SLC Trib - Montana knocks Weber

[Proud Griz Man]

Montana knocks Weber State out of Big Sky tournament By Pat Graham


First published Mar 08 2011 10:42PM
Greeley, Colo. • Montana is making a habit out of comebacks at Weber State’s expense.

Will Cherry scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Brian Qvale grabbed 17 rebounds, helping the Grizzlies rally in the second half for a 57-40 win over the Wildcats on Tuesday night in the Big Sky Conference tournament semifinals.

The Grizzlies (21-9) will face Northern Colorado in Wednesday’s championship game. Northern Colorado beat Northern Arizona 73-70 on Tuesday. Montana is seeking its second straight tournament crown.
Scott Bamforth led the way for Weber State (18-12) with 10 points.

This was a matchup of last season’s championship game, when Montana stormed back from a 22-point deficit to beat Weber State, 66-65. Once again, the Grizzlies needed a big rally to move on. Down by as many as 11 points, second-seeded Montana took the lead for good, 41-40, on two free throws by Cherry with 5:59 remaining. Using stifling defense, the Grizzlies finished the game off with an 18-0 run, holding Weber State without a point for the final 7:37.

“We just ran out of gas,” Weber State coach Randy Rahe said. “We just hit some walls. We had energy in the first half. “In the second half, they had energy.” Kareem Jamar gave the Grizzlies a boost off the bench as he filled in for starter Shawn Stockton, who hobbled off the court late in the first half holding his right hamstring. Stockton didn’t return. Jamar scored all 10 of his points in the second half. Qvale, Montana’s leading scorer, was held in check early, but still finished with 16 points. He also came up big on the boards as the Grizzlies outrebounded Weber State by a 50-31 margin.

Weber State basketball: Wildcats finish in deep freeze to lose to MontanaPublished: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 10:52 p.m. Deseret News

GREELEY, Colo. — Weber State started its Big Sky semifinal game against Montana ice cold — and ended it in a deep freeze. The Wildcats did not score in the game's final seven-plus minutes and were eliminated by the Grizzlies 57-40 on Tuesday night. It was the third time in the last four seasons that Weber State ended its year in the conference semifinals.

The cause for the Wildcats' loss this time was a disappearing shooting touch. Weber State missed its final 15 shots against the Grizzlies, who closed the game on an 18-0 run. We just wore down," said Wildcats center Trevor Morris.

Weber State overcame an icy start in which it missed its first nine shots and didn't score in the game's first seven-plus minutes. The Wildcats then went on a 15-2 run to go up 15-9.

Weber State remained in control through the remainder of the first half, holding Montana to 13 percent (3-for-23) shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Wildcats led 22-12 at halftime.

"Tonight, we sold out in the first half," said Weber State coach Randy Rahe. "The guys played terrific. They played hard. (I) thought we guarded them well, rebounded, did everything we were supposed to do." But just as they did in last year's Big Sky championship game, the Wildcats gave up a double-digit second-half lead in an elimination game against the Grizzlies. Montana recaptured the lead at 33-32 when Will Cherry made a layup with 9:53 remaining. The lead changed hands six more times before Montana put the clamps on Weber State down the stretch. "We lost our energy," said Rahe. "I thought we hit a wall. That's really what it came down to. We were the more aggressive team in the first half and they were the more aggressive team in the second half."

... "I just again want to tip my cap to Coach Rahe and the great job of coaching he did this year after losing the best player in the league," said Montana coach Wayne Tinkle, who also correctly noted that the first half of Tuesday's game was really bad TV. "To get on the roll they did to put themselves in this position says a ton about his abilities and the character of his team." Rahe was more than pleased with the character his team showed in reaching the semifinals without Lillard. "I couldn't be more proud of the team," he said. "A couple months ago when we had some adversity hit … at one point it looked like it was going to be a tough road. And a lot of teams would have given in, but this team showed as much resiliency and toughness and togetherness, and all the things we want our program to be about as much as any team I've been around. They did a (heck) of a job."

 

[Proud Griz Man]

... the University of Montana defeated the Wildcats 57-40.

The loss ends WSU's conference season, but WSU Head Coach Randy Rahe said he was proud of his team and their performance this season.

"I couldn't be more proud of a team," he said. "This team showed as much resiliency and toughness and togetherness, and all the things we want our program to be about, as any team I have ever seen."

The 18-point second half was the lowest scoring output in a half for WSU the entire season and was due, in large part, to the Grizzlies' defense.

