Griz explode past Weber

[Proud Griz Man]

Big Sky: Montana explodes past Weber State in second half for NCAA berth

By Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune Mar 07 2012
Missoula, Mont. • In the end, Montana just had too much for Weber State.

On Wednesday night, the Grizzlies had too many options, too many weapons and too much of a home-court advantage in a very loud Dahlberg Arena. In short, the Wildcats were skinned alive by a second-half point explosion from Montana. It all came together in an 85-66 victory by the Grizzlies for the Big Sky Conference championship, their second in three seasons, and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Meanwhile, Weber State (24-6) may have started quick, but by the conclusion there was only Damian Lillard carrying the Wildcats’ offensive hopes. The junior guard finished with 29 points. The loss put an end to what had once been a promising season, one that saw the Wildcats stay unbeaten at home and nursing NCAA dreams. The Grizzlies were hosting the Big Sky tournament thanks in large part to their season-ending victory against this same Weber State. “It hurts a lot,” said Lillard, who also saw Montana beat WSU two years ago in Ogden for the tournament title. “I had this game on my calendar. I wanted to pay them back. It hurts to fall short again.”

Montana (25-6), which set a school record with its 14th consecutive victory, may have trailed by five at the half, but there were signs of what was to come. And that was a barrage of 3-point baskets, first by Mathias Ward and then by tournament MVP Kareem Jamar, who reacted to stronger defensive pressure by simply backing up a few steps and swishing shots from NBA range.

... Offensively, Weber State couldn’t sustain its hot first half, one that saw it shoot 58 percent. The Wildcats managed only 40 percent in the second half. After praising his team, Rahe was reduced to the stating the obvious. “Sometimes a team just makes shots.”

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Wildcats fade in Big Sky finale
By Roy Burton Standard-Examiner staff
Thu, 03/08/2012

MISSOULA, Mont. — All the answers Weber State seemed to have in the first half Wednesday disappeared as Montana made March Madness its own, claiming the Big Sky tournament championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Mathias Ward and tourney MVP Kareem Jamar scored 23 points apiece and all five Montana starters reached double figures as the Grizzlies knocked the Wildcats out of the conference tournament for the third straight season with an 85-66 win at Dahlberg Arena.

Derek Selvig had 16 points, Will Cherry added 13 and Art Steward had 10 for Montana (25-6), which extended its winning streak to a school-record 14 games, none bigger than a 66-51 win in the regular season finale to earn the right to host the conference tournament. Missoula rewarded the Griz with 7,042 roaring fans for the championship game as 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Jamar blitzed the Wildcats with 3s, going 5 of 8 from deep and 9 of 12 from the field. Montana hit 8 of 12 from beyond the arc in the second half and 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) for the game. Two-time Big Sky MVP Damian Lillard scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting and added 10 rebounds and seven assists in what may have been his final league game if the junior point guard from Oakland, Calif., jumps to the NBA this summer without ever experiencing an NCAA Tournament.
... Weber State led 36-31 at the half, but Montana’s shooting was relentless after the break. When the Griz weren’t making it rain 3-pointers, they were converting old fashioned 3-point plays.“What I was happy with was when we started making 3s, we weren’t just jacking them from that point on,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We attacked and I think we delivered those knockout blows at the rim with a couple of those and-ones and breakaways.”

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[Proud Griz Man]

‘Cats fall to UM again
By Nathan Davis March 7, 2012.

For the second time in a week, the Weber State University men’s basketball team lost to the University of Montana, this time in the Big Sky Conference title game. WSU fell to the Grizzlies 85-66.

Damian Lillard said he was disappointed with the loss, and was hoping to get revenge against UM. “It’s unfortunate,” Lillard said. “I really had this game marked on my calander, I wanted to get them back. I felt I owed it to the team.” Head Coach Randy Rahe said he loved his team more than any other that he’s coached, and said the Grizzlies just played better down the stretch. “We came up short,” Rahe said. “I thought Montana played an unbelievable second half. I haven’t seen a team shoot like that in a long time. Our hat has to go off to them. . . There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We fought hard, but came up short.”

UM overwhelmed WSU in the second half, outscoring them 54-30, on their way to an 85-66 win.
Lillard, who was named to the all-tournament team, turned in the strongest performance for WSU, flirting with a triple-double. He finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. For the Grizzlies, Ward, and Will Cherry led the way with 23 points. UM’s Head Coach Wayne Tinkle said one of the big factors in the game was how the Grizzlies played as a team. “The reason we’re in this position,” Tinkle said, “is because we’re a team.” UM will now head to the NCAA tournament, while the Wildcats will likely end up in the NIT tournament.

http://www.wsusignpost.com/2012/03/07/cats-fall-to-um-again/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Weber State basketball: Wildcats' Big Dance hopes disappear in 2nd half
MISSOULA, Mont. — Damian Lillard will likely go down as the greatest basketball player in Weber State history to never play in the NCAA Tournament. In frustrating fashion, Lillard and the Wildcats won't be going to the Big "ance" again this year because their perimeter "D" disappeared in the second half of Tuesday night's Big Sky Conference championship game against the University of Montana. With junior Kareem Jamar and sophomore Mathias Ward burying shot after shot from long range, several of them from a couple steps beyond the 3-point line, the Grizzlies claimed the Big Sky title and automatic NCAA tourney berth that goes with it with an 85-66 victory over the 'Cats at Dahlberg Arena.

