grizzlyjournal

Montana clips U Calgary 76-69, wins Battle of the Border

The Montana Grizzlies got double-digits scoring from four players and beat the host University of Calgary Dinos 76-69 to go undefeated in the U Calgary-hosted Battle of the Border Monday.

Senior power forward Jordan Hasquet scored 19 points and had three steals to lead the Griz, while junior wing Jack McGillis and sophomore post Brian Qvale scored 13 apiece. McGillis had a game-high five steals while Qvale had two steals and two blocks in the win.

PHOTO: Hasquet (left) led Montana past the Dinos with 19 points, 8 rebounds and three steals.

The two teams battled on even terms through three quarters, but Montana surged to an eight-point, 63-55 lead on two steals and a Qvale block that resulted in a three-point conversion by McGillis.

Senior reserve post Kyle Sharp added 11 points.

Senior point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor had a game-high 7 assists for Montana, which outrebounded the Dinos 34-23. The Grizzlies forced 22 Dinos turnovers and had 15 steals but committed 26 turnovers in the game.

Read a game account here. Game stats can be found here.

New faces show early promise for Girzzly hoops

If you’ve read Missoulian sports editor Bob Meseroll’s coverage of the Montana Grizzly men’s basketball team’s progress in the University of Calgary’s preseason Battle of the Border tournament, the play of several newcomers has been the story so far in this very young season.

Sophomore transfer Michael Taylor, in particular, appears ready to challenge for significant playing time at the shooting guard slot. Taylor brings has an impressive basketball resume onto the court. He’s the son of highly respected Washington State prep boys’ basketball coach, Tim Taylor, for whom he played while an all state multi-sport athlete at Brewster, WashingtonH. S.

You can read the Grizzly Journal profile on Taylor by clicking the MICHAEL TAYLOR PROFILE header on this page under JOURNAL PAGES. The profile was first published Jan. 8 in grizzlyjournal.

Three other Washington State prep standouts also saw action. Point guard Shawn Stockton (11 points and 10 assists, 3 steals), power forward Mathias Ward (28 points and 9 rebounds), and wing Nyandigisi Moikubu (9 points, 4 rebounds) were all-state prep players in 2008.

The final game of the Battle of the Border -- a rematch between Montana and the University of Calgary Dinos --  will be at noon, Monday.

Griz edge Dinos 82-72 in first "Battle of the Border' meeting

It’s a little difficult to develop much solid analysis from a line score. But there were some encouraging signs to take from the post-game stats of the Montana Grizzlies’ 82-72 win in the first game of the Battle of the Border against the University of Calgary Dinos, played in Calgary Saturday.

Because the tourney is defined as international competition, the Grizzlies will log four Labor Day tourney games (which don’t count on their season record) well in advance of the normal first-week-in November start of NCAA basketball play.

The Griz -- trailing by three after a quarter and by 40-34 at halftime -- rallied quickly at the start of the second half on a layup by post Brian Qvale and a trey by guard Ryan Staudacher off a feed by 6’-6” redshirt junior wing Jack McGillis to pull within one point of the homestanding Dinos. 

But Montana -- which led by single digits through much of the first quarter -- didn’t regain the lead for another six minutes until McGillis’ jumper gave the Griz a 57-56 lead at the 2:59 mark of the third quarter.

From there the Grizzlies extended the margin quickly to as many as seven points and a 65-58 third quarter-lead until a trey by power forward Kyle Sharp with 6:45 remaining gave Montana a 10-point lead it would maintain for the win.

McGillis led Montana with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, followed by senior power forward Jordan Hasquet’s 15 points and 8 rebounds.

Sophomore 6-11 post Qvale snared 8 boards and scored 13 points while backup point guard -- redshirt soph Michael Taylor -- scored 11 and notched three assists and two steals. Junior off-guard Staudacher scored 11 on 5-of-8 shooting while Sharp scored 10 points and pulled-down 10 boards. Senior point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor had seven assists in a team-high 31 minutes of play.

Missoulian sports writer Bob Meseroll's game story was not available online by mid-morning Sunday. However, you can read this coverage in the Calgary Herald. 

Lady Griz & Griz hoops programs net blue chip couple

In what appears to be a first for Montana Basketball, a nifty scoring assist by Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig and Grizzly coach Wayne Tinkle has netted a pair of blue chip juco transfers for the two programs in 2008.

Tacoma, Washington natives – Shaunte Nance-Johnson and Anthony Johnson –  a married couple, made the joint commitment to Montana’s hoops programs primarily because the Montana coaches worked as a team to ensure the couple could attend school and play baketball at Montana.

