grizzlyjournal

Grizzlies Face Key Matchup at Portland State

It’s amazing what a win streak can do for a team. Granted, the Montana Grizzlies’ two straight victories in Big Sky Conference play don’t quite qualify as a “streak.” But if the Grizzlies can add a one more “W” tonight against the Portland State Vikings in an 8 p.m. clash at Portland’s Stott Center, a second-straight road win would insert them solidly back into the hunt for the conference crown.

Early last week, Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle announced that his players had met and downgraded their pre-season expectations to merely “qualify” for the conference post-season tourney instead of hosting it. A win tonight would make that announcement a bit premature.

A victory won’t be easy. The Vikings, under third-year head coach Ken Bone, feature a balanced attack that combines a slick uptempo early offense and a solid half court offense capably directed by junior transfer guard Jeremiah Dominguez. If the Vikings get on a roll, they’re hard to stop.

But the Vikings can be beaten. A look at comparative scores -- both in preseason and in Big Sky play -- is proof enough the Grizzlies have the team to pull out another road win (see today’s scouting report).

That might allow coach Tinkle and his team to drag that discarded list of preseason goals out of the trash bin, smooth it out, and tack it back up on the locker room cork board. Read today’s Grizzly Journal SCOUTING REPORT here.

FIVE QUESTIONS: An Exchange with the Vikings Blog

Early in the season -- Ian Ruder, host of the Portland Oregonian’s Vikings Blog -- asked me to exchange five questions and answers with him as a preview to the Portland State vs. Montana men's basketball game. He sent me five questions. Those questions and my answers are posted on Ruder's Vikings Blog.

In turn, I asked Ian six questions about the Portland State Vikings, a talented and experienced team currently in third place in the Big Sky at 4-2, and solidly in the hunt for the conference crown.

My questons and Ian’s answers are posted below. As always, reader comments are welcome.

1. Grizzly Journal -- With the Vikings solidly in the hunt for the Big Sky Crown, which single player has contributed most to the team's 4-2 record, and how does he compare against others at his position in the conference? Is he an mvp candidate?
RUDER: Balance has been the big word for the Vikings this year. Deonte Huff and Jeremiah Dominguez are both performing at all-conference levels and play the most minutes on the team, but to this point I don't think either is an MVP candidate. That said Huff has to be among the most well-rounded three's in the league, even if he is undersized. Coach Ken Bone has shown that he has confidence in 12 of the 13 players on the roster and, with the exception of the injured Dupree Lucas, who may not play, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play them all.

2. Grizzly Journal -- Before the season tipped off, Portland State Coach Ken Bone said Viking senior post  Scott Morrison had to have an mvp-quality year, both for his and the teams' success. Is Morrison on pace to fulfill his coach's expectations? How? If not, who?
RUDER: The jury is still out. In PSU's last two games and in this week's practices, Morrison has been aggressive on both sides of the ball and has keyed the team's success. Prior to that he went through a stretch where he was ineffective and saw his playing time reduced. Morrison's sometimes passive play obviously frustrates Bone and there seems to be a little tension between the two. That Bone really likes the athletic game of sophomore forward/center Julius Thomas further complicates the situation. The one thing that is for sure is that when Morrison plays well, he adds a new dimension to PSU's team.

3. Grizzly Journal -- What kind of team presents matchup problems for the Vikings? With what style (pace, etc.) of play must the Vikings succeed in order to win?
RUDER: Honestly, I think that PSU's biggest problem comes from within. The Vikings have been inconsistent in stretches this year, not playing to their capability and letting less talented teams beat them (see EWU). When this team is clicking on all cylinders, they will be tough for any BSC team. As to pacing, the Viks have the players to run and the players to execute a halfcourt offense. Can they do it consistently? That is the question.

4. Grizzly Journal -- Give us a brief scouting report on the Grizzlies from the Vikings' perspective. What do the Viks need to accomplish in order to win?
RUDER: I would think the Vikings would want to be the aggressors Thursday to take advantage of the team's superior depth and athleticism. PSU has a surplus of big bodies to throw at Hasquet, Strait and Qvale and I think Murray and Huff (and freshman Justynn Hammond) will be tough matchups on the perimeter. Tinkle's reliance on the bigs should play to PSU's strengths, whether they can execute will be the question. Opposing teams have had success shooting over the diminuitive Dominguez (5-foot-6) and I would think Cameron Rundles and Matt Martin would be more valuable against him than Ceylon.

5. Grizzly Journal -- Has any single player been an unexpected VP for the Vikings this year? How, specfically, has he strengthened the team?
RUDER: Junior college guard Andre Murray has to be the big surprise. The 6-2 junior has pogo sticks for legs and a big body that make him surprisingly effective on the glass (5.7 rpg in conference) and allow him to do some impressive things going to the basket (12.7 ppg in conference). His continuing emergence has made the loss of last year's Newcomer of the Year, Dupree Lucas, much more manageable. Transfer point guard Jeremiah Dominguez has also been solid.

6. Grizzly Journal -- What kind of facility is Stott Center? Does it present difficulties for visiting teams? Is PSU's fan support a major factor in the Vikings’ home-court success?
RUDER: An anecdote: Thursday's game will be the first televised from the Stott Center in a long time and whereas you might think administrators are pumped, I'm pretty sure they are biting their nails that people will see the facility and lose respect for PSU. It is that bad. A remodel four or five years back made it much nicer, but it still has to be near the top of the list of worst facilities in D-1. Add in the normally sparse attendance, and well there you go. Attendance has improved in the last three years though and the Montana game is usually the best attended of the year.

Andrew Strait is Grizzly Journal MVP for Jan. 29

When Montana senior center Andrew Strait has a good game it usually means someone else is setting him up for success.

Such was the case in Montana’s victories over Eastern Washington and at Northern Colorado, and Srait was quick to credit Grizzly guards for getting him the ball off of the blocks to spring him to a 20-point night in Montana’s 80-61 win over the Eagles, and 12 points in an 11-point win over the Bears.

His efforts garnered him a co-Big Sky Player of the Week award, an honor with which we heartily agree, even if Montana’s guard combos had a lot to do with the results.

“I think a lot of those buckets I had were uncontested,” said Strait. “The guards did a great job of finding me when I was open and putting the ball right were I needed it, and you know it’s easy when they do that. It makes it easy on me, and you know they were good looks.”

In the two wins, Strait made 13 of his 16 field goal attempts and six of his eight free throws and took down 21 rebounds total.

But it may have been Strait’s floor game that provided the difference in both games. Strait held Eastern Washington’s go-to player, Kellen Williams, to single-digit scoring until late in the game when the outcome was settled. And over the two games Strait dished out three assists, had three steals and blocked one shot.

The two victories were crucial to the Griz, who had lost two conference games on last-second shots and held solid second-half leads in their other two losses before fading down the stetch.

The slow team start is nothing new for Strait, however.

“Throughout all of this, despite our rough start, we know the season’s young,” said Strait. “We’re really all excited about turning it all around. We did it my sophomore and freshman year and I think it’s still there for the taking.”

The Grizzlies face one of their toughest road tests of the season on Thursday, when they travel to Portland to take on the 11-8 Portland State Vikings, which are 4-2 in conference, with road wins at Sacramento State and Idaho State, but are undefeated at home.

The Vikings’ sizeable frontcourt lineup may present problems for Strait. But the Montana  center said the Griz have the ability to produce in other areas.

“You know it’s really nice to play with a group of guys who on any given night any one of them can be the top scorer,” said Strait. “Because it takes the focus off of you and makes the other team’s defense have to be aware of those threats.”

Lady Griz Edge Tough Northern Colorado Squad, 73-69

The Montana Lady Griz trailed through most of the first three-quarters of their four-point, 73-69 win over a tough Northern Colorado Bears squad Saturday.

But a late surge -- fueled by excellent defense from Laura Cote and several key drives into the key by Johanna Closson -- turned the tide for Montana's win.

Closson hit a jumper in the key with 6:01 remaining that gave the Lady Griz a one-point57-56 lead over the Bears. Seconds later reserve forward Dvera Tolbert nailed a nice post-up shot before Sonja Rogers drained a trey. The three-strait scores sprung the Lady Griz to a 62-56 lead.

PHOTO: Sonja Rogers drives the baseline past Northern Colorado defender Chelsie Luhring. Rogers scored 14 points and had 4 rebounds against the Bears.

Though the Bears kept within two possessions throughout, Montana's maintained the margin for their fifth conference victory against one loss. The Bears slipped to 5-2 with the loss, but remains in the hunt for the Big Sky Crown with Montana, Portland State and Idaho State.

Point guard Mandy Morales had a quiet 19  points for Montana, sinking 10-of-11 free throws, grabbing four rebounds and distributing four assists on the evening.

Closson's second half drives into the paint helped Montana keep pace with the Bears, who led through much of the game on 8-for-19 shooting from Jamie Schroeder and an evenly distributed long-range shooting game by the Bears, who converted 13 of 28 treys.

Rogers scored 14 points for the Lady Griz, nailing four of her eight treys while grabbing four rebounds.

PHOTO: Laura Cote goes up against Bears defenders Danielle Hagen and Lizzie Cooper. Cote scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists for the Lady Griz.

The Lady Griz will host Portland State Thursday in a match between conference leaders. Each team has suffered only one loss, Montana on the road at Idaho State and Portland State at Northern Colorado.

SCOUTING REPORT: Montana at Northern Colorado, Jan. 26

PREVIEW: Wayne Tinkle’s Montana Grizzlies may have learned more about themselves as a team during their conference-opening three-game, two-loss weekend than they have all season.

After experimenting off and on with a “large” lineup that placed freshman center, Brian Qvale (#44, shown in photo to the left), on the baseline alongside Andrew Strait, the Grizzlies finally committed to it against Weber State.

The next game the Griz “won big” over the Eastern Washington Eagles. Big, in more ways than one.

It made me nostalgic.

That lineup looked... and then started to play... like. Well, like the big, bruising, bashing, take-it-to-em’ Grizzly teams of yore from the eighties and early nineties. You know. The ones that bannered a bruising, two-tank, heavy-howitzer front line. The names: McKenzie, Stroeder, McBride, Krystkowiak, Vanek, Tinkle, Engellant, Kempfert and Samuelson.

Ok, it’s too early to add another name. But I think young Mr. Qvale is up to the challenge.

If there’s been some question regarding whether Qvale is ready, then ask no more. Thursday he answered big time. Sure, there will be games where he’ll foul out. And he’ll struggle against a smaller post with better baseline quickness.

But with time he, and the Grizzlies, should only get better. Qvale’s presence injected, and then fused, several dimensions instantaneously into Montana’s game. That resulted in a faster game and 80 points from the Griz, which is the second-highest total this season against any team not named “Montana Tech.”

It also strengthened the Montana bench. There is now no dropoff at guard. And -- after a few games with the new lineup -- the frontline reserves will add a dimension of quickness that will be tough for opponents to adjust to. This is where Montana’s potential has yet to become fulfilled.

If it is fulfilled, and if Montana can get back onto a winning track, then I can certainly envision some “really big things” happening for Montana basketball in the near future.

MONTANA v.s Northern Colorado

Game time is 7:05 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. TV --  Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

THE GAME: University of Montana at Northern Colorado  at 7:05 p.m.

RECORDS: Northern Colorado is 8-11 (2-5). The Bears have two overtime losses, and one three-point loss, and one three-point win in conference play.

The Bears have WINS against VMI (104-97), Denver (54-46), Johnson + Wales (62-51), Colorado State (72-59), Bowling Green St. (64-60 OT), Sacramento State (74-60), Weber State (55-52), and San Diego State (62-56). The Bears have LOST to: Air Force (71-62), Iowa (59-47), Denver (69-53), Gonzaga (77-57), Oregon State (65-56), Portland (70-63),  Northern Arizona (86-70), Idaho State (76-65), Eastern Washington (91-85 OT), Portland State (85-83 OT), and Montana State (70-67).

Montana takes a 7-11 (1-4) record into the game with losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Weber State. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62), Montana Tech (91-36) and on Thursday, beat Eastern Washington 80-61.

The Grizzlies are 3-9 since claiming second place in the Washington State Cougar Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.

THE COACH:  Tad Boyle, is in his second year as head coach of the University of Northern Colorado Bears. This is his first head coaching position after having served as an assistant at Oregon (1994-97), Tennessee (1997-98), Jacksonville State (1998-2000), and Wichita State (2000-2006). He is the 17th head coach at UNC. A native of Greeley, Colorado, Boyle spent the past six seasons at Wichita State on the staff of longtime friend Mark Turgeon. Boyle’s record at UNC is 10-25.

HISTORY: Montana leads the series 6-1. The Grizzlies won the last meeting between the two teams (85-64).

PERSONNEL: The Bears are led by Jabril Banks, a 6’-7” junior forward, and Sean Taibi, a 6’-3” senior swingman. Banks leads the Bears with a 12.9 per-game scoring average, and is  rebounding an average of 6.1 per game, ranked 8th in conference. Banks has the third best shooting percentage in conference, at 58.9% Taibi averages 10.7 points per  game. Other key players include senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos, who averages 8.2 points per game, and 6’-6” sophomore forward, Jefferson Mason, who is averaging 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Guard Robert Palacios, who averages 5.9 points and 2.33 assists per game, is considered a solid defender and is the fourth-ranked player in the Big Sky in steals (1.61 pg.)

THE TEAM: The Bears lead the Big Sky in one category (offensive rebounding), and are ranked second in steals. Otherwise, the Bears are a second-tier team in every other team category and are a solid league worst in turnovers (a negative average of -2.32 per game) and assists-to-turnovers (0.67). The Bears have good overall team quickness, play solid defense, and create opportunities in early offense, even though the Bears aren’t really a running team. More than any other Big Sky team, the Bears have produced a season similar to Montana, with some interesting comparisons against common foes (Colorado State, Air Force, Gonzaga). The Bears, like the Griz, have played competitively, but have lost more close games than they’ve one. In  overtime games, UNC is 1-2, while Montana is 0-2.

HOW TO BEAT THE BEARS: If Montana can neutralize the Bears’ overall advantage in quickness, the Griz match up very well in every other category. Simply put: pound it low. And when the defense collapses, swing it out to Montana’s shooters and tell them to win it with threes.

The recent emergence of Brian Qvale should make Montana the most powerful team in the Big Sky in the front court. And that should  soon lead to the most versatile inside-outside-wing combo in the conference. Qvale was  once considered the future. The future is now. If Montana commits to its newfound dominant lineup, Qvale’s presence can make the Griz the most feared team in the Big Sky.

