Late Montana rally nips Northern Arizona 62-61

The game clock registered the first tie of the game with 1:04 remaining.

The next score – which signaled Montana’s first lead of the game – was netted 57 seconds later, when Griz forward Jack McGillis made one of two free throws for a 62-61 Montana lead.

That one-point lead – the ONLY Montana lead of the game – was enough, as NAU guard Cameron Brown’s trey attempt bounced left as time expired to cap off a Montana rally for the Big Sky Conference win before 3005 fans Thursday.

PHOTOS: Anthony Johnson drives the right baseline for two of his game-high 32 points. (below) Jack McGillis notches a tip-in during second half play. Mcgillis scored 11 pounts.

Montana moves to 2-1 in conference while the Lumberjacks – who have lost three conference contests by a total of five points – fell to 1-3.

Until Montana guard Anthony Johnson ignited a furious Montana rally over the game’s final 11 minutes, the Lumberjacks had dominated the momentum and the score, leading by as many as 15 points in the first half, by 16 midway through the second half, and by 51-38 before an eight-point Montana charge pulled the Griz within 51-46 with 7:31 remaining.

It was a ringside slugfest from there, with the Griz delivering the knockout flurry.

During the game’s final stretch, Johnson – who registered his second straight 30-plus point game – was unstoppable. The junior guard scored 20 second-half points on slashing drives to the bucket on both the left and right baseline.

Or, when he didn’t make the buckets, he was fouled. So he calmly sank 18-of-19 free throws.

But it was Montana forward Jack McGillis’ trey on the let elbow, directly in front of the Montana bench... off of Johnson’s feed at the 1:04 mark, that capped the Grizzlies’ momentum swing. 

It happened quickly.

The Jacks stole an errant pass, but Lumberjack forward Zarko Comagic muffed the early-offense point-blank dunk. Johnson pushed the ball in transition quickly up the floor, saw McGillis open, and fed the Griz forward for the wide-open shot.

It was a back-breaker, said Northern Arizona Coach Mike Adras.

I thought the big swing of the game was when we stole the ball, and went down and Zarko missed the dunk and they came down and scored that three-pointer at the other end of the court,” said Adras.

“So, you know, that was a five-point shift and now the crowd’s in it.”

Johnson said he saw McGillis immediately and then dished the pass. From there, it was all Jack, said Johnson.

Montana coach Wayne Tinkle agreed.

“Jack stepped up and made some huge plays for us on both ends,” said Tinkle. “He had a couple tips and blocked shots on the defensive end and obviously the baskets on the offensive end.”

Though he missed the final shot, Lumberjack guard Jones paced NAU with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. No other Lumberjack player scored in double figures, thouth eight players scored.

Statictically, the teams played on even terms. Both teams grabbed 30 rebounds. The Jacks had nine turnovers, the Griz 10. NAU shot 45 percent from the field, compared to Montana’s frigid 36.4 percent.

Simply put, the game swung on Montana’s rally. And NAU’s tough luck.

“I tell you what,” said Adras. “My guys are practicing well. We’re playing well... I guess if you can say we’re a little snake-bit a little right now. I dare say that, but that’s truly how it is. We have the will to win, we’re just not getting it done.

“We had our chances. There’s no question. We walked out of here feeling we gave one away,” said Adras.

POSTGAME NOTES:

Tinkle was puzzled by his team’s slow start. “As tough and energetic as we were in the second half, we were awful in the first half,” said Tinkle.

“But, our rally at halftime was... let’s throw caution to the wind, in not so many words. And our guys responded. It was nice to fight all that way, and get over the top and pull out the win. So many times we’ve fought, fought, fought, fell up short. It was great. And I think that’s what you saw as the horn went off, was the excitement of coming from that much of a deficit and closing it out.”

While Tinkle was pleased with his team’s defense, he’s concerned about offensive efficiency. “I don’t know what’s wrong offensively,” said Tinkle. “We’ve got to get better. We’re not making shots we normally do. I think it starts with pounding it inside. We’re getting nothing in the paint. We’re going to challenge our bigs to do some damage in there and I think that’s going to free up our shooters.”