 minutes, no one would have blamed the Griz for being a little sluggish. Never a problem.
Will Cherry scored 10 points as the Griz bolted to a 12-2 lead. While the Cats made several runs, it set the tone for the rout.
"That was a big focal point for us," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. "We knew we were going to have a great crowd and we didn't want (MSU) to take them out of the game. Our guys came out on fire and were really dialed in on both ends.
"It wasn't pretty throughout the 40 minutes, but all things considered, this was a heckuva week for us."
Cherry scored 15 in the first half to help give the Griz a 40-29 lead at the break despite foul trouble that landed both Montana big men, Brian Qvale and Derek Selvig, on the bench.
Qvale and Art Steward took the baton in the second half. Qvale recorded his fourth straight double-double with 17 points and matched his career high with 18 rebounds. Steward led the Griz with 19 points and Selvig finished with 12.
"That was critical," MSU coach Brad Huse said of Montana's quick start. "We were playing from behind all night. They forced us into some turnovers and took advantage of that and made some early threes. I thought we lost our composure a little bit, but Montana had an awful lot to do with that. Playing from behind against a team like that is really hard to do."
The Griz held a 27-10 lead when Qvale picked up his second foul and went to the bench. With the big guy out, MSU center Cody Anderson scored six points in a 10-0 run that cut the gap to 32-25 with 3:13 left in the half.
"We had to circle the wagons in a timeout and get them refocused," Tinkle said. "The way we finished the half allowed us to carry a lot of momentum."
Mathias Ward stemmed the bleeding with a dunk and later converted a layup to give the Griz the 40-29 halftime edge.
If there was any doubt about what the Griz wanted to do to begin the second half, it was removed 10 seconds in when Qvale drove to the hole for a layup that turned into a three-point play. It began a 15-6 burst that gave the Griz a 55-35 bulge with 14:19 to play.
"We knew we had to get him involved," Tinkle said of Qvale. "We drew that up right before the start of the second half to get him the ball. He made a great finish and the free throw. I think from there on he said, 'OK, boys, pony up, get on my back.' He was just a monster in that second half."
Qvale punctuated the burst with a tip-slam of a Steward miss and another put-back. Sitting out the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half had Qvale chomping at the bit.
"I really wanted to be in there," said Qvale. "They got a lot of offensive rebounds when I was in and when I was out, but it's hard to watch a game like that with all these fans and the atmosphere. I wanted to be in there, but I tried to make the most of it in the second half."
The closest the Cats got was 12 points, at 69-57 with 2:36 to play on a pair of free throws by Bobby Howard, who finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson led the Cats with 13 points, while Danny Piepoli and Erik Rush added 12 apiece.
The Griz were thrilled with the packed house, which broke the previous record for the reconfigured arena by one fan.
"That's nice," Cherry said. "It just tells you basketball is coming back."
NOTES: A flurry of offensive boards in the game's final minute allowed MSU to win the rebounding battle 42-41. ... Of Qvale's 18 boards, 10 were on the offensive end. ... The Griz had 12 assists and just seven turnovers. MSU had 12 turnovers and eight assists. ... UM had 36 points in the paint compared to 16 for the Cats. ... The Griz had 10 fastbreak points to none for MSU. ... Daren Engellant, whose record for blocked shots Qvale broke at Idaho State, presented Qvale with the game ball from the win over the Bengals prior to the tip.
Grizzlies lead throughout, drop Cats 75-61
Whatever road weariness the Montana men's basketball team might have been feeling, 7,312 fans helped them forget.
The Griz blitzed Montana State from the opening tip and took an impressive 75-61 win over the Cats in front of a record crowd at the "new" Dahlberg Arena on Saturday night.
Coming off a tough road win at Idaho State on Thursday night in which all five starters played at least 33 minutes, no one would have blamed the Griz for being a little sluggish. Never a problem.
Will Cherry scored 10 points as the Griz bolted to a 12-2 lead. While the Cats made several runs, it set the tone for the rout.
"That was a big focal point for us," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. "We knew we were going to have a great crowd and we didn't want (MSU) to take them out of the game. Our guys came out on fire and were really dialed in on both ends.
"It wasn't pretty throughout the 40 minutes, but all things considered, this was a heckuva week for us."
Cherry scored 15 in the first half to help give the Griz a 40-29 lead at the break despite foul trouble that landed both Montana big men, Brian Qvale and Derek Selvig, on the bench.
Qvale and Art Steward took the baton in the second half. Qvale recorded his fourth straight double-double with 17 points and matched his career high with 18 rebounds. Steward led the Griz with 19 points and Selvig finished with 12.
"That was critical," MSU coach Brad Huse said of Montana's quick start. "We were playing from behind all night. They forced us into some turnovers and took advantage of that and made some early threes. I thought we lost our composure a little bit, but Montana had an awful lot to do with that. Playing from behind against a team like that is really hard to do."
The Griz held a 27-10 lead when Qvale picked up his second foul and went to the bench. With the big guy out, MSU center Cody Anderson scored six points in a 10-0 run that cut the gap to 32-25 with 3:13 left in the half.
"We had to circle the wagons in a timeout and get them refocused," Tinkle said. "The way we finished the half allowed us to carry a lot of momentum."
Mathias Ward stemmed the bleeding with a dunk and later converted a layup to give the Griz the 40-29 halftime edge.
If there was any doubt about what the Griz wanted to do to begin the second half, it was removed 10 seconds in when Qvale drove to the hole for a layup that turned into a three-point play. It began a 15-6 burst that gave the Griz a 55-35 bulge with 14:19 to play.
"We knew we had to get him involved," Tinkle said of Qvale. "We drew that up right before the start of the second half to get him the ball. He made a great finish and the free throw. I think from there on he said, 'OK, boys, pony up, get on my back.' He was just a monster in that second half."
Qvale punctuated the burst with a tip-slam of a Steward miss and another put-back. Sitting out the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half had Qvale chomping at the bit.
"I really wanted to be in there," said Qvale. "They got a lot of offensive rebounds when I was in and when I was out, but it's hard to watch a game like that with all these fans and the atmosphere. I wanted to be in there, but I tried to make the most of it in the second half."
The closest the Cats got was 12 points, at 69-57 with 2:36 to play on a pair of free throws by Bobby Howard, who finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson led the Cats with 13 points, while Danny Piepoli and Erik Rush added 12 apiece.
The Griz were thrilled with the packed house, which broke the previous record for the reconfigured arena by one fan.
"That's nice," Cherry said. "It just tells you basketball is coming back."
NOTES: A flurry of offensive boards in the game's final minute allowed MSU to win the rebounding battle 42-41. ... Of Qvale's 18 boards, 10 were on the offensive end. ... The Griz had 12 assists and just seven turnovers. MSU had 12 turnovers and eight assists. ... UM had 36 points in the paint compared to 16 for the Cats. ... The Griz had 10 fastbreak points to none for MSU. ... Daren Engellant, whose record for blocked shots Qvale broke at Idaho State, presented Qvale with the game ball from the win over the Bengals prior to the tip.