On defense -- The Bears are vulnerable at point guard. The switching-trapping guard defense that frustrated the Eastern Washington Eagles can work even better against a Northern Colorado team that relies upon two undersized forwards for its scoring punch. Montana’s guard-depth has gradually become the deepest in the conference.  If the Griz attack the Bears’ back court aggressively, they can win. If Montana allows Banks and Taibi to get the ball near the paint, then the Griz risk getting into foul trouble early. This game will be won on defense by Montana’s ever improving defensive perimeter defenders.

On Offense -- Every Big Sky team that’s played the Griz has double-teamed Andrew Strait. Enough. Let’s see if they can double both Andrew and Brian. They can’t. Pound it low to Andrew first. Swing it to Brian second. Then, when the Bears' defense collapses, get it to Jordan Hasquet, Ryan Staaudacher and Matt Martin on the perimeter. It starts with the inside game because I don’t think there’s a team in the Big Sky that can stop BOTH Strait and Qvale

Individuals --I think success against the Bears starts with solid defense from Ceylon Elgin-Taylor and Ryan Staudacher (given a healthy ankle). But Montana’s hopes may rest on keeping Brian Qvale both in the game AND out of foul trouble.

HEALTH: Ryan Staudacher either sprained or bruised his right foot at midweek. He played well Thursday, but was slowed.

Montana Grounds Eagles Early, Surges to 80-61 Win

The Montana Grizzlies, -- boosted by Andrew Strait’s 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting and double figures scoring from four other players -- capitalized on two offensive surges, one in each half, and defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 80-61 at Dahlberg Arena Thursday.

The victory, Montana’s first home win in conference play and only the third since Nov. 29, upped the Grizzlies’ record to 8-11, 2-4 in conference play heading into a road contest at Northern Colorado Saturday.

“To get a win and get a win like this definitely does a lot for our confidence,” said Montana shooting guard Ryan Staudacher.

”Now we know how to play from the tip to finish and so now we’ve got to take this to the road and get a couple on the road.”

Triggered by a three-point shot by Jordan Hasquet barely 40 seconds into the game, Montana surged to a 15-2 lead in the game’s first six minutes and was never threatened from there.

The Eagles, behind several slashing drives from point guard Adris DeLeon, stayed within 10 points throughout the first half and the first eight minutes of the second half.

PHOTOS: Andrew Strait battles Eagles Gary Gibson and Kellen Wilson for possession of the ball. Strait scored 20 points against the Eagles. (Below) Griz point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor drives the lane against Gibson. ET had four assists and four points.

But a second run midway through the second half – when six Griz assists led to six baskets and two free throws in four minutes – Montana outscored the Eagles 14-2, and claimed a 70-50 lead with 7:41 remaining.

The back-breaking run, engineered by assists from every player on the floor, showcased perhaps the most efficient offensive play of the year by the Grizzlies, who ended the night with 27 field goals on 23 assists against 15 turnovers. Five Grizzly players had at least three assists, led by five each from Staudacher and Cameron Rundles, and four from Ceylon Elgin-Taylor.

“We knew we had to get the ball inside to the three bigs,” said Elgin-Taylor. “When we were able to get the ball inside they made those easy baskets.”

Straight agreed.

“I think a lot of the shots I had were uncontested,” the Montana post said about his perfect shooting night.

“The guards did a great job of finding me when I was open and put the ball right were I needed it. You know it’s easy when they do that.

“That’s what we’re capable of, and that’s what coach (Wayne Tinkle) stresses so much when we get out of our offense, because he knows how effective it is when we do run it.”

Montana’s defensive intensity was just as effective.

The Eagles got 19 hard-earned points from DeLeon (4-for-13)  and wing Kellen Williams (4-10). But the Grizzlies smothered both players with a swarming, switching combination of man and zone defense, and when the Eagle duo got shots, they were either contested our fouled. DeLeon made 9 of 9 freethrows and Williams  made 4 of 4.

Montana’s pressure defense paid dividends early. Strait (one block)  and freshman post Brian Qvale (2 blocks) were intimidators in the paint and altered numerous Eastern shots. Montana’s defense held the Eagles to 38.3 percent shooting from the field, and Griz rebounders cleared the boards of any misses, claiming a whopping 26-rebound 36-15 margin over the Eagles. Strait grabbed 9 rebounds, Hasquet snared 10, while Qvale and Staudacher each had five.

Qvale, who started alongside Straight on the frontcourt line, scored 12 points and clearly changed the dynamics of the game.  With the freshman post playing inside, Hasquet was freed to move to the wing, where he hurt the Eagles with two early treys and did even more damage in the second half by scoring on several drives. Hasquet added seven free throws (7-for-10) as well.

And, with Straight dominating the low blocks, Qvale who was open for several good looks from the free throw or in the high paint, was nearly perfect himself, converting 5-of-6 for the night.

"Our goal from the start was to get the ball into the post and it worked well for us tonight," said Qvale. "They left me open at the top, so if they’re going to leave me that open, then I’m just going to shoot it."

Straight predicted even more from Qvale.

“He’s a great young talent and a good guy and he’s going to going to be a great player here,” said Strait. “It’s kind of nice to have somebody out there in the middle there with me. You know you kind of take it for granted when you’re there by yourself. Brian really poses a threat to the opposing defense and takes pressure off of me.”

PHOTO: Brian Qvale scores two of his 12 points over Eagle post Brandon Moore.

Staudacher, who played gingerly at first because of a sprained ankle, made 14 points on 5-of-8 shots, and guard Matt Martin gave the Griz a charge with  10 points on two treys and 4-of-6 conversions from the free throw line.

Montana shot 61.4 percent from the field, 50 percent from three point range, and an improved 66.7 percent from the free throw line.

GAME NOTES: Eagle coach Kirk Earlywine was ejected from the game with 17 minutes remaining in the second half, after a rapid sequence of events triggered by a player technical. Earlywine had been given a warning for arguing a call in the first half. The second half technical led to Earlywine’s second technical and ejection. Earlywine will be suspended from coaching for one additional game for the infraction.

Eastern Washington at Montana: Open Comments

One of my goals for this blog is to develop a community of fans who want to actively discuss Montana sports in a quality comment exchange.

Thanks to those readers who have already submitted comments to past stories. All of the comments posted so far have been very perceptive. Keep the comments coming.  If we can get more fans adding their say, we can develop a lively community of Montana basketball fans.

In that light, I thought I'd AGAIN try this "open comments"  approach toward getting all your thoughts and comments on each game. Those of you who are listening or watching via a video stream are welcome to add your comments throughout and after the game.

I'll be at the game taking photos and gathering interview material for a post-game story and will post my story late this evening.

SCOUTING REPORT: Eastern Washington at Montana Jan. 24

PREVIEW: A good friend told me this week that a lot of Grizzly fans think the “problem” with the Grizzlies is that their coach, Wayne Tinkle, is just too nice of a guy to get this Montana team on a winning track.

There’s no doubt, I agree, that Tinkle is a truly nice person. But I have vivid memories of the way Tinkle played as an all-conference post in the late 1980s, and “nice guy” was not a term that was used to describe his powerful style of play. Nah. That’s not it.

But the statement got me thinking about the Griz. Because this is a team of talented players who are all  “nice guys.”  Is the one missing link a tough-as-nails blue-collar kid that will not allow his team to lose?

I think they have him. I think that kid is Cameron Rundles. And there he was, with 57 seconds remaining and the Griz trailing by two. His first shot took four slow-motion, agonizing bounces on the rim before it caromed off. I just think it was a bad bounce. Nothing more. The problem was that 13 of those shots, most taken by other players, also bounced away last Sunday.

PHOTO: Forward Jordan Hasquet posts up on Weber State's Daviin Davis. Hasquet scored 16 points and had 6 rebounds in the Grizzlies 68-67 loss Sunday.

There are other “problems,” which are not luck-related. it seems true that the Griz are a very capable team -- on paper and on the floor -- that suffers inexplicable mental lapses. We have seen this Montana team -- with dreaded predictability -- simply wilt in the final minutes of game after game. And the pattern is the same, particularly when an explanation for losing was, because good free throw shooters simply missed a bunch of “free” shots.

Nonetheless, several games have turned agonizingly on tough luck or an official’s “no-call.”  Good luck for them; bad luck for us. They say it all evens out over a season. If so, the Griz  are due.

I  guess we’ll see Thursday. Will one player step up? Will the ball finally bounce the right way? And might it turn their season around? If so, then I’ll be the first to say it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys.

MONTANA v.s EASTERN WASHINGTON

Game time is 7:05 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. TV --  Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

THE GAME: Eastern Washington at University of Montana, at 7:05 p.m.

RECORDS: Eastern Washington is 9-12 (3-3). The Eagles got their first conference win of the season Jan 17 with a 91-85 win at Northern Colorado.
The Eagles have WINS against UC Riverside (59-51), Alaska-Anchorage (64-62), Univ. of Missouri at Kansas City (65-54), Cascade (91-59), Portland (84-75), Portland State (58-57), Sacramento State (76-52), and Northern Colorado (91-85). The Eagles have LOST to Washington State (68-41),  New Mexico (92-57), Washington (82-68), Virginia Tech (69-52), Michigan (61-53), Santa Clara (57-66),  Kansas (85-47), Idaho (58-49), UCSB (58-51), Northern Arizona (79-75), Idaho State(58-56), and Weber State (74-64).

Montana takes a 7-11 (1-4) record into the game with losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Weber State. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Lost 68-67 at home to Weber State.

The Grizzlies are 2-9 since claiming second place in the Washington State Cougar Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, and 1-4 in conference, a mere 1/2 game ahead of Sacramento State.

THE COACH: Kirk Earlywine was hired as the head coach at Eastern Washington in June and had the formidable task to rebuild the entire team after previous coach Mike Burns’ departure. Earlywine has paid his dues as a division 1 assistant, serving as an assistant to Rick Majerus at Ball State and Utah for six years before spending two years at Central Michigan and three at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Sandwiched into those stints was a one-year position at Division II Peiffer University, where his team was 21-8. Earlywine was head assistant to Joe Cravens at Weber State from 1999-2006, and -- after Cravens departed at WSU -- served as Benny Moss’ assistant at UNC Wilmington before getting the job at Eastern.

HISTORY: Montana leads the series 49-39. The Griz have a 35-15 record against the Eagles since they joined the Big Sky in the1983-84 season, and hold a 15-7 edge in Cheney, an 18-7 margin in Missoula, and are 2-0 against the Eagles in neutral-court post-season play.

PERSONNEL: Eastern features two of the Big Sky Conference's leading scorers in senior Kellen Williams (fifth, 13.3) and Adris DeLeon (seventh, 12.6). Williams is also third in rebounding (8.9), eighth in field goal shooting (.525), seventh in steals (1.15) and first in minutes played (36.0). DeLeon is sixth in assists (3.3) and eighth in free throw percentage (.765). Six-foot-8 freshman Milan Stanojevic is a pure shooter and leads the Big Sky with 51 three-pointers made (2.6 per game) and is seventh in steals (1.15).

With his eighth double-double against Northern Colorado on Jan. 17, Williams has led Eastern in rebounding in 19 of 20 games. Williams has also scored in double figures in 16 total games this season and has been EWU's leading scorer five times.

DeLeon appears to be coming into his own recently, having scored 42 points in the Eagles’ OT win at Northern Colorado. DeLeon has been described as a “quick” Bryan Ellis.

THE TEAM: EWU appears to be a team of stark contrasts. The Eagles were picked to occupy a bottom rung in the Big Sky and finished non-conference with a 5-9 record. But the Eagles stunned Portland State in their first conference game and have played well since that win. At 3-3, the Eagles are in the thick of the fray. The Eagles reside near the bottom of the conference in most statistical categories, but -- behind the spirited leadership of juco transfer DeLeon -- have built an impressive +0.65 turnover margin and make a second-ranked eight 3-pointers per game. The Eagles are somewhat undersized, don’t have very impressive rebounding stats, shoot only 34 percent from three point range, have an unimpressive 40.4 field goal percentage overall, and have the second-lowest per-game scoring average at 62.9. But the Eagles have played tough in every conference game, and can be expected to continue that style of play.

HOW TO BEAT THE EAGLES

On defense --  Slow down Ardis DeLeon. At 6’-4,” Kellen Williams has the profile of a wing, but is one of the best rebounders in the conference and is dangerous all over the floor. He scored the winning field goal against Portland State and Eagles want the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. But it may be more important for the Griz to neutralize DeLeon, who is an excellent ball handler (much like Dezmon Harris), penetrates the key very effectively, and is responsible for the assists that lead to getting Williams open and to Milan Stanojevic’s success from three-point range.

On offense -- The Eagles are a team with a profile similar to Idaho State. If the Griz get behind early the Eagles will be very difficult to beat. EWU appears to have the same vulnerability in the low blocks as ISU. It’ll be critical that the Griz get the ball to Andrew Strait EARLY in the offense and -- when the Eagles collapse on Andrew just like every other Big Sky team has -- the big guy needs to get it to an open shooter. If the Eagles start collapsing on Montana’s inside game, it’ll be important for Ryan Staudacher, Cameron Rundles and Matt Martin to shoot. Right now I don’t care if the Griz perimeter players miss... I think they need to realize how important it its to keep shooting. If they do, the shots will start falling. I’d love to start hearing Montana fans start yelling at these guys to quit flinching and shoot.

PHOTOS: Griz post Andrew Strait goes up for a shot against Weber State. (below) Montana guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor penetrates into
the key against Weber State. ET made a pass for an assist on the play.

Individuals -- Certainly Montana fans have seen how Brian Qvale changes games on defense. It won’t be long before he has the confidence and experience to do the same on offense. Had Qvale not collected his fourth foul early in the second half against Weber State, the game could have been much different. The more Brian plays, the better he -- and Montana -- become. A a big plus from Brian: he’s tough (I don’t say that glibly). Montana’s season may hinge on the “appearance” of  a game-changer. I say Brian is the guy the Griz need to step up big in the paint.

Lastly -- It’s late in the season for a major change at point guard. But If Ceylon Elgin-Taylor is the man, then he’s got to be willing to step up when the game is on the line. He had that opportunity during the final seconds of Montana’s loss to Weber State, but passed the ball. The more he actively assumes control, the more open the Griz shooters will become. Take charge, ET! There are a lot of Montana fans who are behind you every play of the game.

HEALTH: Good.

