Post by griz on Mar 9, 2011 10:45:37 GMT -5
www.montanagrizzlies.com/news/?n=2011/95/9692&m=36
Griz top Wber 57-40, advance to title game
It's a wonder Altitude Sports didn't cancel the Montana Grizzlies at halftime.
Brian Qvale had 16 points and 17 rebounds against WSU.
AP photo Then again, the producers at the regional sports network probably didn't know about the Grizzlies' history with Weber State in the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament.
The Griz rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to down Weber State 57-40 Tuesday night at Butler-Hancock Pavilion and move into the championship game for the second straight season. It was in the championship game last season that the Griz overcame a 20-point, halftime deficit to beat the Wildcats, earning their eighth invitation to the NCAA tournament.
The Griz will face Northern Colorado in Wednesday night's title game at 7 p.m. with another berth in the Big Dance on the line. The game will be televised by ESPN2. The Bears beat Northern Arizona 73-70 in Tuesday's second semifinal in front of a boisterous, sold-out house.
"That had to be really bad TV in the first half," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said of a half in which the Griz shot 13 percent from the field and trailed 22-12. "We got off to a good start (7-0) and as has been our Achilles heel at times, we started to get stagnant offensively and settle. I was really proud we defended, otherwise that thing would've been over."
As bad as the Griz were offensively in the first half - and they were really bad - they were that good in the second 20 minutes. The Griz shot 61 percent in the second half while holding Weber State to 17 percent from the field, 8 percent from 3-point range.
The chief protagonists were senior center Brian Qvale and sophomore point guard Will Cherry, although freshman Kareem Jamar and junior Derek Selvig played strong supporting roles.
Qvale finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds - he had five points and six boards at intermission - and Cherry added 16 points, sparking the Grizzlies' second-half surge with his drives to the basket. Jamar added 10 points and Selvig chipped in nine points, eight boards and three assists to offset his five turnovers.
The Wildcats took their biggest lead of the second half at 28-17 on a short jumper by Lindsey Hughey. Then Cherry started taking the ball to the hoop. A pair of free throws and a driving bucket cut the gap to 28-22. The comeback was on.
"We were getting stops and key rebounds," Cherry said. "(The coaches) were on my case about pushing the ball. I wasn't being aggressive on the offensive end. My teammates did a great job of screening off my defender. Every shot I missed there was a big guy there to clean it up."
The rally picked up steam when Jamar converted a steal into a layup and, moments later, hit a 3-pointer that cut the gap to 32-31 with 10:43 to play.
That's about the time that Weber State coach Randy Rahe saw fatigue set in.
"We sold out in the first half," Rahe said. "The guys played terrific, played hard. We did everything we were supposed to do. We just ran out of gas. It looked like the 10-minute mark, we ran into some walls. Sometimes your mind wants to do it, sometimes your bodies won't follow. We just ran out of juice."
The lead see-sawed for several minutes until a pair of free throws by Cherry gave the Griz the lead for good at 41-40 with 5:59 to play. Cherry followed with another drive and then Selvig showed why he's so valuable when he's playing well. The 7-footer drained a trey, then fed Jamar for a layup on UM's next possession, then blocked a shot at the other end that resulted in a bucket by Qvale. When it was over, the Griz had a 50-40 lead and Weber was done.
The Wildcats failed to score over the final 7:39 of the game as Montana finished on an 18-0 run.
If the Griz had forgotten what happened last year in Ogden, Utah, assistant coach Bill Evans reminded them at halftime.
"Coach Evans brought it up at halftime that a year ago at this time we were down 20 at halftime and came back and won," Qvale said. "It was something we needed to know we could do."
In that game, Anthony Johnson scored his team's final 21 points to send the Griz to the NCAA tournament with the win over Weber State.
"Before the game we talked about last year and the run that team went on," Tinkle said. "But we said this team is different because we are a team. Last year we were a little one dimensional - and we were glad to have what we had - but this year we knew we had more parts that we could rely on. That might've helped at halftime, these guys believing that if we just pulled together and played like we know how to play and start making plays for each other that we could pull it off."
NOTES: Starting guard Shawn Stockton left the game in the second half with an apparent hamstring injury. He did not return. "Shawn's beat up," Tinkle said. "He has a hamstring deal. We'll treat it overnight and see how he is tomorrow." ... This will be Montana's 14th appearance in the Big Sky title game. ... Montana has been to the NCAA tournament eight times. ... The Griz won the rebounding battle 50-31. ... Weber shot 21 percent for the game.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
Griz top Wber 57-40, advance to title game
It's a wonder Altitude Sports didn't cancel the Montana Grizzlies at halftime.