There’s an excellent story on Nance-Johnson in the May 2 Missoulian by Missoulian sportswriter, Bill Speltz. Selvig expects Nance-Johnson to compete for the backup point guard role vacated by the graduated Laura Cote.

In Anthony Johnson, the Montana Griz will welcome far and away the outstanding player in the Northwest Athletic Association of Junior Colleges (NWAACC) for 2007-08.

Rainier Beach Coach lauds Montana recruiting class

Seattle Rainier Beach H. S. boys' basketball coach Mike Bethea, whose 29-1 Vikings won the Washington State Boys 3A state championship in March, likes the look of Wayne Tinkle's Montana Grizzly recruiting class of 2008.

Four of Bethea's five starters from his state championship squad have signed letters of intent to play Division I basketball next year. Nyandigisi "Digs" Moikobu, a 6-6 post (who will probably play wing for the Griz) averaged 11 points per game during the season for Rainier Beach.

Moikobu is the third Washington State prep player to commit to Tinkle's Montana program for 2008. Shawn Stockton of Spokane's Ferris H.S., the Washington State 4a champs, signed last fall along with power forward, 6-8 Matthias Ward of Gig Harbor H.S.

Add to that group Anthony Johnson of Tacoma, who played this past year for Yakima Valley Community College, and Tinkle could almost have a complete team of Washington recruits on the floor. Bethea likes the look of Montana's recruiting class, in comments made earlier this week in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

"With that recruiting class, he (Montana coach Wayne Tinkle) has taken care of a 1, a 3 and a 4," Bethea said. "That's going to be the best class in the Big Sky."

Moikobu's teammate, Ababe Dimisse, has made a commitment to play at Eastern Washington.

You can read the entire story on the Rainier Beach team in this Seattle Post Intelligencer story.

Northwest Shootout update: Oregonian video coverage

The Portland Oregonian covered Sunday's Northwest Shootout for boys and girls prep all-star squads. The game was of interest to Montana Grizzly fans because two Montana recruits, point guard Shawn Stockton of Spokane Ferris H. S., and forward Matthias Ward of Gig Harbor H.S. played for the Washington all star team, which won 108-105.

Ward scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the game, while Stockton scored four points.

The Oregonian published two items of interest. The first is a brief video of game action, which you can view here. The second is Oregonian Vikings blog writer Ian Ruder's post-game analysis, which you can read here.

Northwest Shootout update: Ward scores 8, Stockton 5

Matthias Ward scored eight points for the Washington All Stars and Shawn Stockton scored five in a 108-105 Washington victory over the Oregon All Stars in the 14th annual Northwest Shootout played at the University of Portland's Chiles Center Sunday.

Ward made three of four shots – 2-of-2 from three-point range – in the game. Point guard Stockton made 2-for-5 from the field. Both players are Montana Grizzly recruits, the only players in the all-star game who have committed to play for a Big Sky school.

You can read game-action coverage by the Seattle Times here.

Two Washington prep players – Eryn Jones of Meadowdale H. S., and Stephanie Egwautau of Auburn – have made commitments to play for Portland State next year. Another Washington prep player who played in the shootout, Brianne Ryan, has made a commitment to Eastern Washington.

Griz recruits Stockton, Ward see action in Northwest Shootout

In what may well be a first for Montana Grizzly basketball recruiting, two of the best prep boys players from the state of Washington – Shawn Stockton of Washington 4A state Champion Ferris H.S. of Spokane, and Matthias Ward of Gig Harbor H.S. – played in the 14th annual Washington-Oregon post-season Northwest Shootout, held Sunday, Apr. 6 at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center.

The game – which finished just before this post –  was won 108-105 by the Washington All Stars. DeAngelo Casto of Spokane Ferris and Reggie Moore of Seattle Rainier Beach H. S. were named co-MVPs.

Moore, who will play basketball next year at Fresno State, scored 23 points while dishing six assists and getting two steals. Casto, who has yet to decide where he’ll play next year, scored 19 points while collecting eight rebounds and eight blocks on the game.

Final game stats were not available at this point, but I’ll add them as they are posted by the Portland Oregonian web site.

In the meantime, you can read a live game blog here by Portland Oregonian prep writer Patrick Greenfield.

Also, check out Oregonian video sports video specialist Bill Miksell’s game-action highlights here later tonight or Monday.

Even a casual perusal of the Washington-Oregon lineup and the schools to which these prep players are headed next year, should lead to the conclusion that Montana coach Wayne Tinkle has a good start on an impressive freshman recruiting class for 2008.

Stockton and Ward are the only players to see action in the Northwest Classic who are committed to a Big Sky Conference school.