Some Random Notes on a Lost Montana Weekend

PUZZLE OF THE WEEK – is most certainly Montana’s first half against Idaho State on Jan. 17, during which the Grizzlies made only seven of 21 field goal attempts for 33.3 percent. The Griz were equally inefficient on defense, allowing the Bengals  to make 12 of their 20 field goals... good for a 60 percent success rate.

The half follows a disturbing Montana pattern over the past two years where -- in a minimum of six games -- Montana has fallen behind their visiting opponents by as many as 13 points before rallying, usually to lose in the final minute of play. In those six games Montana beat only one opponent: Weber State, last year, in overtime.

Can’t think of a more efficient way to chase would-be Griz fans to the exits.

SOME PERCEPTIVE READER COMMENTS – There are some excellent reader comments about Montana’s 68-67 loss to Weber State at the end of my scouting report for the game. Despite the Griz loss, the comments are quite positive because of significant changes in Montana’s lineup and play.

WHO'S GONNA STOP THIS GUY?  Montana freshman center Brian Qvale shoots over Weber State center Arturus Valeika.

Most comments focused on the development of freshman center Brian Qvale, who played well and changed the flow of the game before he collected his fourth foul and rode the pine for the remainder of the game. Another comment noted how Cam Rundles showed some of his “frosh-phenom” form at wing and two-guard, away from the task of running the squad. That would be good, because the Griz need Cam’s outside shooting touch. You can read the comments at the end of this story.

SHOOT RYAN! – We caught a slight glimpse of Ryan Staudacher’s long range shooting skill yesterday. Wayne Tinkle has indicated to me more than once that Staudacher needs to take open threes. Sunday Staudacher made four of his six attempts and was instrumental in keeping the Griz apace with Weber State. Several readers have commented that Montana will start winning when the outside shooting game returns. I’m convinced that Staudacher is the guy to ignite the Griz. Someone tell #3 to shoot it.

TAKE THE REINS, JUNIOR – The Griz are still looking for a true “go-to” guy, someone who’ll put the team on his back and carry them. I nominate Ceylon Elgin-Taylor. There’s no doubt he’s now the Griz floor general. Now he needs the encouragement to take things a step farther. The Griz desperately need that floor general to take the ball to the bucket on the last play of the game yesterday. Instead, ET -- with an open lane to the basket -- passed to a thoroughly covered Matt Martin. Who knows? Junior may not have been able to make the play. But Montana needs a guy who wants control of the ball and the game in the final seconds of play.

PHOTOS: Ryan Staudacher (middle photo) drives against Weber State's Daviin Davis. The Griz need to get the ball into Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's hands when the game is on the line (bottom photo). Taylor looks for a pass in the final minute. Dezmon Harris guards.

THE CALL THAT CHANGED THE GAME – Early in the season I wrote an analysis on Big Sky Conference referees entitled: How Do Big Sky Hoops Officials Rate? I wrote the piece out of a concern that the 2006-07 standard of officiating in the Big Sky Conference was suspect. I had good recall of several games last season in which the officiating either made a mess of the game or -- in two instances -- had a direct negative impact upon the outcome of the game.

Since making that post, I can easily say that officiating for Montana’s home games is dramatically improved over last season. Beyond the occasional blown call, the officiating has been of a consistently high standard.

I’ve been close enough to the game action this year to observe that most refs are also quite personable with players, coaches and even fans. In some cases, officials have gone out of their way to defuse potential confrontations with coaches. I’ve even heard some candid admissions from ref in tense situations: “Coach, I tried my best to call it right, but I didn’t see it clearly,” said one ref. On another occasion I heard an official say, “Coach, I may have made a mistake on that one.”

Nonetheless, there will always be calls that may swing critical phases of a game one way or the other.

One took place in Sunday’s game with approximately 25 seconds remaining when Montana post Andrew Strait was stripped of a rebound by Weber guard Kellen McCoy and -- in the ensuing scramble -- the Wildcats were awarded the ball out of bounds, which forced Montana to foul. A potential tie game (had Strait been awarded free throws for a play several Montana players were convinced was a foul) turned into a four-point Weber State lead when Dezmon Harris made two free throws.

I didn’t see the play and don’t have an opinion. But a replay of the crucial action on Altitude Television -- in which announcers Phil Buck and former Montana coach Don Holst questioned the call -- clearly shows McCoy tumbling out of bounds with the ball. What’s not clear was if McCoy signaled a timeout before falling out of bounds. I’ve seen that particular play called numerous times this year and most referees require a clear stop of action and a clear player signal before awarding a timeout. The replay simply didn’t show the action clearly enough for me to tell.

I’ll be clear with one judgement: the the officials for Sunday’s game -- Eric Curry, Michael Houston and Bryne Haskins -- called an excellent overall game that allowed for physical play, but clearly enforced contact and possession infractions.

That was not the case on Thursday’s loss to Idaho State, where one official was “out of his league.” Two of the referees called an exceptional game. But the third referee repeatedly made calls that baffled players and coaches. All I can say is I hope he has a better game the next time he’s in town.

Clutch Shooting by Harris Vaults Weber St. to 68-67 Win Over Griz

The Montana Grizzlies suffered yet another second-half meltdown, this time succumbing 68-67 in Big Sky Conference action to the Weber State Wildcats, who  surged to the win on clutch shooting from guard Dezmon Harris over the final 2:38 of play.

Harris scored eight of the Wildcats’ final 11 points on isolation plays, nailing two 3-point shots before securing the win by making both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 17 seconds remaining.

Montana guard Matt Martin missed a hurried shot as time expired.

Montana – which took a two-point 48-46 lead with 9:45 remaining on back-to-back three point shots by guards Matt Martin and Ryan Staudacher – was sabotaged in familiar fashion by a familiar nemesis. The Grizzlies missed five of their eight free throws in the final nine minutes to cap off perhaps their worst free throw shooting stretch -- within their worst free throw shooting night --  of the season. Two of the misses came in the final minute of play.

Though the Grizzlies  shot 55.8 percent from the field for the game (53 percent from three-point range)  and outrebounded the Wildcats 30-26, they missed 14 of their 25 free throws and ended up shooting 44% for the game.

PHOTOS: Jordan Hasquet (#2 above) goes up against Weber State's Trevor Morris and Arturas Valieka.  Hasquet scored 16 points and snared 6 rebounds, but made only 4-of-8 from the free throw line. Andrew Strait (#34) Scores on a baseline move past Steve Panos. Strait scored 14 points and had three steals.

‘I really feel for our guys. We so much needed a win,” an exhausted Montana Coach, Wayne Tinkle, said. “We showed more toughness and resilience tonight than we have in quite some time, and for it to come down to a missed rebound late and missed free throws down the stretch...

“Instead, it costs us another loss and probably a little more confidence.

“There’s nothing you can do as a coach,” Tinkle added. “We shoot them every day in practice. I just think it’s a little bit of confidence right now.”

In other areas of the game, the two teams battled on even terms.

PHOTO: Ryan Staudacher is guarded by Brody Van Brocklin (#23). Staudacher scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range and had four assists.

Weber State claimed an early 11-point 34-23 first-half lead, built partly from efficient Wildcat half-court offense and partly from five missed Montana free throws. But Montana scored the final seven points of the half on four points from point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor to pull within 34-30 at the break. 

Though the Wildcats briefly extended their lead to 10 early in the second half, Montana battled back on successive low-block power buckets from Andrew Strait, Kyle Sharp and Brian Qvale, and the game pace see-sawed on rapid action for several exchanges before Staudacher’s trey gave the Griz their first lead since the first three minutes of the game. That was also the fatal stretch, however, as Montana failed to build a gap because of the missed free throws.

As a result, neither team led by more than two from there and the lead flip-flopped four times before Harris’ free throws gave the Wildcats a 68-64 lead at the 17-second mark.

Staudacher pulled the Griz within one with a trey at the 9-second mark and the Griz quickly fouled Wildcat forward Tyler Billings, who missed his free throw, setting up a scramble that ended with Martin’s missed final shot.

The back-to-back home court losses to Idaho State Thursday and Weber State Sunday have demoralized the team, Tinkle conceded.

“I always think we’ve got some time, but there’s definitely some urgency here,” said Tinkle. “We don’t want to get into the second half of league and not put any W’s away.

“But Eastern (Washington) is here Thursday. It starts that night, so if we can play like we did tonight but put some more things together, then we have a chance to put some wins together, I believe.”

Harris paced the Wildcats with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three point range. Wildcat post Arturas Valeika scored 14 and grabbed nine rebounds while Daviin Davis had 11 points and point guard Brody Van Brocklin had five assists.

Montana was led by Jordan Hasquet’s 16 points and six rebounds, followed by Strait’s 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. Staudacher scored 12 points on 4-of-6 from three-point range, and had four assists.

Montana Faces Critical Match Against Second Place Wildcats

PREVIEW: The look of the Big Sky race changed significantly between Thursday and Sunday. It is a true dogfight. With perhaps the exception of the bottom rung, where Sacramento State has sole possession of last place at 1-5.

That’s scary for Montana fans. Because -- after another last-second, disheartening setback to Idaho State -- a Montana loss to the visiting Weber State Wildcats puts the Grizzlies much closer to Sacramento State than to any other team in the conference.

Sunday’s 2 p.m. matchup against the Wildcats is critical for the Grizzlies and that’s explained at the end of this scouting report.

PHOTO: Cameron Rundles drives against Logan Kinghorn in Montana's 56-54 loss Thursday.

A win puts Montana even in conference play. Which isn’t bad, because the Grizzlies play the second half of conference schedule with an attractive home-dominated slate. A loss simply forfeits that advantage.

MONTANA v.s WEBER STATE
Game time is 2 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. TV -- The game will be broadcast on Altitude Sports, which can be found at: Channel 59 on Bresnan Cable, Channel 410 on Dish Network, and Channel 644 on DirecTV. Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

THE GAME: Weber State at University of Montana, at 2 p.m.

RECORDS: Weber State is 8-8. The Wildcats have won five of their last seven games, and have a 3-1 Big Sky Conference record.

The Wildcats have wins against Utah State (78-71), Cal State Bakersfield (two--61-56 and 74-43), Montana Western (94-84), San Francisco (62-54), Portland State (73-68), Eastern Washington (74-64), and Montana State (78-76). The Wildcats have lost games to: Cal State San Bernadino (71-59), Youngstown State (69-66), Utah (72-52), Illinois (78-61), BYU (72-57), San Francisco (67-65), New Mexico (62-32), and Northern Colorado (55-52). 

Montana takes a 7-10 record into the game with losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State, Northern Arizona and Idaho State. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Lost 56-54 at home to Idaho State.

The Grizzlies are 2-8 since claiming second place in the Washington State Cougar Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.

THE COACH: Weber State Coach, Randy Rahe led the Wildcats to a Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament championship in his first year at Weber State, and was named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and the USBWA District 7 Coach of the Year. Rahe’s current record at WSU is 27-20 (.574) overall and 13-6 (.684) in Big Sky Conference regular season games. Before taking the helm at WSU, Rahe served two years as an assistant coach at the University of Utah under Ray Giacoletti. Prior to that, he was an assistant under Coach Stew Morrill at Utah State for six seasons and at Colorado State for seven seasons.

COACHING HISTORY -- Rahe and Tinkle have an interesting history by virtue of their separate association with former Montana Head Coach Stew Morrill, who is currently head coach at Utah State. Tinkle played two years under Morrill, earning Griz MVP awards in leading Montana to back-to-back 18-11 seasons. Rahe served as Morrill’s assistant at Colorado State and Utah State before moving on to Utah as an assistant. before heading to Weber State as head coach.

HISTORY: Weber State leads series 59-43 over Montana. The 43 Montana wins is best record of any Big Sky team against the Wildcats. The Grizzlies won 90-86 in overtime in Missoula last year. Matt Martin hit 7-for-10 shots from three-point range and scored 28 points in the win. The win was a catalyst that turned the Grizzlies’  season around; they went on to place third in regular season play. Montana and Weber State rank #1 and #2 in Big Sky Conference wins: the Griz have an all-time record of 413-247 (.624), while the Wildcats are 399-271 (.597)

PERSONNEL: Three seniors -- Dezmon Harris, Arturus Valeika and Brody Van Brocklin -- have started in at least 15 of the Wildcats’ 16 games, and a fourth senior, Tyler Billings, is often the first forward off of the bench. But Rahe has experimented with several starting combinations and has eight players who average a minimum of 17 minutes per game. Nonetheless, the Wildcats -- like Griz opponents MSU, NAU and Sac State -- rely on one dominant player. If shooting guard Harris has a good game, the Wildcats usually win. Harris took control of the game (at point) in the final minutes against the Bobcats and literally sealed the win for WSU. No other Wildcat player is close to Harris’ 16.5 conference average (10.4 in all games). Power forward Valeika has not produced offensively for the Wildcats this year (6.0 ppg average), but is the conference rebounding leader with an average of nine per game. Sophomore 6’-8” post Steve Panos has stepped up offensively during league play, with an average of 10 points per game. Seven Wildcat players score between six and 10 points per game.

THE TEAM: Rahe’s Wildcats were picked by several publications to defend their Big Sky Crown, but struggled in early non-conference play. But the Wildcats have turned things around, winning five of their last seven, and have forged a 3-1 record in Big Sky Conference play, with home wins against Eastern Washington and Portland State, a road win against the Bobcats Thursday. WSU’s single loss is   a setback at Northern Colorado.

If one thing can be said about Rahe’s Wildcats it’s this: Weber State absorbed some punishment during nonconference play, but Rahe gave a lot of minutes to 8+ players and he’s now seeing results with solid contributions up and down the lineup. Despite their modest overall record, the Wildcats are in very good position to battle for the Big Sky Conference crown.

HOW TO BEAT THE WILDCATS: Dezmon Harris is one of the premier players in the Big Sky and the Griz will need to contain him. Montana has -- in Ceylon Elgin-Taylor and Ryan Staudacher -- players capable of containing WSU’s back court. But far more important is the mandate for Montana to dominate the key defensively and to beat or match WSU in rebounding. The other critical stat is  shooting percentage, because Montana can no longer afford a sub-40% shooting night in league play.

On defense --  The Wildcats have lost their compsure In several games when they could not easily enter their half court offense. Montana’s guard defense (and they’re good enough) can disrupt the Wildcats by extending point guard Brody Van Brocklin, or Harris back several feet. Low block defense is also critical, because Montana has given up points-in-the-paint too easily in recent games. I believe the Wildcats are another team that Montana freshman post Brian Qvale can  be effective against defensively. More mid-key defensive presence is critical.