WSU shot just 17 percent in the second half from the field and 7 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Grizzlies turned their defensive effort into easy baskets on the other end of the court as they scored 45 points in the second half, compared to WSU's 18.

The game was a tale of two halves, however, as it seemed the Wildcats would run away with the game in the first half.

After UM got out to an early 7-0 lead, WSU charged back and went on a 22-4 run to close out the first half. The Wildcats held UM without a field goal for more than 12 minutes, and the Grizzlies shot just 13 percent in the first half on 3-of-23 from the field and committed nine turnovers. Meanwhile, WSU shot 26 percent from the floor and was 3-of-7 from behind the arc. Jordan Richardson ignited the team off the bench in the first half, scoring eight points and corralling three rebounds. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 22-12 advantage and their defense held the Grizzlies to their lowest scoring half of the season with 12 points. Earlier in the season, the Grizzlies scored just 20 points against WSU, which was their previous low for a half in the season.

The second half was a complete change from how the first half ended, as Kareem Jamar connected on a 3-point shot from the left corner of the court to start the second half for UM. Will Cherry and Brian Qvale started to take over the game as Cherry scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Qvale added 11 points in the second half. He finished with 16 points as well and grabbed 17 rebounds, and had three steals and two blocks on the night. The double-double was Qvale's 10th of the season. WSU ended the game shooting 21 percent from the floor on 12-of-56 shooting and 20 percent from behind the arc on 4-of-20 shooting.

"To be honest with you, we just ran out of gas," Rahe said. "It looked about the 10-minute mark (that) we just kind of hit some walls. Their minds wanted to do it, but sometimes your bodies won't follow and that's what it looked like to me." The Grizzlies shot a scorching 62 percent from the floor in the second half and 50 percent from behind the arc. A big key to the Grizzlies' high percentage was their scoring in the painted area. UM had 26 points in the paint, as opposed to WSU's six. "Credit (Montana)," said WSU center Trevor Morris. "Like Coach (Rahe) said, they just kept coming and we just wore down, I guess." The Grizzlies also outrebounded the Wildcats 48-29 on the night, which kept WSU from scoring on second-chance opportunities.

Scott Bamforth was the only Wildcat in double figures. He finished with 10 points. Morris contributed eight points and eight rebounds for WSU. The loss ended WSU's chance at winning the Big Sky Conference Championship. The Wildcats, however, still have one game remaining on the year, which will be against the West Coast Conference's Saint Mary's College on Friday. SMC was the runner-up in the West Coast Conference Tournament, losing to Gonzaga University in the championship game.
Despite the loss, senior guard Lindsey Hughey said this season taught the team how to fight through adversity, something the team will take into next season.
"A big key is to always fight and never give up," Hughey said. "We learned this year (that) we always need to give (the game) our all, 'cause you never know what could happen."

 

[Proud Griz Man]

coverage by the Billings Gazette

... no denying Will Cherry and the Montana Grizzlies on Tuesday night. With one more win, the Griz will be dancin'.

It wasn't exactly the same as Anthony Johnson's 35-point, second-half outburst from last year, but the Montana Grizzlies will certainly take it. The Griz scored just 12 points and shot just 13 percent from the floor in the first half Tuesday night, but regrouped and ran away from Weber State for a 57-40 victory in the semifinal round of the Big Sky Conference tourney. UM advanced to tomorrow night's championship game, where they'll play host team and top-seeded Northern Colorado.
It's the second straight season the Griz mounted a second-half comeback to eliminate Weber State from the league tourney. Turns out the Wildcats are just a "regular-season team." A year ago, Johnson went off for 42-points to help the Griz erase the Wildcats' 22-point lead in last year's title game. "A.J." scored 35 in the second half -- including Montana's last 21 points -- in a legendary performance.
This time it was more of a defensive effort. As Montana surged offensively, the Griz limited Weber State significantly. The Wildcats did not score in the final 7:40 of the second half after Scott Bamforth hit a 3. Ouch. That's not to say UM didn't have a few offensive heroes. Brian Qvale had 16 points and 17 rebounds. Will Cherry scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and Kareem Jamar came off the bench to score 10 points. Jamar stepped up after Shawn Stockton was lost to a hamstring injury.
Derek Selvig's 3 at the 4:24 mark of the second half gave Montana a 46-40 lead, and it was smooth sailing from there. All told, the Griz outscored Weber State 45-18 in the game's final 20 minutes. Weber shot a season-worst 21 percent.