Brian Qvale had 16 points and 17 rebounds against WSU.
AP photo Then again, the producers at the regional sports network probably didn't know about the Grizzlies' history with Weber State in the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament.
The Griz rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to down Weber State 57-40 Tuesday night at Butler-Hancock Pavilion and move into the championship game for the second straight season. It was in the championship game last season that the Griz overcame a 20-point, halftime deficit to beat the Wildcats, earning their eighth invitation to the NCAA tournament.
The Griz will face Northern Colorado in Wednesday night's title game at 7 p.m. with another berth in the Big Dance on the line. The game will be televised by ESPN2. The Bears beat Northern Arizona 73-70 in Tuesday's second semifinal in front of a boisterous, sold-out house.
"That had to be really bad TV in the first half," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said of a half in which the Griz shot 13 percent from the field and trailed 22-12. "We got off to a good start (7-0) and as has been our Achilles heel at times, we started to get stagnant offensively and settle. I was really proud we defended, otherwise that thing would've been over."
As bad as the Griz were offensively in the first half - and they were really bad - they were that good in the second 20 minutes. The Griz shot 61 percent in the second half while holding Weber State to 17 percent from the field, 8 percent from 3-point range.
The chief protagonists were senior center Brian Qvale and sophomore point guard Will Cherry, although freshman Kareem Jamar and junior Derek Selvig played strong supporting roles.
Qvale finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds - he had five points and six boards at intermission - and Cherry added 16 points, sparking the Grizzlies' second-half surge with his drives to the basket. Jamar added 10 points and Selvig chipped in nine points, eight boards and three assists to offset his five turnovers.
The Wildcats took their biggest lead of the second half at 28-17 on a short jumper by Lindsey Hughey. Then Cherry started taking the ball to the hoop. A pair of free throws and a driving bucket cut the gap to 28-22. The comeback was on.
"We were getting stops and key rebounds," Cherry said. "(The coaches) were on my case about pushing the ball. I wasn't being aggressive on the offensive end. My teammates did a great job of screening off my defender. Every shot I missed there was a big guy there to clean it up."
The rally picked up steam when Jamar converted a steal into a layup and, moments later, hit a 3-pointer that cut the gap to 32-31 with 10:43 to play.
That's about the time that Weber State coach Randy Rahe saw fatigue set in.
"We sold out in the first half," Rahe said. "The guys played terrific, played hard. We did everything we were supposed to do. We just ran out of gas. It looked like the 10-minute mark, we ran into some walls. Sometimes your mind wants to do it, sometimes your bodies won't follow. We just ran out of juice."
The lead see-sawed for several minutes until a pair of free throws by Cherry gave the Griz the lead for good at 41-40 with 5:59 to play. Cherry followed with another drive and then Selvig showed why he's so valuable when he's playing well. The 7-footer drained a trey, then fed Jamar for a layup on UM's next possession, then blocked a shot at the other end that resulted in a bucket by Qvale. When it was over, the Griz had a 50-40 lead and Weber was done.
The Wildcats failed to score over the final 7:39 of the game as Montana finished on an 18-0 run.
If the Griz had forgotten what happened last year in Ogden, Utah, assistant coach Bill Evans reminded them at halftime.
"Coach Evans brought it up at halftime that a year ago at this time we were down 20 at halftime and came back and won," Qvale said. "It was something we needed to know we could do."
In that game, Anthony Johnson scored his team's final 21 points to send the Griz to the NCAA tournament with the win over Weber State.
"Before the game we talked about last year and the run that team went on," Tinkle said. "But we said this team is different because we are a team. Last year we were a little one dimensional - and we were glad to have what we had - but this year we knew we had more parts that we could rely on. That might've helped at halftime, these guys believing that if we just pulled together and played like we know how to play and start making plays for each other that we could pull it off."
NOTES: Starting guard Shawn Stockton left the game in the second half with an apparent hamstring injury. He did not return. "Shawn's beat up," Tinkle said. "He has a hamstring deal. We'll treat it overnight and see how he is tomorrow." ... This will be Montana's 14th appearance in the Big Sky title game. ... Montana has been to the NCAA tournament eight times. ... The Griz won the rebounding battle 50-31. ... Weber shot 21 percent for the game.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.