PHOTO: Freshman post Brian Qvale takes down a rebound against Idaho State in Montana's two point loss.

On offense -- Get good shots early.That sounds dumb, but it’s true. Montana’s shooting percentage is down partly because so many shots are being rushed to beat an expiring shot clock. If the low block offense isn’t opening up, perhaps the Griz need to run some high post screens and spring the guards to knock a few down. That’s what the Bengals did early against the Griz and it worked. That’s certainly no worse than taking a rushed (and bad) shot because there’s no time left on the clock.

Individuals -- Last year’s home win over Weber State was fun because Matt Martin simply decided to shoot. He nailed seven treys, brought the Griz back from the dead, and Montana won an exciting game in overtime. This time it would be great fun to see Matt, and Cameron Rundles and Ryan Staudacher light it up early. These guys need to have some fun shooting the ball.

Lastly --  Ok, I’ll say it. It’s so early, but this is a must-win game. Here’s why: Since November 29, Montana has managed to lose five games where they either had a lead or were in a position to win. Ouch. That means that Montana is probably, or may be, a better team than they appear to be on paper. Ok, I’ll buy that.

But “what-ifs” simply don’t count. Scores and statistics  -- which we all read on paper --  are what count. And, on paper, another loss will put Montana squarely in last place, tied with Sacramento State as one of two teams in danger of not qualifying for the conference playoffs.

HEALTH: Good.

Idaho State Staggers Montana On Carson's Clutch Putback

It wasn’t really a knockout punch. But the Idaho State Bengals staggered the Montana Grizzlies with aggressive first-half play, took a 14 point lead, and then got a clutch rebound and putback from Donnie Carson that ensured a 56-54 ISU win in Big Sky Conference action Thursday.

Carson rebounded a missed Bengal shot and scored a point-blank layup under intense pressure to give the Bengals a 55-54 lead with three seconds remaining. Logan Kinghorn made the freethrow that was awarded to Carson (who was injured on the play), and Montana’s Jordan Hasquet’s 30-foot last second shot was barely long as time expired.

PHOTO: Jordan Hasquet is fouled by Logan Kinghorn as Matt Stucki defends. Hasquet scored 16 points and had 6 rebounds.

The Grizzlies, trailing by 23-9 with 5:34 remaining in the first half, battled to within a six-point 28-21 deficit at halftime. From there the Grizzlies fought the Bengals on even terms in the second half before Matt Martin’s trey gave the Griz a 47-45 lead with 6:35 remaining.

But Montana couldn’t put the Bengals away, and after Jordan Hasquet broke a 53-all tie by making one of two free throws with 38 seconds remaining, the Bengals ran the clock down for a final shot, which Carson delivered after grabbing the Bengals’ 10th offensive rebound of the night.

PHOTO: Andrew Strait drives past Lucas Steijn. Strait had 15 points and 6 rebounds.

“They hurt us on offensive rebounds,” said Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle. “They got 10 and we got nine, but the one extra one they got was obviously a big part of why we lost.”

Carson’s shot was one of 11 second-chance shots the Bengals scored, compared to seven by the Grizzlies. Coming into the game, ISU was second-worst in the conference in offensive rebounds, and second-chance shots.

PHOTO: Matt Martin drives for a layup against Demetrius Monroe. Martin had three treys and scored 11 points.

But the Bengals beat the Grizzlies soundly in several key statistical categories. Though no player had more than six rebounds, the Bengals out-boarded Montana by 32-23, had one more offensive rebound than Montana, and racked up 10 assists to Montana’s nine.

“We should have done a much better job on the offensive glass,” said Tinkle. “We should have converted some free throws, and if we do we win that game going away. That’s what we told our guys. That’s what it came down to.”

It was in field goal shooting -- where the Bengals’ 41% stood as the third-worst in the league -- that the difference was measured. Idaho State made 22-of-42 shots for a blistering 52.4% while holding the Grizzlies to 39.5%, up from a first-half low of 33%.

Lucas Steijn hurt the Grizzlies with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. While Montana guard-defense held Matt Stucki (7 points) and point guard Amorrow Morgan (5 points) below their averages, Austin Kilpatrick made three long first-half treys to help keep the Grizzlies at Bay.

It was Idaho State’s first half efficiency that put Montana in a hole. The Bengals made Montana work for every bucket they made to get back within reach.

It was that first 10 minutes of play that Tinkle indicated was most harmful to his team’s chances on its home court.

"To have a home court advantage, you need to make it an advantage by coming out with urgency and playing physical,” said Tinkle. “We didn’t do that in the first half. They set better screens than us, they fought through screens better than us, they went to the glass better than us.”

Guard Matt Martin -- who scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 from three point range -- gave Montana its biggest spark of the game. The senior made two treys early in the second half, which loosened-up the Bengals’ tight zone defense and opened up the key for Strait and Hasquet.

Montana front court players Strait and Hasquet turned-in solid games. Strait scored 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and had a block. Hasquet made 3-for-8 shots from the field, also grabbed six boards, and made 9-for-12 shots from the free throw line.

But one of Hasquet’s three free throw misses came at the 38-second mark, when a conversion would have given Montana a two-point lead.

Then, with three-seconds remaining, Montana got a good pass to Hasquet, who drove to within 35 feet, and launched a jumper that was true, but hit the back rim.

Tinkle said he’d “do anything,” in an attempt to get his team mentally ready for Montana’s 2p.m. Sunday match against Weber State.

“This is Division 1 basketball,” said Tinkle. “We shouldn’t have to trick our guys to come out focused and ready to play. We haven’t come out flat very often, but the one thing that we were concerned about is the fact that we were at home for the first time.”

Idaho State at Montana, Open Comments

One of my goals for this blog is to develop a community of fans who want to actively discuss Montana sports in a quality comment exchange.

In that light, I thought I'd try a new approach toward getting all your thoughts and comments on each game. Those of you who are listening or watching via a video stream are welcome to add your comments throughout and after the game.

I'll be at the game taking photos and gathering interview material for a post-game story and will post my story late this evening.

Of course, comments on the Lady Griz vs. Idaho State are equally welcome on this thread.

SCOUTING REPORT: Idaho State Bengals at Montana, Jan. 17

PREVIEW: Norhern Arizona coach Mike Adras paid a hearty compliment to Montana guards after the NAU come from behind win over the Griz last Thursday. He said Montana’s patient passing game was literally ripping-apart the Northern Arizona defense. Of course, Adras’ said that after h is Jacks found a way to rattle Montana’s composure. But two nights later the Griz succeeded in getting good passes to open shooters inside (19 Griz assists led to 29 points in the low blocks), which in turn opened up the perimeter for solid shooting nights from guards Matt Martin, Cameron Rundles and Ryan Staudacher.

A repeat of that offensive patience will pay dividends against an Idaho State team that rebounds and shoots poorly, but plays a vicious flexing-trapping zone defense.

Montana also has a hefty size and weight advantage in the low blocks, so any efficient interior offensive action -- whether it’s a solid plus-margin on offensive rebounds, or solid shooting from Jordan Hasquet, Andrew Strait and Kyle Sharp, or both will give the Griz an advantage.

PHOTO: Solid nights from Jordan Hasquet, Andrew Strait and Kyle Sharp will be necessary against the Bengals.

But they’ll have to do it quickly, because any lead the Bengals get for their zone means they’ll be content to grind it out in a low-scoring game.

Despite the fact that the Bengals are perched toward the top of the Big Sky standings, this team is most likely a Big Sky second-tier team.

Montana has focused early on stretching and splitting zone defenses. As the year progresses, they may see even more zones. There’s no better time than now to get a shot at the Big Sky’s best zone D.

MONTANA v.s IDAHO STATE

Game time is 7:05 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

THE GAME: Idaho State at University of Montana, at 7:05 p.m.

RECORDS: The Bengals are 5-11. Idaho State’s RPI is 243 and the their strength of schedule is ranked #141 nationally.
Idaho State has wins against MSU Northern (76-69), Idaho (71-69), Northwest Nazarene (71-66), Northern Colorado (76-65), and Eastern Washington (58-56). ISU has lost to: Iowa (58-43), Long Beach State (66-61),  Oregon State (56-41), Portland (76-52), Boise State (93-66), UCLA (89-49), Washington State (75-45), Utah (68-51), Washington (82-50) and Portland State (71-61).

Montana takes a 7-9 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State and Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Beat Sacramento State 76-69 Saturday in Sacramento.

THE COACH: Joe O'brien is 18-26 in his second year at the helm of the Idaho State Bengals. O'Brien built a career as one of the outstanding junior college coaches in the country before taking his first division 1 position at ISU.
O’Brien, one of only three coaches to ever win three Junior College National Championships, built a 313-117 record as a junior college coach, and is currently in his 22nd year as a collegiate basketball head coach. He has built a reputation for his teams’ tough zone defense, a combination of straight zone and matchup zone.

HISTORY: Montana leads series 86-40. The Grizzlies forged a 2-1 record against the Bengals last year, losing 79-69 to the Bengals in Missoula before taking a 72-71 OT verdict at Pocatello in the teams’ last conference game of the year, and then beating the Bengals 70-63 in OT at Missoula in the first game of the 2007 Big Sky post-season playoffs. The Grizzlies hold a 55-12 record against the Bengals in Missoula.

PERSONNEL:  Bengal forward Matt Stucki leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game, but had a breakout game Sunday against Portland State, scoring 26 points while making 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Point guard Amorrow Morgan is the only other Bengal in double-figures overall at 10.2 per game, but has only 23 assists on the season compared to 51 turnovers. Morgan is the Bengals' shophomore point guard, and was pressed into service early after the departure of two junior college transferes. Morgan is shooting 44% from the field, 24% from three-point range. No other Bengal is averaging over eight points per game. ISU is averaging 58.4 points per game, and allows 71.8 per game. The Bengals are one of the worst shooting teams in the conference with 41% field goal average, 28 percent from three-point range.

THE TEAM: O’Brien’s Bengals were battered in a tough preseason schedule. ISU beat only one division 1 School (Idaho) in preseason, and lost several games by 20+ points.  Idaho State is 5-11 on the season, but 2-1 and tied for second place in the Big Sky Conference with Weber State after splitting games in Pocatello, defeating Eastern Washington 58-56 in Pocatello and losing a home-court decision to Portland State 71-61 on Sunday.

HOW TO BEAT THE BENGALS: More than any other factor, defensive and offensive rebounding may be the key to a win against the Bengals, who rank toward the bottom of the conference in rebounding and get burned frequently by teams who hit the offensive glass well for second chances.

On defense --  Stop Matt Stucki. Stucki is a wing/small forward with the ability to drive quickly to the bucket. When stopped, he hasn’t shot all that well from long range... until Sunday, when he hit several pull-up treys over the sagging Portland State defense. The prime objective should be to keep Stucki on the perimeter. Secondly, point guard Morgan has been adept at driving into the key. If Morgan can be kept from penetrating, the Bengals haven’t shown the ability to score from long range. Despite players of promise like the fiery Logan Kinghorn and Austin Kilpatrick, the Bengals have struggled on offense. Junior college transfer Lucas Steijn has played well below expectations on offense.

On offense -- Patience is a must against the ISU zone, which forces offensive passes to the baseline and then traps wing or guard players. Obrien’s Bengals are known for playing a very tough flexing zone that will cause passing turnovers when post players pass the ball back out to guards on any kind of inside-outside ball movement. The Bengal zone is designed to trap wing players on the baseline and then deny passes toward half court. That usually means that diagonal or sideline-to-sideline passes can be effective at stretching the Bengal zone. Another strategy that works is a diagonal pass on a reverse to a forward that breaks low off of a low post screen. As with any zone (except maybe the Lady Griz zone), it can be flexed for inside shots with good point guard play and careful passing. The word on the Bengals is that they play zone tough for the first 3 passes, and then break down if the ball gets reversed.

Portland State burned the Bengals with early-offense baseline treys and offensive rebounds. Lastly... it’s critical to get an early lead on the Bengal zone. Doing so might cause ISU to play man defense (doubtful), something they haven’t proven they can play.

Attacking the basket aggressively has also worked against the Bengals, who have racked up quite a few fouls in past games.

PHOTO: Matt Martin is fouled on a drive to the bucket against Montana Tech.

Individuals -- The Bengal zone is actually designed to force early three-point shots from the wings. If Montana point guards can dribble enter toward the key from the sideline, the Bengal zone should collapse, which could open things up wide on the weak side. When Portland State center Scott Morrison scored 16 points against the Bengals (though he was hammered). Montana will win if Strait and Hasquet get the ball down in mid-key or in the blocks... and if they make their free throws. If they don’t have shots, it’ll be critical that Strait and Hasquet make good passes back to the perimeter guards.

I believe the Bengals are potentially very vulnerable against any low-block size. This should be a good game for freshman Brian Qvale to get his feet back on the court... both offensively and defensively. The big guy could make a difference.

Lastly: The Bengals are a perfect opponent for Montana sharpshooters Martin and Staudacher. If  Elgin-Taylor and Rundles can get good reversal on perimeter passes, the baseline is often open as well as is the weak side for 45-degree long-range shots.

HEALTH: Good.

Montana Point Guard Elgin-Taylor is Griz Journal MVP for Week 2

Montana junior point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor has been named Grizzly Journal MVP for his clutch play over the final 1:13 of play in the Grizzlies’ 76-69 win at Sacramento State on Saturday.

The recognition covers Montana’s first Big Sky Conference road trip on which the Grizzlies went 1-2. In all three road contests, the Grizzlies led midway through the second half; by margins of seven at Montana State, by 12 at Northern Arizona and by 11 at Sacramento State.

Elgin-Taylor’s clutch free throw shooting down the stretch spelled the difference in Montana’s lone victory of the road trip

With Montana leading 67-60 at the 1:13 mark in the game, Elgin-Taylor made one of two free throws to stretch the Grizzlies lead to eight. He gave the Griz another 8-point lead (69-61) with 1:04 remaining in the game, setting the stage for a the final one-minute of play,

Elgin-Taylor was trapped and fouled three times within the final 52 seconds of play by Hornet defenders. All three times, at 52 seconds, at 38 seconds, and finally with 29 seconds remaining, Elgin-Taylor sank both free throws (six total) to keep the Hornets at bay.

Seconds after his final free throw, Elgin-Taylor blocked a Sac State field goal attempt, preserving a six-point Montana lead and the eventual seven-point Griz win.

Over the three-game span, Elgin-Taylor made a total of 18 points, had a plus ratio in assists-to-turnovers (12-9), and had three blocks.

