Hank Scorpio
Well-known member
Johnson continues to show his worth to Griz
By GREG RACHAC
Of The Gazette Staff
When Anthony Johnson transferred to Montana from Yakima Valley Community College in Washington, the Grizzlies knew they found a diamond in the rough.
But what they didn't know is that Johnson would evolve into the team's best player and become a legitimate candidate for the Big Sky Conference player of the year honor.
Johnson proved his worth again on Saturday by scoring 23 points, including 17 in the second half, in a 78-63 victory over archrival Montana State at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.
"When it was his turn to get the ball in his hands he made some great plays," UM coach Wayne Tinkle said. "He's been doing it all year." The 6-foot-2 junior from Tacoma, Wash., made 7 of 14 shots, including 9 of 9 free throws. It was Johnson's 12th straight game in double digits, and he now leads the Big Sky in scoring at 16.6 points per game.
"I love making plays for my teammates, and that's been since Day 1," Johnson said. "The fact that I'm starting to finally score a little bit and adjust to the D-I game has just been a bonus for me.
"I know I can score the basketball, but I'm a playmaker. Whether I'm taking the shot or one of my teammates is taking the shot, it makes no difference to me."
But it's usually a good thing when Johnson is taking the shot. Johnson is shooting 51 percent from the floor, which ranks eighth in the league and second among guards. His efficiency from the foul line is equally impressive: Johnson is making 86 percent of his free throws, the top mark in the league.
Johnson's play has helped turn Montana's season around. During the Grizzlies' current five-game winning streak, Johnson is averaging 19.4 points.
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Zoning 'em up
The Lady Griz pride themselves on defense and it shows. UM leads the Big Sky in scoring defense at 56.3 points-allowed per game.
But how did they hold Montana State, the league's highest-scoring team, 17 points below its season average in Saturday?
Easy. Selvig slapped his vaunted zone defense on the Cats.
"I didn't think we were doing a bad job in man, but I wanted to check out what the zone was like," Selvig said. "They can put together flurries in a hurry. We wanted to look at the zone to see which we liked better, and we ended up liking the zone and ended up staying with it."
As a result, the Lady Griz got stops when they needed them. Senior post Britney Lohman, the reigning defensive player of the year in the Big Sky, finished with four steals and three blocks. Senior guard Sonya Rogers also had four swipes.
And at the game's most critical moment, Sarah Ena stole the ball with MSU threatening to tie the game in the waning seconds.
Foul shots played a factor in the outcome, too. Montana made 24 of 32 from the line while MSU hit just 6 of 9.
"A big portion of that is they do a great job of getting themselves to the foul line," MSU coach Tricia Binford said. "From the other end, with the zone, it was really difficult for us to get to the foul line.
"I felt that was the other piece that kind of slowed us down a little bit where we lost our momentum, when they went to that zone. It's the first we've seen it in conference all year, so it took a little bit of time for us to get warmed up against that, even though we expected it."
By GREG RACHAC
Of The Gazette Staff
When Anthony Johnson transferred to Montana from Yakima Valley Community College in Washington, the Grizzlies knew they found a diamond in the rough.
But what they didn't know is that Johnson would evolve into the team's best player and become a legitimate candidate for the Big Sky Conference player of the year honor.
Johnson proved his worth again on Saturday by scoring 23 points, including 17 in the second half, in a 78-63 victory over archrival Montana State at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.
"When it was his turn to get the ball in his hands he made some great plays," UM coach Wayne Tinkle said. "He's been doing it all year." The 6-foot-2 junior from Tacoma, Wash., made 7 of 14 shots, including 9 of 9 free throws. It was Johnson's 12th straight game in double digits, and he now leads the Big Sky in scoring at 16.6 points per game.
"I love making plays for my teammates, and that's been since Day 1," Johnson said. "The fact that I'm starting to finally score a little bit and adjust to the D-I game has just been a bonus for me.
"I know I can score the basketball, but I'm a playmaker. Whether I'm taking the shot or one of my teammates is taking the shot, it makes no difference to me."
But it's usually a good thing when Johnson is taking the shot. Johnson is shooting 51 percent from the floor, which ranks eighth in the league and second among guards. His efficiency from the foul line is equally impressive: Johnson is making 86 percent of his free throws, the top mark in the league.
Johnson's play has helped turn Montana's season around. During the Grizzlies' current five-game winning streak, Johnson is averaging 19.4 points.
------------------------------------------------
Zoning 'em up
The Lady Griz pride themselves on defense and it shows. UM leads the Big Sky in scoring defense at 56.3 points-allowed per game.
But how did they hold Montana State, the league's highest-scoring team, 17 points below its season average in Saturday?
Easy. Selvig slapped his vaunted zone defense on the Cats.
"I didn't think we were doing a bad job in man, but I wanted to check out what the zone was like," Selvig said. "They can put together flurries in a hurry. We wanted to look at the zone to see which we liked better, and we ended up liking the zone and ended up staying with it."
As a result, the Lady Griz got stops when they needed them. Senior post Britney Lohman, the reigning defensive player of the year in the Big Sky, finished with four steals and three blocks. Senior guard Sonya Rogers also had four swipes.
And at the game's most critical moment, Sarah Ena stole the ball with MSU threatening to tie the game in the waning seconds.
Foul shots played a factor in the outcome, too. Montana made 24 of 32 from the line while MSU hit just 6 of 9.
"A big portion of that is they do a great job of getting themselves to the foul line," MSU coach Tricia Binford said. "From the other end, with the zone, it was really difficult for us to get to the foul line.
"I felt that was the other piece that kind of slowed us down a little bit where we lost our momentum, when they went to that zone. It's the first we've seen it in conference all year, so it took a little bit of time for us to get warmed up against that, even though we expected it."
