Montana looks for second road win at Big West leader Cal Riverside

Before the Montana Grizzlies embarked on their annual pre-Christmas California road trip, I had concluded that the Griz would have their best opportunity for a road win against Wednesday’s opponent, Cal Riverside, NOT the Fresno State Bulldogs, which the Griz beat 69-65 after leading by as many as 15 points.

Currently ranked as the Big West Conference team with the best non-conference record at 6-2, the  Highlanders had only beaten Big Sky schools Sac State by 12 (61-49), NAU by seven (59-52) and common Montana foe Southern Utah by four (67-63).

Those comparative scores are, I believe, within a range the Griz have measured up to so far this early season. On paper at least, Montana should be competitive with the Highlanders on their home floor.

Those Riverside home-court wins, however, all came before Southern Cal super soph transfer, guard Kyle Austin, became eligible to play. Austin played his first game for Riverside Monday, scored 20 points and led his steam to a 59-52 road win over Loyola Marymount.

Marymount is winless so far this season. But any road win is a special accomplishment and this one should bolster Riverside’s hopes to compete in the Big West this season.

Further research indicates that second-year coach Jim Woolridge (former head coach at Kansas State) is highly regarded for demanding top caliber defensive play from his teams.

Woolridge’s Highlanders have responded, and lead the Big West in scoring defense (54.0 per game), scoring margin (+3.1) and rebound margin (+6.4). Additionally, the Highlanders have limited opponents to 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from three point range.

A significant number of Woolridge’s coaching peers evidently believe the second year coach will make an impact this season and have given Riverside votes in the coach-voted Mid Major Poll (11). No other Big West school received any votes in this week’s poll.

Along with Austin, two JC transfers – Javon Borum and Brandon Dowdy) have played well so far.

PHOTOS: Montana point guard Anthony Johnson, going up for two against Texas Arlington. Ryan Staudacher (bottom) leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage and scored 15 points Sunday against Fresno State.

Nonetheless, Montana seems to match up well with Riverside. I’ve been writing about Montana’s size advantage in the low blocks for two full years and there are glimmers that the Griz are starting to make smaller teams pay in the paint.

The Highlanders score an average of 57 points per game, shoot 41 percent from the field and 30 percent from three point range. Montana’s steadily effective combination of zone defenses could work to their advantage, particularly if Riverside can be held to their averages on offense.

An efficient inside-outside game, particularly if Montana's shooting percentage from beyond the arc continues, could work to the Grizzlies' advantage. In the low blocks, the Highlanders have the horses, but not the size, to match up to Griz big men Brian Qvale, Jordan Hasqet, and Derek Selvig. Add Kyle Sharp as well, since he always plays bigger than his 6-7 size.

PHOTOS: Jack McGillis (top) made 7-of-8 field goals over the final two minutes to lock-down the win over Fresno State. (Bottom) Montana sophomore post Brian Qvale has the tools... just needs to get a bit tougher in the paint on offense.

 GOOD SIGNS -- At the beginning of the season I considered Montana’s super JC transfer Anthony Johnson the ideal swingman, capable of infusing Montana with speed and slashing ability from the two guard and wing spots. Wrong.

I know many Montana fans have been clamoring for Johnson to get more time in the point. On Sunday Johnson got that opportunity... for 39 minutes and responded in a big way, scoring 15 points, dishing six assists and snaring three steals in Montana’s 69-65 win over Fresno State.

Johnson did have five turnovers, but made up for that by taking control of the game’s final minutes with flair. According to Montana radio announcer Mick Holien, Johnson cleared the floor on two occasions in the final two minutes and scored four points on one-on-one overloads, two on a layup and two on a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity in the final minute of play.

If Johnson plays with similar floor-general leadership against Riverside and Portland State, he may well own the starting point guard job for the remainder of his time as a Montana Griz.

Other very encouraging Griz signs included a stellar game from wing Jack McGillis, who single-handedly salted away Montana’s victory over Fresno State with 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes.

And don’t look now (alright, watch!) but freshman Derek Selvig is getting closer and closer to a major breakout game. Selvig got 17 minutes of playing time Sunday spelling power forward Hasquet (who was battling a virus) and scored five points, pulled down a team-high six rebounds, and grabbed a steal. Selvig sees the floor well, passes well, and will start seeing more time as his defense improves.

It’s good to see shooting guard Ryan Staudacher pace Montana from three point range. Staudacher leads the Big Sky in three point goals made and three-point percentage. As of Sunday he also led the nation in three-point shooting percentage. More than one of Staudacher’s wide-open looks against the Bulldogs came on assists by Johnson, who sliced into the key on quick dribble-enter drives, then kicked a pass quickly out to a wide-open Staudacher on the arc-line.

Lastly. A win over Cal Riverside might be the perfect tonic for having to finish this road trip with an extra early first conference game... against the defending champ Portland State. The Vikings Sunday took Washington down to the wire before losing 83-82. But this Viking team is smaller than it was last season. And Tuesday the Vikings lost 65-62 on the road to Cal Poly, now at 3-5 (with the win over the Viks) and picked to finish last in the Big West this season. Hmmm.