“The junior college transfer is making strides with each game in his role as Grizzly point guard.

Montana’s first home-game of the year is this Thursday, Jan. 17, when the Grizzlies host the Idaho State Bengals, which are 2-1 in conference play. The Bengals split games at home last week, edging Eastern Washington 58-56 and dropping a 10-point 71-61 decision to Portland State.

Multi-talented Lady Griz Hit Road as Big Sky Stats Leader

I found it impossible to select just one, or two, or even three Lady Griz players as MVP choices for their play in the team’s first three home wins of the season. How about naming the starting five?

Over the first weekend of play,  three opponents found it impossible to do much against a deep and talented Lady Griz squad, which won the three games by a +22-point average margin.

PHOTO MONTAGE: Clockwise from upper left -- Sonja Rogers agaist MSU, Tamara Guardipee against Sac State, Johanna Closson against MSU, Mandy Morales against Sac State and, (center panel) Britney Lohman against MSU.

The Missoulian's Bill Speltz has an excellent story on Montana's early play.

More importantly, there are statistically telling signs that the Lady Griz -- with floor leader Mandy Morales on the mend from early season foot problems -- is becoming even more multi-dimensional.

There’s convincing proof of Montana’s early league dominance at the Big Sky Conference Statistics page (I wasn't able to make a direct link), where the Lady Griz are top-ranked in eight team cagegories, #2 in four team categories and #three in the remainig team categories. The Lady Griz are ranked no lower than third in any team category.

In some years, with some teams, the names of standout players pop up game after game. It’s easy then for opposing coaches to devise a defensive strategy to stop a single dominant player... or even two players. The first three games saw that strategy employed by coaches, from MSU, NAU and Sac State, with no success.

Take Montana’s 78-65 win over the Montana State Bobcats. MSU coach Tricia Binford said after the game that her objective was to stop Montana’s inside game. The Cats were sort of successful by managing to hold forwards Johanna Closson and Britney Lohman to 12  total points.

In doing so, the collapsing Cats’ defense also left the perimeter open, so guard Sonja Rogers torched the Cats for 32 points on 9-for-14 shooting, 5-for-6 from three point range.  Still, Montana post Tamara Guardipee stepped up in mid-key with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Northern Arizona took the opposite defensive approach and focused on Montana’s guard tandem, reducing their output to a total of 18 points on the night. No problem. Forward Britney Lohman scored 18, Guardipee snared another 13 rebounds, and Closson responded with 13 points in Montana’s 77-55 runaway.

Sacramento State’s strategy failed as well. This time the point guard duo of Morales (23 points) and Laura Cote (12 points) were too much for the Hornets. And though the Hornets held Closson to only two of her patented baseline treys, the agile shooting forward responded by burning Sac State on 6-for-7 shooting with quick drives into the key, where she made several short-range jumpers.

PHOTO: Laura Cote drives against a Bobcat defender.

An overview of the three games reveals an evenly balanced Lady Griz attack capable of producing points all over the floor.

Here are some three-game averages:
Rogers: A high of 32 points, with a total of 46 points over three games.
Morales: A high of 23, with a total of 38 points.
Closson: Ten, 13 and 14 points for 37 total in three games
Lohman: A high of 18 points with 34 total.
Guardipee: An average of 10+ rebounds and 9 points per game.

That translates to four Lady Griz starters averaging at least 11 points per game, with one averaging 10 rebounds per game.

Not bad for a week’s work and a 3-0 jump start in league play.

Lady Griz Heat Up; Steamroll Sacramento State 82-52

The Montana Lady Griz steamrolled their second-straight Big Sky opponent Saturday, rumbling to a 30-point, 82-52 win over the Sacramento State Hornets before 3849 fans.

Junior point guard Mandy Morales took a huge step toward recovery from her foot problems, scoring a  game-high 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting, 4-for-8 from three point range, and making 5-5 from the free throw line.

Forward Johanna Closson scored 14 points and dished out four assists, while backup point guard, Laura Cote, added 12 points in 19 minutes of action.

PHOTO: Sac State players Jourdan Willard (left) and Charday Hunt converge on Montana's Dana Conway in the chase for a loose ball in Montana's 82-52 win over the Hornets Saturday. Montana's Laura Cote (background, looks on).

The Lady Griz shot 47.4 percent from the field while holding the Hornets to 28.3 percent.

Sac State was led by Sami Field-Polisso, who scored 15 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the field, 3-for 12 from three point range.

The Lady Griz dominated every phase of the game, hauling down 42 rebounds to the Hornets’ 36, and turned the ball over only eight times.

All thirteen Lady Griz players saw action and all but three scored.

The win boosts Montana’s record to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in conference. Portland State, at 14-3, 4-0, is the only other team to remain undefeated in Big Sky Conference play.

Grizzlies Repel Sac State with First Road Win, 76-69

In their third attempt on the road, the Montana Grizzlies notched their first road win in conference, 76-69 over the Sacramento State Hornets, thanks to clutch free throw shooting from point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, who made 8-for-11 from the stripe over the final four minutes.

Though the Grizzlies couldn’t stop Hornet leading scorer, Loren Leath, who had 16, Montana forward Jordan Hasquet was more than enough of a differnce, leading the Griz with 19, and nailing 8-for-11 from the freethrow line.

The Grizzlies also got clutch play from guard Matt Martin, who stole the ball from Leath late in the game and converted a fast-break layin, and then seconds later nailed a 3-point shot to give the Montana breathing room in a stage that was then set for Elgin-Taylor's clutch free throws.

The Grizzlies took a 2-point 34-32 lead into halftime against the Hornets, but quickly extended the

PHOTOS: Jordan Hasquet (left) scored 19 points, made 8-for-11 free throws, and pulled down 11 rebounds in the Montana win over Sacramento State. Ceylon Elgin-Taylor (right) made eight points in the final four minutes, all on 8-for-11 shooting from the free throw line, to secure Montana's victory. ET tied fellow guard Matt Martin with a team-high six assists.

margin before facing the same kind of pressure defense that triggered collapses against the Montana State Bobcats and the NAU Lumberjacks. Montana turned the ball over 18 times, but responded with 19 assists that led to 24 field goals, and the Grizzlies extended the lead to 12 with 4:39 remaining.

Hasquet also pulled down 11 rebounds, along with 12 rebounds from Andrew Strait, and the Grizzlies dominated the boards 39-27.

Straight scored 13 points, most of them during the first half. More importantly, Montana again got balanced scoring from all seven players who saw action, 10 each from guards Martin and Elgin-Taylor, nine each from Cameron Rundles and Ryan Staudacher, and 6 from Kyle sharp.

Montana shot a stellar 53.3 percent from the field (24-45), and 45 percent from three point range (9-20) and made 19-for-28 from the free thrtow line, eight of those Elgin-Taylor’s clutch shots in the final minutes.

With the win Montana’s record stands at 1-2 in conference play, but puts them at a road/home ratio of +1, which ranks them at the top of the conference with Idaho State and NAU.

In future games I’ll post a brief story before game time, which will allow Griz fans and Grizzly Journal readers to comment throughout the game. Comments are encouraged and always welcome.

Montana Grizzlies Still in Search of First Conference Road Win

Montana’s season of frustration grew by measurable proportions in their 72-64 loss to Northern Arizona Thursday. After leading by 12 points early in the second half, and by 7 with just over five minutes remaining, the Griz lost momentary composure, cracked against on-ball pressure, and allowed the Jacks’ intensified pace to control game tempo.

THE GOOD - But the frustrations may be worse for fans than players, who  -- according to comments by Matt Martin to Missoulian beat writer Bob Meseroll -- are getting better with each game. There are hints of improvement on paper. The Griz outrebounded the Jacks (33-28), outshot the Jacks (47.9% - 47.3%) and matched them in points from the field. Montana also got double-digit scoring from four players (Martin, 50% shooting for 15; Staudacher, 50% shooting for 14; Strait, 70% shooting for12; and Hasquet, 10).

PHOTO: Andrew Strait puts up a shot against Montana Tech. Strait scored 10 points against NAU Thursday, but has had good success against the Sacramento State Hornets and scored 21 in Sacramento last year.   

NOT SO GOOD: Areas which made the difference? Turnovers killed the Griz in the second half (17 compared to 13 for the Jacks), and NAU made 8 more freethrows (equal to the game scoring difference). Missed plays and freethrows down the stretch once again tripped the Griz. Despite pre-season games against foes that pressure and run, the Griz still struggled.

THE BAD -- Montana’s league-leading scoring defense (64.3 points allowed) is clearly misleading. That’s because they’re not stopping the players that count. Montana State’s Carlos Taylor (16.2 ppg) made 34 against the Griz. And Thursday, Jacks’ scoring leader Kyle Landry (then at 15.7) scored 27, while point guard Josh Wilson (then 10.9) scored 19 and dished out 8 assists. In both games, Montana’s opponents held Jordan Hasquet well below his scoring average. When the Griz stop key players, they will see more success down the stretch.

BAD OMEN? Against Montana State, Jordan Hasquet entered the game exactly tied with Taylor at 16.2 ppg; against NAU, Hasquet entered exactly tied with Landry at 15.7 ppg. Tonight Hasquet goes into the game exactly tied in scoring average with Loren Leath at 15.3 ppg.

Tonight’s game is a critical road match. A victory might give the Griz an edge up on the one-dimensional Bobcats on this road swing the teams share. More importantly, Montana’s back court needs a morale-boosting breakout game. If Montana guards Cameron Rundles, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor and Matt Martin can stand up to Hornet pressure, the prospects for a breakthrough are good.

MONTANA v.s SACRAMENTO STATE
Game time is 8:05 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. Former Montana Grizzly basketball player, Mike Warhank, returns to the booth as color announcer. Warhank provided perceptive color commentary in Montana’s December games at Pacific and Santa Clara. Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

RECORDS: The Hornets are 3-11. The Sagarin Rankings show that the Hornets have played the 16th toughest schedule (out of 341 Div. I teams) in the nation, and have played nine of their 14 games on the road. The Hornets have one win against a Division I foe, a 78-77 decision against the Bobcats Thursday, and wins over Simpson and William Jessup. Sac State has lost to Pacific (75-62), Santa Clara (77-65), Northern Colorado (74-60), Portland State (83-58), and Eastern Washington (76-52).

Montana takes a 6-9 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State and Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Lost 74-58 at Montana State. Last game: Northern Arizona rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to beat Montana 72-64.

THE COACH: Jerome Jenkins enters his eighth season, and has averaged 10.9 wins per season. He now ranks third in Sacramento State men's basketball history with 79 career victories. The Hornets have reached the Big Sky Tournament four times in the last five years.

HISTORY: Montana leads series, Montana holds a 22-5 record against the Hornets, but have lost three of the last four games played in Sacramento, including an 80-72 loss last year.

PERSONNEL: Sac State is the league’s tough-break team, with two rostered players out for the season with injuries, one out indefinitely because of injury, and one out indefinitely with academic issues.

The Hornets are starting two freshmen who, understandably, are getting better with each game. Freshman starting point guard Vinnie McGhee, Jr. is averaging a team-high 32.0 minutes (third in the Big Sky) and leads the Big Sky with 5.5 assists per game. McGhee has scored in double figures eight times, including 23 against Montana State on Thursday. Loren Leath is tied for third in the Big Sky with Hasquet, in scoring (15.3 ppg) and three-pointers (2.43 per game) and has scored at least 21 points in five games this year. Senior 6’-6” swingman Justin Williams averages 7.5 points per game and made the game-winning shot with 4.6 seconds remaining against the Bobcats on Thursday.

THE TEAM: Jenkins’ Hornets have always beaten teams by employing constant on-ball defensive pressure and converting turnovers into a fast-paced all-court offense. That’s partly true this year. The Hornets lead the conference in steals, with an 8.86 average per game and a +1 turnover margin. The Hornets also lead the Big Sky in offensive rebounds, with 12+ per game. Despite the steals, and McGhee’s league-leading count in assists, and the offensive rebounds, the Hornets are second-worst in assists-to-turnovers (0.65) and dead last in overall rebounds (-7.4), and allow opponents to shoot at a 48% average for a league worst -13.2 scoring margin and a league-worst 77.9 points-allowed per game.

It all amounts to a Jekyll & Hyde looking team that wreaks havoc across the court, but gives up points out of its half-court defense and gives up a ton of rebounds on defense.

Despite the records, the Hornets played Pacific tough and had a 5-point second half lead against Santa Clara before folding. The Griz will have to battle for 40 minutes.

HOW TO BEAT THE HORNETS: Last week I wrote that the closest thing to a sure road-win was Sacramento State. I was wrong. Sac State’s record is the worst in the league, but this is a team on the mend that will bet better as its  two freshmen starters gain experience and confidence. The Griz -- still looking for 40 minutes of solid play -- will have to withstand Hornet pressure to win.

On defense --  Stop Loren Leath. Keep Vinnie McGhee out of the key. Don’t allow the Hornets to get second-shot options via offensive boards. Take some charges.

PHOTO: Cameron Rundles drives against Montana Tech. Rundles, and backcourt mates Matt Martin and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, need solid floor games in order for the Griz to win.

On offense -- Hold onto the basketball and run a patient half court offense. The Griz truly match up well against Sac State in the low blocks. Last year Andrew Strait scored 21 points and Jordan Hasquet 13 in the key. When the Hornets doubled the big guys, Brian Ellis drove off of high screens for 13 points. The same formula will lead to success tonight

When the Grizzlies put two halves together like their first halves against Montana State and Northern Arizona, they will win on the road.

Individuals -- This will be a lab test for the Griz to get the ball to Andrew. If he gets ithe entry passes on the baseline, he’ll score. Twenty-plus points from Andrew and the Griz will have a good chance. Jordan Hasquet’s slashing style of offensive play down low also translates to a Griz advantage... as long as he can avoid offensive charges. Brian Qvale should get minutes and can add to the Griz low-post advantage. I’m hoping for a break-out game from Brian.

Finally: I’ll just repeat the mantra I wrote for the NAU road game. Quote: “I’m sounding like a broken record, but of course, Montana won’t win without solid floor games from Rundles and Elgin-Taylor. Junior should be able to drive on Sac State guards. The Grizzlies clearly need more offensive production from Junior and Cam. “

HEALTH: Good.

Lady Griz Pummel Northern Arizona 77-55

Basketball is often a game of firsts for me. The Lady Griz' 22-point win over Northern Arizona provided a new one Thursday: the Lady Griz scored the first 24 points of the game before cruising into  halftime with a 42-14 lead in an eventual 22-point win over the Lumberjacks.