Big Sky Conference's 'Year of the Guard'

I’ve followed the Lady Griz for 25-plus years as a fan and even covered them for the Missoulian during a four-year stretch in the late 1980s.

I have watched numerous outstanding Montana guards of course. Kelli Pilcher stands out most prominently for me. But so do Kyla Sisco, Cheri Bratt, Katie Edwards, Julie Demming and Barb Kavanaugh.

But I don’t believe I watched a group of guards as collectively talented as the five who took the court during the five games of the 2008 Big Sky Tournament finals that culminated with junior Mandy Morales claiming the tournament MVP award in the wake of Montana’s 101-65 championship-game win over the Montana State Bobcats.

This season could truly be called the, 'Year of the Guard' in the Big Sky Conference.

An MVP case could be made for any of the five, only one of which (Montana’s Laura Cote) was a senior this year.

PHOTO: Montana's Mandy Morales and Montana State's Erica Perry battle for control of the ball in Montana's 101-65 tourney championship win.

Three are Lady Griz, and that is evidence enough to explain why Montana won both the regular season and tourney titles for 2007-08.

Senior Laura Cote was arguably the Big Sky’s outstanding sixth-player, capable of changing games with her intensity, shooting accuracy and defensive prowess, which she put on display during Montana’s championship game win over Montana State. Cote averaged 8.3 points per game during the years, but more importantly, shot 43 percent from three point range, making 28-of-64 during the season. And how about a sixth-player, non-starter making the all-tourney team? Her 29 points, three assists and eight rebounds is proof enough that she deserved the recognition.

Junior Sonya Rogers – who also scored 29 points in tourney play – finished the season as the national leader in three point shooting percentage accuracy at 48.6 percent, was Montana’s second-leading scorer at 12.5 per game, and led Montana with 70-of-144 three point shots during the season. Her incredibly quick-release shot, often triggered from a single quick-turn-spring-and-shoot motion was always exciting, particularly when she was hot, best displayed this year during Montana’s first win over the Bobcats when Rogers made 5-of-6 treys and scored 32 points.

An then there’s junior Mandy Morales who – despite a battle with painful and nagging foot injuries during the season – finished as the Lady Griz scoring leader at 16.4 points per game. Morales racked up 124 assists against only 65 turnovers during the year, and made an astounding 83 percent of her free throws (107-128), many of which sealed important Montana wins in the final minutes. As her coach, Robin Selvig, noted in post-championship game comments, Morales – who scored 55 points, dished 14 assists and had 11 rebounds in two tourney games – is just getting back to form now after battling her painful injuries. If any single player can spark the Lady Griz to a first-round NCAA tourney win, it’s a healthy Mandy.

But two other classy Big Sky players – Portland State’s sophomore point guard Claire Faucher and Montana State’s sophomore point guard Erica Perry – were equally impressive during season and tourney play.

Montana whips Montana State to claim Big Sky Women's crown

The Montana Lady Griz won the 2008 Big Sky Women’s Championship Saturday with a 101-65 romp over the Montana State Bobcats at Montana’s Dahlberg Arena before 5016 fans.

Trailing by 12 points in the opening minutes of the game, Montana got the spark it needed from reserve senior guard Laura Cote, who knocked down three treys while point guard Mandy Morales converted her own treys from long distance.

By halftime the Lady
Griz had claimed a 19-point 49-30 lead with a threatened blowout, the promise of which Montana delivered early in the second half. The Lady Griz held leads between 18-to-36 points over the span of the entire second half.

Cote made 4-of-5 treys for 16 points while Morales shot a perfect 6-of-6 from long range to pace Montana with 24 points.

Cote, who  scored 30 points and sparked critical Montana rallies in Montana's two tourney wins, was named to the all-tourney team while Morales was named the tourney MVP for her combined 55 points and 14 assists in Montana’s two tourney victories.

PHOTOS: Senior Laura Cote was named to the tourney All-Tourney team. She's pictured here post-game with her 'personal' fan club (sorry, no names), with Mr. "C" identified as her fiance. Below, Morales goes up for two of her game-high 24 points in second half action.

Senior forward Johanna Closson scored 15 points, making 5-of-10 shots from the field while junior guard Sonya Rogers scored 16 on 3-of-6 from long range.

Montana shot 54 percent from the field on the game, and a blistering 62.5 percent from three point range.

Montana State senior post Krislyn Wallace made 17 points while sophomore point guard Erica Perry scored 11 on 4-of-13 shots from the floor. Both made the all-tourney team. Forward Rebecca Mercer added 11 points.

Montana advances to the first round of NCAA tourney action, which begins next week. First round seeding and locations will be announced at 5 p.m. Monday, March 17.