Oguine scores career-high 29, Montana stuns Pitt 83-78
" . . . deja vu for Montana coach Travis DeCuire was unmistakable. On the road. Against a Power Five conference school. His team leading late.
The Grizzlies have been here before. Many times actually. And when guard Michael Oguine's potential game-winning jumper at the end of regulation rolled out and Pittsburgh chased down the rebound to force overtime, DeCuire wondered if another shot at a signature victory was slipping away. ''Yeah, it was 'Here we go again,''' DeCuire said. ''But (the message) was 'Let's make it happen. Let's go find a way to win the game.'' And they did. Ahmaad Rorie scored six of his 17 points in the extra period, Oguine finished with a career-high 29 and the Grizzlies ended a 14-game losing streak to a Power Five conference team with an 83-78 victory. ''The guys grew up tonight,'' DeCuire said.
Montana last beat a Power Five school when it knocked off Oregon State in 2010. A series of near misses followed, including competitive losses to N.C. State, Southern California and Mississippi last season.
This time, the Grizzlies found a way. Montana's trap forced Pitt into 19 turnovers the Grizzlies converted into 30 points on the other end of the floor and Oguine and Rorie got to the rim repeatedly while beating Pitt defenders off the dribble. ''I feel like maybe they weren't expecting me to drive as much as I was,'' Oguine said. ''They had their guard down, I tried to take a couple of dribbles and get them off balance.''
Shamiel Stevenson led Pitt (0-2) with 19 points. Ryan Luther finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds but missed a corner jumper with 27 seconds to play that could have given the Panthers the lead.