When Northern Arizona player Tiffany Amos scored the Jacks' first bucket with 7:42 remaining, she received one of the more robust cheers of the evening from the partisan Montana crowd... a cheer that almost sounded like an exclamation of mass relief.

Though the young NAU squad righted things somewhat with a respectable 41-point half of their own, they still couldn't contain Montana's Britney Lohman, who led the Lady Griz with 18. Johanna Closson added 13 points, and Montana got scoring from 10 other players in a win that saw all but three reserves log double digit playing time minutes.

Tamara Guardipee continues her development as a dominating defensive force, blocking two shots and pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with her 7 points.

The Lady Griz confirmed again why junior point guard Mandy Morales is so important to the team's overall play, dishing out 6 assists, many to Lohman, and scoring six points. Reserve point guard continues providing quality minutes, scoring 6 points and dishing four assists, though she committed a team-high 4 turnovers.

Guard Janelle Matthews turned a frigid first half into a shooting display for the Lumberjacks, scoring 18 points on 7-for-14 sooting (4-for-6 from three point range). Jacks center Ashley Ingle also scored 18,  shooting 5-for-8 from the field and sinking 8-of-9 freethrows. Ingle had an impessive game-high 6 blocked shots to go with 8 rebounds, but turned the ball over 9 times.

The Lady Griz shot 47 percent from the field on the night and forged an impressive 47-24 rebounding margin over the Jacks.

The win puts the Lady Griz at 12-3 for the season, while the Jacks fell to 5-11.

PHOTOS: Reserve center Shadra Robison battles for ball possession (top) while center Tamara Guardipee (bottom) has her shot tipped. Guardipee regained control of the ball and made the field goal.

Grizzlies Suffer Another Collapse in 72-64 Loss at Northern Arizona

Well, this time the Griz led by as many as eleven and emerged at halftime with a nine-point, 35-26 lead over the home-standing Northern Arizona Lumberjacks before eventually losing by eight, 72-64.  This time the Griz didn’t surrender the lead until barely two minutes remained in the game.

I have been following the Montana Grizzlies for quite a few seasons, and.... I swear, I have never before seen a Griz squad that can play so well and then, with such predictability, completely implode. Within the span of one game. Over and over. Five of the Grizzlies losses and one two-point win have followed that pattern.

Of course I have seen Montana Grizzly teams choke, usually at season’s end when they lose a tournament game (often the championship) to an underdog.

And we might all be able to nominate squads that had stretches of poor play.

But I’ve never followed a team that could play so well and so disjointedly in the space of 40 minutes.

I took photos at the Lady Griz game tonight, so I missed some critical chunks of the Griz radio broadcast. But this loss was even more dramatic than the Montana collapse against the Bobcats last week.  My first inclination is to feel sorry for the players, but that’s because I couldn’t see the game. Surely it can be explained.. Can it?

I’ll have to leave more informed analysis to those of you who watched the game.

Several years ago, Lou Pinella’s Seattle Mariners were a professional baseball team of promise with one exception: the bull pen. I remember the feeling of dread as the seventh inning approached and the Mariners, usually holidng a lead of 2-to-4 runs, had to resort to a group of relievers named Ayala, Slocum .. etc. etc. (you can add a name or two here) to hold onto that lead. You know the rest of the story.

I confess that tonight I battled similar feelings of anxiety as the Griz lead went from 11, to 5,  to 3., and then...

Throughout that free fall, I can’t really make out how a 7 point lead went to an 8 point loss within the span of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Since mid November several players have told me in interviews that their main challenge is to play a complete 40-minute game. Those players certainly realize their predicament much more painfully than we fans at this point in the season.

I guess we can continue to hope that the Grizzlies will have played through this experience enough times to gradually learn how to turn those final few minutes of futility into wins.

SCOUTING REPORT: Montana at Northern Arizona, Jan. 10

A Big Sky men’s Basketball team was thumped, spanked, or trounced last Saturday. That team was the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, not the Montana Grizzlies.

Though Montana lost by 16 to the homestanding Montana State Bobcats, the Griz were up by one at halftime, extended that lead to seven early in the second half, and -- despite the Bobcat rally -- trailed by only four with 5:50 remaining. That’s not a trouncing in my  book.

PHOTO: Montana needs scoring production from guard Matt Martin. A return to his early-season success (and scoring average) from long range would revitalize Montana's offense.

Not so for the Lumberjacks in their 14-point, 80-66 loss to the Portland State Vikings. PSU jumped the Jacks early, raced to a 25-8 lead after 11 minutes of play, led 35-21 by halftime... and surged to a 30-point second half margin before subs mopped up.

Now that is a genuine “spanking.”

At least the Grizzlies were in the hunt. Saturday’s game was winnable and the Griz  were in position to do just that through 34 minutes of play. I can take some positives out of that.

Besides, I don’t think many (if any) Big Sky teams will escape Bozeman with a win this season.

But I’m not being a rosy-eyed apologist here. It doesn’t take much of a basketball analyst to notice that the Grizzlies have suffered critical breakdowns in six of their past seven games, four of which the Griz led midway through the second half. Winnable contests which quickly turn into losses can sap players of energy and confidence.

Saturday, at game’s end, they looked like they’d been steamrolled.

As of this weekend, the Grizzlies no longer have any wiggle room and will need at least one win at Northern Arizona and Sacramento State. That’s because the Hornets appear to be true doormats and so a win in Sacramento may be a must merely to stay even in league play.

The Lumberjacks, despite their blowout loss to the Vikings, have already notched a +1 in conference action with a 4-point win over the EWU Eagles in Cheney last Thursday.

MONTANA v.s NORTHERN ARIZONA

THE GAME: University of Montana, at Northern Arizona, Thurs., Jan. 10 at 6:35 p.m.

Game time is 6:35 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. Those with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

RECORDS: The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are 10-6, with wins over Adams State (78-65), Missouri-Kansas City (77-62), Mississippi Valley State (65-56), Western Kentucky (64-61), Cal Poly (85-51), San Jose State (62-57), Haskell (105-72), Furman (68-56), Northern Colorado (86-70),  and Eastern Washington (79-75). The Lumberjacks have lost to: Arizona (76-69), Kansas (87-46), Pepperdine (93-87 OT), UNLV (83-74), Utah State (78-62), and Portland State (80-66).

Montana takes a 6-8 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara and Montana State.The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Lost 74-58 at Montana State.

THE COACH: Mike Adras (139-111, all at Northern Arizona) is the dean of Big Sky Coaches and also considered one of its classiest mentors. He is noted for his “Recruit to Shoot” philosophy. He was named Big Sky Coach of the year in 2005-06, and took the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Playoffs in his first year at the helm.

HISTORY: Montana leads series, 53-26, but lost 78-71 to the Lumberjacks in the second game of the 2007 Big Sky Conference playoffs at Ogden who beat the Griz in two of the three meetings last year.

PERSONNEL: Senior center Kyle Landry is the third-ranked scorer in the Big Sky (behind Carlos Taylor and Jordan Hasquet) with 15.7 points per game. Point guard Josh Wilson averages 10.9 points per game, and averages 5.7 assists per game (2nd), and has a +1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. Nate Geiser scores 9.9 ppg and averages 2.50 3-point field goals per outing. Landry (2nd, 8.8) and Ryan McCurdy (6th, 6.8) are ranked among the top 10 in rebounding. Wilson is considered one of the best point guards in the conference while Landry is an outside contender for Conference MVP. Geiser, Zach Filzen and Matt Johnson are accomplished 3-point shooters.

THE TEAM: The Lumberjacks were picked to finish at mid-pack but entered conference play with the best record among Big Sky teams. The Lumberjacks are actually a senior-laden team, but only Landry and McCurdy start. Wilson, a junior, has started at point since his freshman season. Always known as a fast-paced, three-point shooting team, NAU is scoring at a modest 73.3 points per game (2nd), but leads the conference in field goal percentage (47%) and 3-point field goal percentage (42%). Not known historically as a defensive team, the Jacks are among the leaders in the Big Sky this year in several defensive categories: Field goal % defense (1st), 3-point field goal defense (2nd), rebounding defense (2nd), and defensive rebounds (1st). They also lead the conference in assists (16.94 pg.) and rebound margin (+6.5).

THE MATCHUP: In past years Northern Arizona was happy to beat opponents from long range. This year the Jacks are getting it done in the low blocks, led by  the pair of 6’-9” front men, Landry and McCurdy and, most recently, junior transfer Zarko Comagic (6’-6”), who scored 19 points against Portland State Saturday. NAU is one of the Big Sky’s deepest teams top to bottom. While only Landry and Wilson score in double digits, five more players average 7+ points per game. The Jacks are the best rebounding team in the Big Sky this season and, led by Landry’s low-block efficiency, have a potent front court attack. Though the Jacks have the second-highest scoring average in the Big Sky, they’re ranked waaaay down at 5th in 3-point field goals (7.06), though they score at the Big Sky’s best percentage from long range. Adras has an experienced vet in Wilson running the point, and Wilson’s good at getting it to the open man. If not, he’ll pull up and shoot 15-foot jumpers from the tip of the key.

For the second straight game the Griz must stop one of the Big Sky’s top three scorers, this time Kyle Landry. The job will probably go to Jordan Hasquet, because Landry is quite mobile and would be a tough match for Andrew Strait. We might see Kyle Sharp share duties against Landry. I think Brian Qvale might provide a positive matchup against the Jacks (McCurdy), allowing for Montana’s low block players to rotate against the Jacks big men. If Josh Wilson penetrates the key at will it’ll be a long night for the Griz. I’d expect Ryan Staudacher to defend Wilson, but Ceylon Elgin-Taylor may also share defensive duties against Wilson.

HOW TO BEAT THE JACKS: Stop Kyle Landry. Keep Josh Wilson from penetrating into the key. Rebound. If the Griz can’t be within 3-4 boards of the Jacks it’ll be tough, because the Jacks do not turn the ball over.

On offense, Hasquet should have an edge in quickness against Landry or McCurdy. If so, that should loosen things up for Strait, who will have to attack the basket if the Griz expect to win. A return to his 60 percent shooting ratio would be good for Andrew and the Griz.

I’m sounding like a broken record, but of course, Montana won’t win without solid floor games from Cameron Rundles and Elgin-Taylor. Junior should be able to drive on NAU guards. The Grizzlies clearly need more offensive production from Junior and Cam.

Finally: Last week the Lumberjacks were torched from long range by the Vikings. Almost any Griz fan realizes that Matt Martin must knock down some threes in order for Montana to win. Staudacher is gradually looking more comfortable from long range, but I think the Griz need Matt to get hot and make Montana dangerous from outside once again.

HEALTH: Good.

Some interesting links on Montana Hoops Recruit Mathias Ward

Thanks to reader-commmenter mtgrizguy, who sent info regarding Montana basketball recruit Mathias Ward. Ward scored 56 points for his Gig Harbor Tides in an OT win against previously undefeated Central Kitsap H.S.

I did some checking at the Tacoma News Tribune web site http://www.thenewstribune.com/ and discovered that the prep writer for the TNT is Ryan Divish, a University of Montana and UM J-school alum.

So, I checked in with Divish and found him more than willing to share info on Ward with us.

"My blood still bleeds the old copper and gold, as well as maroon and silver," writes Divish, who we trust will share additional info with us as he gets it.

To start, check out the three story links in bold below.

Two stories cover Ward's big game over the weekend. The third is a seasonal preview story, with photos, called: Leaning on the Big Fella. The photos for that story, with an additional recent game photo (unattributed), are included here. All are courtesy of Divish, to whom we offer a hearty Montana thanks!

PHOTOS: Top -- a promotional story accompanying the season-preview story in the TNT. Middle -- game action photo with Ward on the left. Bottom -- photo taken on the day Ward signed his letter of intent to play for the Grizzlies. See my initial coverage of the story here.

Ward scores record 56 points in Gig Harbor’s win

Records fall as Tides boys beat Cougars in OT

Leaning on the Big Fella

Tip note: Any readers with interesting items or links of interest regarding the Montana Grizzly and Lady Griz connections, please let me know via a comment or by sending me an email. My secure email link is in the upper left-hand column. I'll be happy to post the links for all grizzlyjournal readers.

Meet Men's Grizzly Basketball Transfer Michael Taylor

Meet Montana Grizzly transfer Michael Taylor, who was the runnerup for Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year last year behind Montana sophomore Cameron  Rundles.

Taylor, who will be eligible to play next autumn as a sophomore, transferred to Montana after a promising 2006-07 freshman campaign for coach Mike Burns at Eastern Washington.

Taylor said his decision to transfer to Montana did not involve the transition in Cheney between Burns, who was dismissed in May,  and new Eagle head coach Kirk Earlywine.

“I got to play a lot last year,” said Taylor, who started 25 of 29 games for the Eagles. “So my move had nothing to do with basketball.

“I just think Montana has a great program and I just thought I wanted to be a part of it here.”

Taylor averaged 24.4 minutes per game for the Eagles last year, made 53 of 118 field goal attempts for a 44% average, and was successful on 32 of 80 (40 %) from 3-point range. Taylor scored a total of 165 points on the season for a 5.7 per game average.

The 6-foot-4 swingman has a broad and ready smile and a gently self-effacing sense of humor. He joked that he had always thought the Big Sky Conference had “only one freshman of the year,” and was unaware that he was the runnerup to Rundles.

“I actually didn’t even know that there were two “freshman of the year” players  at Montana until I got here and coach told me,” he laughed. “So I thought: ‘Cool!’ ”

How is Taylor faring on the bench?

“I do enjoy wearing ties,” he quipped, “But I’d much rather be playing on the floor.”

He quickly added that he’s working on several aspects of his game and “doing his best” to push the starters with top-quality practice competition.

“Personally I’ll work on whatever the coaches say in practice,” said Taylor. “If they want me to play point guard, whatever. I like to come early and stay later.

“I need to push the guys on the team because every practice is actually my game.

“That’s because I have no game,” joked Taylor, and then quickly said seriously: “So I need to treat every practice like a game.”

“I do get to work on some stuff in practice because I don’t get the reps in games right now,” he added.

Taylor was a celebrated multi-sport prep athlete at Brewster, a small 2000-resident community 70 Miles north of Wenatchee that’s nestled onto the western point of Lake Pateros in the heart of Washington’s apple country.

At Brewster High School, Taylor played basketball for his father, Tim Taylor, who is still coaching at the small 2000-resident rural community.

“This is going to be my father’s last year as a coach, most likely. But he’s been in it for quite a while... about 13 years,” he said.