"I want to give Montana a whole bunch of credit," said WSU coach Randy Rahe. "They've got an outstanding basketball team. They've got really good players — and a lot of 'em. "In the second half, they shot the ball as well as any team I've seen shoot the ball in a tournament situation, and they shot it from deep and they shot it from places that we're usually not used to guarding. ... They came out and they earned that win."

Montana (25-6) poured in 54 second-half points and, after the Wildcats (24-6) took their last lead at 43-42 with 16:07 to go, outscored Weber State 43-23 over the final 16 minutes to win its eighth Big Sky championship. It also gave the Griz a school-record 14th straight win, and they have now beaten WSU in the conference tourney three consecutive years, including twice in the title game and once in the semifinals.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765557668/Weber-State-basketball-Wildcats-Big-Dance-hopes-disappear-in-2nd-half.html?pg=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[BWahlberg]

Man, Weber's going to be an awfully different team next year too, they lose Mahoney and Bullinger to graduation and presumably Lillard to the NBA.

They're a great team, I hope they land an NIT bid or one of those others that have come up in the last few years, I have a feeling they could make a run in those.

 

[griz4always]

Sorry, Can't help it. Seeing Randy Rahe say "We came up Short" is just too easy of a target.

 

[BDizzle]

Man, Weber's going to be an awfully different team next year too, they lose Mahoney and Bullinger to graduation and presumably Lillard to the NBA.

They're a great team, I hope they land an NIT bid or one of those others that have come up in the last few years, I have a feeling they could make a run in those.

I thought I heard the announcers say Webers top 4 scorers were all underclassmen? I know Lillard is their best player and an underclassmen that will likely be gone but that means they bring back their 2-4 scorers. Lillard is impossible to replace but they should be decent again next year. Griz are going to be solid if Hutchinson improves.

 

[BelierPeaux]

Man, Weber's going to be an awfully different team next year too, they lose Mahoney and Bullinger to graduation and presumably Lillard to the NBA.

They're a great team, I hope they land an NIT bid or one of those others that have come up in the last few years, I have a feeling they could make a run in those.

I thought I heard the announcers say Webers top 4 scorers were all underclassmen? I know Lillard is their best player and an underclassmen that will likely be gone but that means they bring back their 2-4 scorers. Lillard is impossible to replace but they should be decent again next year. Griz are going to be solid if Hutchinson improves.

I would assume that Tresnak and Bamforth are two of the four scorers. The other one might be Fulton off the bench? I didn't look at his eligibility, though, so not sure.

 

[Proud Griz Man]

G4always - another short comment coming up.

Wildcats not ashamed of loss, wait for postseason
By Roy Burton -Standard-Examiner staff
Thu, 03/08/2012
A Montana wildfire swept Weber State out of the Big Sky Conference tournament on Wednesday.
The Griz were the top defensive team in the league all year, but they blazed their way to their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament the last 10 years with a red-hot offense. The Grizzlies shot nearly 60 percent in the second half and were 8-of-12 from beyond the arc to overcome a 5-point half-time deficit in an 85-66 championship game win over the Wildcats.

"Montana played an unbelievable second half. I haven't seen a team shoot the ball like that for a long time, so our hat's got to go off to them, the credit has to go to them. But it wasn't because our kids didn't fight, it wasn't because our kids weren't ready. We played our absolute tails off. We got beat by a hot team tonight on their court," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said after the game. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. We're not ashamed of it. We fought hard and came up short."

The Grizzlies' 25 victories are the second most in school history and their eight tourney titles now tie Weber State's Big Sky record. While Montana gets ready to go dancing in the NCAA Tournament, Weber State is left hoping for a bid to the National Invitation Tournament or other postseason tourney.
The NIT will announce its 32-team field Sunday night after the NCAA Tourney is seeded and the first round will be held March 13-14 at campus sites. Weber State (24-6) participated in the 16-team College Basketball Invitational last season. The CollegeInsider.com Invitational takes 24 teams. Eighteen NBA representatives from 14 teams were on hand at the tournament to watch Weber State junior point guard Damian Lillard, the Big Sky MVP. Lillard followed a 22-point night in the quarterfinal against Portland State with a game-high 29 points in the championship game against Montana. Lillard, who would have been a senior this season if not for a medical hardship waiver received from the NCAA after breaking his foot last year, has been projected by many as a first-round draft pick if he decides to leave school for the NBA this summer.

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