Grizzlies maul Dinos in tournament tipoff
'We got the heck rebounded out of us,' coach says
Herald News Services
Published: Sunday, August 31, 2008
Paced by a third-quarter shooting barrage, the University of Montana Grizzlies captured the opening round of this weekend's Battle of the Border pre-season basketball tournament with an 82-72 decision Saturday over the University of Calgary Dinos.
The Grizzlies outshot the Dinos 31-18 in the pivotal third session, breaking open what had been a tight game the host squad had led by a 40-34 count at halftime in the U of C's Jack Simpson Gym.
With Calgary up by a score of 56-52 and just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, a three-pointer by Montana's Jordan Hasquet sparked the Grizzlies to an unanswered 13-0 run.
Two free throws by the Dinos' Ross Bekkering at the end of the quarter ended that dry spell, but the visitors took a 65-58 lead into the final 10 minutes and extended it to a final 10-point victory.
Calgary struggled to rebound against a big Montana team all night, finishing with just 24 boards to the Grizzlies' 43. And on the Montana end of the floor, the Dinos were able to grab just 18 defensive rebounds to the Grizzlies' 17 offensive boards.
"The result tonight was on the glass, nothing else," said ninth-year Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren. "We got the heck rebounded out of us."
Poor second-half shooting also plagued the Dinos, who went 9-of-25 from the field in the final 20 minutes, while Montana shot 18-for-33.
Calgary's Henry Bekkering, playing the first game of his final season, led all players with 31 points on the night, followed by sophomore guard Tyler Fidler with 24.
Behind those two, however, the scoring dried up considerably for the Dinos, with just three other players hitting the scoresheet -- Robbie Sihota with nine points, while Ross Bekkering and freshman Dominyc Coward both scored four.
A free throw from Ross Bekkering early in the third was the first Calgary point from outside the Henry-Fidler-Sihota trio.
"I don't think we got the best game out of Ross, and there's more in the tank to be sure," said Vanhooren.
"We attacked pretty well and were pretty aggressive, we got good games out of Fidler and Henry, and that's definitely a good sign going forward.
"I was also satisfied with our point guard play, which is something that we're measuring this weekend to see who's going to step up."
For Montana, Jack McGillis led the way with 19 points, followed by Hasquet's 15 and a baker's dozen from Brian Qvale. Ryan Staudacher, Michael Taylor and Kyle Sharp also hit double digits in scoring for the Griz.
Calgary takes today off at the tournament, while Montana has a busy day with two games on the slate.
The Griz face Lethbridge at noon, followed by a date with the SAIT Trojans at 7 p.m. as the 2008 Battle of the Border rolls on.
The Dinos and Grizzlies will cap the tournament Monday in the rubber match, with tipoff slated for noon.