Taylor said his parents have been very important to his development as a person and a player, commenting that his father has “always,” been his coach.

“I grew up playing as many sports as I could,” he said, adding that one cousin in particular had a huge impact on him.

“Johnnie Gebbers,” said Taylor. “He played basketball and baseball at Gonzaga (1999-2003).” Gebbers scored 61 points for Brewster High in a 1998 game against Cashmere, Washington.

Taylor was himself no prep slouch. While at Brewster, he played in four straight Washington State high school basketball championship games, and was a member of the Brewster baseball team which won two Washington State championships.

“I was a part of a lot of winning programs,” said Taylor, pausing. “And I think we’ve got that here.”

Despite the Grizzlies’ struggles so far, Taylor said he’s fit in quite well with his teammates.

“This team is a lot like my high school team. We had a ton of cohesiveness and I think we’ve got that here at Montana. It’s way easier to play when a team works together.”

The formula for Montana’s future success?

“This team needs to work on playing how to win instead of playing not to lose, no matter who we’re playing,” said Taylor.

Though he hails from an large rural family, “with lots of cousins,” and is native to a region of Washington that’s “big on hunting,” Taylor said he takes more pride in his sewing skills, which he learned from his mother, Sonja Taylor.

“I’ve actually taken a sewing class,” said Taylor. “I can make a quilt if anybody wants one. If someone says they like a certain type, I can find a pattern for the quilt and figure it out,” he said, hesitating briefly.

“I’d probably like to have my mom help me though,” he said.

“But I started working on quilts when I was about six years old. My mom has a big quilting room and I’ve always enjoyed doing that.”

Taylor said his extended Brewster-area family is very important to him. “I have a huge family. I’m the oldest of six and I have about 20 cousins in Brewster, so I love going home,” he said, rapidly running through the names of his younger siblings: “Martha, Stockton, Becky Mae, Timbo and Joe,” he said, grinning broadly.

Taylor’s summers at Brewster are spent working in his family business.

“My family owns a bunch of apple and cherry orchards, over 5000 acres,” said Taylor. “I grew up doing that with everyone in the family.”

These days you can usually see Taylor at game-time, seated at the south end of the Grizzly bench, neatly dressed in slacks, a pullover sweater and the obligatory tie.

Next fall, if everything goes as planned, you’ll see him on the floor.

Shooting Percentage Key to Montana Collapse, Loss

Assuming that most readers of this site were able to watch Montana State’s 74-58 Big Sky Conference opening win over the Montana Grizzlies in Bozeman, I’ll post a lengthier analysis Sunday after I’ve had some time to examine the game.

But all the studied analysis possible in college basketball is frivolous in light of the sudden Montana second-half collapse.

The Grizzly loss can be easily pinned on their second half field goal shooting. There were other factors of course: MSU freshman forward Bobby Howard erupting for a 2-minute, 7-point scoring spree is one. And Montana’s inability to stop senior Bobcat guard Carlos Taylor, who scored almost at will on slashing drives into the key off of an overload & isolation Bobcat offense.

But Montana’s puzzling half-game of futility struck once again... very similar in fashion to the Grizzlies' first half against Portland. This time -- after shooting 50 percent from the field in a productive first half that included a respectable 38.5 percent from three-point range -- the Grizzlies shot an astounding 26.9 percent from the field in the second half, including 28.6 percent from three point range.

Some credit might go to the intensified Bobcat defense but I don’t buy that. Enough of the shots were open looks to at least take the game down to the wire.

You’ll have to look long and hard to find a visiting team that shoots under 30 percent and manages to win a game.

Had the Grizzlies shot that poorly over the entire game we might pin this loss on a lack of offensive efficiency. But there were barely 14 minutes remaining in a tight 1-point game when the bottom fell out for the Griz.

As the statistics will bear out, the game was otherwise evenly played, despite a 7-rebound margin by the Cats.

It must have been a particularly disappointing loss for the Griz because they were solidly in position to win this game.

Any alternate analysis by readers is welcome. I’m curious to see what your take on this game might be.

SCOUTING REPORT: Montana at Montana State, Jan. 5

Montana coach Wayne Tinkle didn’t say so, but seemed more focused on his Grizzly squad than he was on the Montana State Bobcats. The Grizzlies will tip off their 2008 Big Sky Conference run with a single game this week... against the Bobcats in Bozeman.

Game time is 7:05 and will be televised statewide, with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien.

Tinkle repeatedly stressed that defense will be Montana’s primary focus against the Bobcats. It is, he said, his team’s primary challenge, despite league statistics that show Montana as one of the conference’s best defensive teams.

“We’ve got to get to their shooters, said Tinkle. “We can’t give them any open looks from beyond three. We’ve got to contain their penetration because they’ve got some guys that like to get to the rim.’

PHOTO: Hasquet eyes the bucket against Montana Tech defenders. Montana frontcourt players must have early scoring success for the Griz to steal a win in Bozeman.

But Montana, Tinkle added, must shore up its rebounding, which has been a weakness of the Grizzly defensive game so far.

“We’ve  got to keep them off the glass,” said Tinkle. “(Divaldo) Mbgunga scores a lot of his points off of the offensive glass, so if we can sandwich him with one or two guys and keep him at bay, then that’ll give us a good chance going the other way.”

Tinkle said he expect the Bobcats to throw a couple of defensive wrinkles at the Griz, so his squad worked on offensive versatility in practice this week.

“I have a feeling they’re going to play both zone and man, so we’ve got to be efficient moving the ball,” said Tinkle.  “No matter what defense they’re in we’ve got to pound it at them, and that’s just going to free up our perimeter players eventually if we can do the job scoring on the block.”

Montana used a long holiday break to work on sharpening the Griz defenst-to-transition game. Fans who saw the Griz dismantle Montana Tech Sunday got a first look.

“We’ve worked on some things defensive to hopefully create some points for us,” said Tinkle. “Now going into conference we’re looking to create some things so that we’re not always fighting teams in the half court.”

But Tinkle, who said team defense and rebounding are the critical factors for success in the Big Sky, stressed his Griz must continue to show game-by-game improvement.

“We’ve got to continue to defend,” he stressed. “We’ve got to do a better job on the boards. If we can rebound to our potential, our defensive numbers will even improve, and I think that’ll carry for us on to the offensive end and we’ll be more efficient and score more points.”

THE GAME: University of Montana, at Montana State, Sat., Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.

RECORDS: The Montana State Bobcats are 8-5, with wins over Long Beach State (74-56), Boise State (86-84), Alcorn State (83-57), Pepperdine (95-89), Wyoming (79-72), Great Falls (80-48), Evergreen State (92-56), and Oregon State (60-59). The Cats’ losses have been to UNLV (76-65), Fresno State (86-74), UC Santa Barbara (76-61), Nevada (82-76), and Arizona State (66-62).

Montana takes a 6-7 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific and Santa Clara. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36).

THE COACH: Missoula native, Brad Huse, a graduate of Big Sky H.S., is in his second season, having previously served for two years as an assistant coach to Larry Krystkowiak at Montana. Huse is Montana State’s 21st head coach, and currently sports a 19- 23 record at MSU. As head coach at NAIA level Jamestown for eight years, Huse built an impressive 184-60 record and was named three-time conference coach of the year, winning league titles in five of his eight years as head coach.

HISTORY: Montana State leads this historic college basketball series, 141-131, but lost 67-55 at home in the teams’ last meeting, 72-63, a game where Kyle Sharp -- starting in place of an ill Andrew Strait -- had his best game ever as a Griz with 10 points and four rebounds.

PERSONNEL: Point guard Casey Durham (former Cat coach Mick’s son) leads the team on the floor, is shooting 50% from three-point range (33-66), and averages 9.8 points per game. The Bobcats are led in scoring by senior off-guard Carlos Taylor (16.2 ppg.), a slasher with a quick pull-up jumper. Transfer forward Divaldo Mbgunga has solidified the MSU front court, averages 12.8 points per game at a 60% conversion rate. But it’s Mbgunga’s defense and rebounding (6.8 pg) that has made the difference, and he was just last week named player of the week in the Big Sky. Frosh Bobby Howard of Great Falls is on pace to earn consideration as freshman of the year, averaging 9.8 points in 22.8 minutes per game on the floor.

THE TEAM: The Bobcats present the classic success story of a new coach capable of melding players from the previous coach’s tenure with his new recruits. The Bobcats have the most experienced back court combo in the Big Sky and it shows. Taylor’s clutch game-winner with 5 seconds remaining at Oregon State is the most recent example of the Cats’ poise. MSU’s biggest win is probably its 79-72 win at Wyoming, but I’m more impressed that the Cats have won four of the five close games they’ve played, including an overtime victory against WCC challenger Pepperdine, a team that had just beaten Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. The Bobcats rank in the Big Sky’s upper tier in several team categories, lead the conference with a 75.9 scoring average, and out-rebound their opponents by 6.3 per game, and rake the offensive glass for a 12.3 board average per game.

The most impressive Bobcat statistic in my evaluation is team depth. You can talk all you want about your bench players’ capability, but it’s the minutes bench players log that usually determines how a  team will hold up through the punishment of league play. No Bobcat has averaged more than Taylor’s 27.8 minutes per game, while six have averaged a minimum of 22 minutes, with two additional reserves logging a minimum of 17.5 per game.

The Tigers average6 75.9 points per game but allow a generous 69.8. They lead the Big Sky with a +6.2 ppg. margin.

THE MATCHUP: A first-game/single game road contest that’s an easy three-hour bus ride down I-90 is the perfect way for Montana coaches and players to measure themselves over the course of conference play. A win isn’t critical, but conditions for a win are perfect. MSU students are still on winter break, the Griz have been able to concentrate on one opponent, and coach Wayne Tinkle won’t have to motivate his players.

The Bobcats play a flexing inside-outside game with some similarities in style to both Cal State Fullerton and Washington State, so the Griz will have had plenty of live-game on-the-job experience.

Montana’s primary task will be to keep Bobcat guard Carlos Taylor in check, prevent him from penetrating and collapsing the Montana defense, and hold him  at least a few points below his 16-point-plus average.

While I agree that holding the Cats below their league-leading offensive rebounding is critical, more important to me is how well the Griz can score in the low blocks. Andrew Strait, Jordan Hasquet and reserves Brian Qvale and Kyle Sharp give the Griz a top-to-bottom size/bulk edge in the front court and will need to produce points early on.

HOW TO BEAT THE CATS: It’ll be tough. Nonetheless, I believe the Cats' weakness of two years and one year past are still exploitable. Defensive pressure against Durham and Taylor can produce turnovers and distinct advantages in the transition game. I don’t know who's noticed, but Montana wing Ryan Staudacher has made giant strides on defense and may well provide Montana with transition opportunites -- either by playing solid defense, or with some takeaways.

Of course, Montana won’t win without solid floor games from Cameron Rundles and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor.

Finally: The game may hinge on how successful Montana is producing offense from it’s big guys early. If they do, then look for Matt Martin to get open looks. If you know Martin’s history against the Bobcats, you know he’ll be ready.

HEALTH: Good. Hasquet has recovered from dual ankle sprains and Cameron Rundles appears to have recovered from a chronic toe injury that slowed him in early December.

Game Notes: Playing With Pain

PLAYING WITH PAIN -- It's one thing to play through pain. In any sport every athlete will experience periods of injury and pain. At some point in every athlete's career they'll have to play through pain.

It's another thing to play with constant pain... the chronic, nagging or even debilitating affliction that doesn 't stop, but gradually and then eventually wears an athlete down.

I have experienced both. I was reminded of my injuries (four sprains and a foot bone fracture in a two-year span) on Friday as I watched Montana guard Mandy Morales play through, and with, her chronic foot pain. At one point late in the game, when she was at the free throw line, she alternated lifting each foot gingerly off the floor to ease the pressure.

PHOTO: Mandy Morales drives the lane during second half action of the Lady Griz' 78-65 win over the Bobcats. Krislyn Wallace guards Morales.

I confess I don't know much about her injury, though I've read about it. I've also read it will, or may heal, but will probably be with her throughout the season.

I -- as I'm sure is the case for all Montana fans -- wish the best for her eventual recovery. The sooner, the better for Mandy, of course.

I know this much: she's one tough kid. Any time you see an athlete battle an entire game through physical agony, you hope they're not going too far and actually delaying complete recovery.

TOUGH IN THERE -- The Lady Griz scored 75 points against Montana Stae, but nothing came easily. As with several Montana opponents this year, the Cat game plan against the Griz was "shut down the middle," and hope for the best. Well, not with Sonja cruising the perimeter.

PHOTO: Britney Lohman takes the pivot for a shot against Krislyn Wallace.

The Cats played a doubling, trapping and always physical low block defense. Eight of Montana's 12 turnovers were by front court players in the thick of the fray. If Britney or Tamara or Sarah didn't shoot the ball quickly, it was gone... slapped away by an MSU defender.

I confess that I respect Tricia Binford's Bobcats. Not much visible "attitude," they just play hard. No whining. Good sportsmanship. And they come at you every minute of the game. I expect this Bobcat squad to steadily improve over conference play. Their 5-8 record seems quite misleading to me, and I'd be surprised if they didn't end up in the top tier of what this year will b a very tough Big Sky conference.

PHOTO: Morales is fouled on a drive by reserve Bobcat point guard Erica Perry.

That's good for both the Cats and the Griz. It's always to Montana's benefit if visiting Big Sky teams have a tough matchup in Bozeman before stopping by in Missoula for a second game.

LIGHTS OUT -- Sonja Rogers is one of those classic long-range shooters who can release an accurate three-point shot from a variety of physical alignments. Oftentimes good shooters have to make one and only one set-and-spring for their shot. Some have to be in the same spot on the floor. Some need a specific amount of space before they can shoot. Not Rogers. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Not only does #10 have one of the quickest releases I've seen in women's basketball (she can catch & release her shot in one continuous movement), but she can shoot off of the dribble, when moving right or when moving left. She's never off balance. Her jump is very consistent; but she doesn't seem to require any specific balance before shooting. And she's not hesitant to shoot it up in traffic. Furthermore, it seems she can shoot from anywhere on the arc (though she seems to prefer a right side set at about 45 degrees).

Sonja's 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc Friday sends a clear message to conference opponents. They can pack the inside... but if Rogers is on the floor they'll pay for it.

Montana Lady Griz Outpace Montana State 78-65

Montana junior guard Sonja Rogers scored 32 points to lead the Montana Lady Griz past the Montana State Bobcats 78-65 before 4537 fans in the opening game of Big Sky play for both schools Friday night.

As has been the norm for the Lady Griz in recent games, Rogers sparked Montana with two quick treys and the Lady Griz jumped to a quick 10 point lead, which they maintained more or less a few points until a late second half surge expanded the margin above 15. The largest Lady Griz lead was 17, midway through the second half.

Rogers nailed 5-of-6 shots from three point range, shot a blistering 64 percent from the field overall (9-for-14), and made all nine of her free throw shots in leading the Lady Griz past a resilient Bobcat squad that got double figures scoring from three players.

PHOTOS: Sonja Rogers (10) scored 32 points on 5-of-6 shots from three point range to lead Montana. Above, Rogers drives past guard Sarah Strand (20) in second half action. Below: Rogers drives to the bucket over Bobcat forward Krislyn Wallace (22). Wallace scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds for the Bobcats.

The game outcome seemed assured for the Lady Griz from the early going, though, the Bobcats played a gritty game once their offense got untracked. 

Montana guard Mandy Morales -- still painfully bothered by a foot condition -- scored nine points and dished out 9 assists in 29 minutes of play. Lady Griz center Tamara Guardipee was the recipient of several Morales’ assists and scored 12 points, though she made only 5-of-14 against the swarming Bobcat interior defense.

Guardipee was a force under the basket, pulling down 10 rebounds and blocking one shot on the night. Forward Johanna Closson -- though she scored only four points, also pulled down 10 rebounds.

Montana forward Britney Lohman, returning after sitting out for two games, scored eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.

The Bobcats were led by guard Rebecca Mercer’s 19 points on 3-for-7 shooting from long range. Forwards Krislyn Wallace, with 14 points, and Nubia Garcia, with 10 points, effectively penetrated the Lady Griz defense with an assortment of step-through pivots to help the Cats keep pace with the Griz, though they were unable to get any closer than five points after the early Lady Griz surge.

The Bobcats turned the ball over 19 times to Montana’s 12 and the Lady Griz claimed a five-rebound edge with 40 boards. Montana shot a somewhat sub-par 44.3 percent from the field but held the Bobcats to 38.6 percent.

Check back soon for additional photos and a brief post-game analysis.

Griz Have all the Ingredients to Challenge for Big Sky Title

In three early pre-season games -- two back to back -- the Montana Grizzlies presented three tantalizing hints that revealed just how good they could be this year.

The first was their season-opening 75-39 win over Colorado State before a jubilant home crowd. Two weeks later, at the WSU Cougar Classic in Spokane, the Grizzlies lost by 11 points to the then 9th-ranked Cougars -- one where they led only seconds before halftime. The Griz played the Cougs tough throughout the game, slipping only slightly during a mid-second half stretch that was the game's difference. The following afternoon, at that same Cougar Classic the Grizzlies produced their best half of play of the young season in an eventual 59-57 win over a good Air Force team.

The very next game Griz guard Cameron Rundles went down with a foot injury (though he has played every game) and the Grizzlies have struggled. With Rundles now appearing near full strength, it'll be interesting to see if Montana can rekindle their early-season promise.

Most Montana fans missed the Cougar Classic, since it was played on the weekend of the Montana-Wofford FCS football playoff game. The basketball they missed in the Grizzlies' first-half against Air Force was one of the finest displays of Grizzly basketball I've seen in recent years. I was flabbergasted enough that I took a single photo of the scoreboard (the only time I've ever done that). The game, against a good Falcons' squad, turned into a barn burner. But the Griz won with clutch play from Rundles and crucial free throws from Matt Martin and Greg Spurgetis.

I believe that the ingredients -- players, experience, shooting ability, depth and team chemistry -- are all aligned for the Griz to return to early season form. And the Big Sky appears up for grabs, even though the Montana State Bobcats and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks have played well enough to be considered favorites going in to league play.

My conclusion: The  Big Sky  has four clear contenders (Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona and Portland State) and five teams still struggling to hit stride (Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Sacramento State and Weber State). Remember the surprises in early conference play last season? I think we're due for a repeat of some roller-coaster conference action. Of course, any team which wins on the road is an instant contender.

On this site, most readers would expect me to pick Montana and I do. But I firmly believe the Griz have the personnel, leadership, experience and chemistry to claim the crown. The schedule is favorable. The Griz are healthy. A big plus is that Montana coach Wayne Tinkle has developed an excellent coach-player relationship with his athletes, something I believe will pay dividends with each game played. Now all this team needs is home-crowd support, something that's not crucial but, as seen in the win against Colorado State, is an important home-court factor that can tilt tight games to the Griz.

Nonetheless, it should be a wild, and enjoyable year. We'll find out how ready the Griz are this Saturday, as they travel to Bozeman for their conference opener against Missoula native, coach Brad Huse and his Cats.

I recently visited with Tinkle and got his assessment of what he needs from his players for the Grizzlies to contend. Tinkle's player profiles are in quotes, followed by the Grizzly Journal's player capsules. In the right column are player statistical profiles with photos.

I can't say any single player is crucial. I believe the Griz will need high caliber play from their top eight players to cinch the crown. Any injury or let down and the task becomes a challenge. But that's why they play the games. On to the player capsules.

ANDREW STRAIT -- “Andrew had a nice pre-season. We need to get him the ball more because he’s so effective down there on the block offensively. He’s become a really good passer. We need a little more energy out of him on the defensive end and on the glass. Andrew needs to start getting at least eight  rebounds a game for us to be effective. If we do, we’d have a nice two-headed monster down there on rebounding when he and Jordan are rebounding well.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Strait -- The senior center is still the first option on offense, and when he scores consistently, everything else opens up for the perimeter guys on offense. Strait can post, pivot or move quickly left for a soft hook. We’d like to see Andrew make some power moves on target: in other words,we think Andrew could be a game-changer if he decides to slam a few over his opponents (which he can do).

JORDAN HASQUET -- “Jordan just needs a way to stay on the floor more. He needs to play aggressive defense, which I think will help him stay out of foul trouble. He has to continue to be our go-to guy on the block because he’s a great free throw shooter. He can make plays. He can pass over the defense, and we just need that continued leadership and effort out of him in league.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Hasquet -- Hasquet has already earned membership in that elite Grizzly fraternity of exceptional players who consistently (meaning, every minute) hold themselves to the absolute highest standards of play (mental & physical). He accepts nothing but the best of himself. And because of that, we think he’s on course to be the Big Sky MVP (if he can lead the Griz to the title). Jordan would sharpen his already potent offensive attack with more pull-up jumpers in lieu of charging power drives, where he tends to collect charging fouls.

CAMERON RUNDLES -- “Cam needs to pick it up a bit. He didn’t have a really great start to the season. He’s finally starting to get into his comfort zone. Cam really gives us a lot of leadership out on the floor. He hits big shots. But he’s still got to get better in his decision-making, both offensively and defensively late in the games. He’s sometimes lost focus and gotten lost, and so we’ve worked on him to stay disciplined so that he makes sure that  his guy is not getting open looks down the stretch.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Rundles -- When the soph floor general plays a laser-smart court game, the Griz soar. Cam’s foot injury hurt the team more than first thought, but he’s back on track. A true natural leader, Cam still needs to see the court every minute. We think Cam must take it to the bucket more and become more of a threat to drive. If the charismatic leader refuses to let his team lose, the Griz are guaranteed to win the ‘Sky.’

RYAN STAUDACHER -- “Ryan’s become a great defender for us. He’s become our stopper out on the perimeter. But he needs to get more aggressive offensively and take some more shots and look to score. Ryan needs to work to improve  his rebounding numbers as well. Ryan’s really developing as a threat to force turnovers. He’s got great hands, he’s a strong defender and he’s really starting to relish building into the role as a defensive stopper.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Staudacher -- The blue collar sophomore guard/wing is extremely durable and is steadily turning into the defensive stopper for the Grizzlies. Has the potential to be a defensive game-changer in the Eric Hays mold. With focus, Ryan can become an open-court possession-changer. And... Ryan has yet to have the breakout scoring game most everyone in the house believes he is capable of producing. 

CEYLON ELGIN-TAYLOR -- “Junior’s really done a nice job for us. He’s led the team out there, and runs our offense well. He needs to continue to be our Griz staple on defense, to go out and set the tone for us. And then he needs to take a look to make some plays for himself now and then so that he becomes a scoring threat. If he does that, it will just help him to be able to make plays for his teammates.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Elgin-Taylor -- The personable juco point guard  gets measurably better with each game. Rundles’ foot injury may have accelerated Junior’s development into a multi-tool point guard who can alternate floor leadership. Would like to see him be more disruptive defensively and drive to the bucket more on offense. As Elgin-Taylor gets more comfortable with the Montana system, we may see more scoring from this capable shooter.

MATT MARTIN -- “Matt’s done a nice job for us and shown a lot of maturity. And now, when he’s coming off of the bench he knows he’s going to provide some instant offensive punch for us. Now he just needs to stay focused on the defensive end. He can’t be a liability. He needs to keep guys in front of him and just be super-solid defensively. We know he’s one of our most experienced players and that he needs to be on the floor for us late in games. If he defends, and makes smart decisions he will be.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Martin -- We predict that Martin will become the premier blue chip long-range threat in the conference. Martin’s ability to change games instantly is a valuable offensive tool for the Griz. We’d like to see Martin try to disrupt his opponent’s ball control with some mid-court steals (before he has to defend a taller opponent on the low blocks).

KYLE SHARP --  “We want Kyle to come in and play with much more energy. We told him we want him to play like an unbridled stallion, to ust go up there, run up and down, crash the boards, and take the ball to the basket and score some points for us.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Sharp -- Has remarkable potential to become one of the best offensive rebounders in the Big Sky. We’d like  to see Sharp turn those boards into instant points by moving to score quickly. Very strong and very agile for a big man.

BRIAN QVALE -- “Brian is just like a young yearling. He’s long and gangly and athletic. And he’s gotten a lot more experience for us in the last couple of weeks. But we want him to play with constant energy and maturity. We want him to give us instant energy defensively. He’s a shot-blocker and rebounder and we expect him to give us a good lift.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Brian -- For those old enough to remember, Qvale reminds us of Grizzly great, Ken McKenzie. We know Brian can rebound, and think he can become the best shot-blocker in the Big Sky.... this year. Now we’d like to see him gain some confidence scoring in the low blocks.. Who in the sky can stop him?

GREG SPURGETIS -- “He’s a guy we’ll call on from time to time. He always goes hard every day in practice. But when we put Greg in the game we expect him to take care of the ball and defend and rebound. Everything above that is great. If he makes some shots, awesome. But he can’t turn the ball over when he goes in the game. And he’s got to defend and rebound.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Spurgetis -- We agree with the coach on Greg. If he can create defensive havoc when he’s on the floor, he’ll get more minutes. One of the Griz’ best pure shooters.

ZACH GRAVES -- “Zach is young. He just needs to take care of the ball and be a lock-down defender on the defensive end. He’s got the potential to really do a nice job defensively. And when he’s focused, he does that.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Graves -- Probably our favorite defender off the bench. If Zach concentrates on defense and starts to look to seal the ball, he can be a breakaway threat of major proportions. Has one of the most impressive vertical leaps we’ve ever seen.

DAVE VANDERJAGT -- “Big Dave has come along nicely for us. What we need from Dave is to be more active. You know, he’s got to defend and rebound and really work to protect the goal on the defensive end. Offensively he needs to use his body, set screens and become a scoring threat on the low blocks.” -- Tinkle.
GJ on Vanderjagt -- A serious ankle injury in pre-season set Vanderjagt back several weeks. Must work on lateral defensive movement. Has the ability to score if he gets the ball down low.

Announcing Pre-Conference Grizzly Preview

Grizzly Journal will post a Big Sky Conference Preview featuring each Grizzly player eligible to play. The profiles will include statistics, a photo and a brief capsule.

I'm still waiting for some information to tie each of the profiles together. All profiles will be posted by Thursday evening.

While I won't provide in-person game coverage of the Grizzlies for any road trips, I plan to provide home game coverage for as many Lady Griz conference games as is possible over the course of the season.

Any suggestions for upcoming coverage is welcome.

Grizzly Journal Comments Policy

I’ll be the first to admit that -- though I make every effort in my game coverage stories to  report each game as objectively as possible -- Grizzly Journal (get the hint?) covers the Griz and Lady Griz from a decidely Montana perspective.

Though I write both coverage articles and opinion pieces, I make every effort to provide fair and objective coverage and to include source attribution as often as possible from interviews with players, coaches and officials.

My pledge to all readers: you won’t find opinions here (in my clearly identified Grizzly Analysis columns) that cannot be well supported in a variety of ways. I make that promise to myself first and to all readers as well. And if you disagree, you have a forum in the comments section to state your piece.

I’ll take this one step further: I extend an open invitation to all readers to submit their comments in the section provided after every story published at Grizzly Journal. You’ll have the right to state your opinion without any comeback or censorship if your comments meet the standard policies of public discourse detailed below.

GRIZZLY JOURNAL COMMENTS POLICY

GRIZZLY JOURNAL welcomes your participation in article and blog comment threads. You are encouraged to comment, analyze, disagree with or otherwise challenge Grizzly Journal articles, opinions, analyses or other reviews and features.

It is the objective of Grizzly Journal that all persons submitting comments can interact positively with other readers in a manner that demonstrates respect for all opinions.

In order to keep these experiences enjoyable and interesting for all of our users, Grizzly Journal requests that you follow the rules outlined below. By participating in  discussions, or by submitting comments, you are consenting to these rules.

Comments that include profanity or statements which are considered in obvious poor taste or are inflamatory, or personal attacks of a serious or inflamatory nature, will be removed from the site.

Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed.

Grizzly Journal will not edit or alter your comments. However, Grizzly Journal will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.

• You agree that you are fully responsible for the content that you post.

• You understand and agree that grizzlyjournal.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.

• You understand and agree that the discussion forums are to be used only for non-commercial purposes.   

• You acknowledge and agree that you use any information obtained through the discussion forums at your own risk, and that  grizzlyjournal.com is not in any manner endorsing the content of the discussion forums and cannot and will not vouch for its reliability.

Grizzly Journal is not liable in any way for any content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed or otherwise made available via the site.

You acknowledge that grizzlyjournal.com shall have the right (but not the obligation) to refuse, delete or move any content that is available via the site, for violating the letter or spirit of the policy or for any other reason.

If you find a comment that you believe should be removed, please contact Grizzly Journal by sending a message through the “email me” section on the front page.