It took nearly the entire first half for the Montana Grizzlies to recover from something in their 72-47 runaway from MSU Northern Wednesday evening.
The Gonzaga Blahs?
A return to a small & dull crowd?
Perhaps they were expecting a cakewalk?
Whatever the cause, the Lights, an NAIA squad from Havre, dealt a quick blow and, behind 14 first half points from Delvaughn Tinned, grabbed two first half 5-point leads before the Griz edged to a 29-27 halftime lead in front of a sparse, but restless, mid-week house. PHOTO: Zach Graves (12) puts up a shot after grabbing an offensive rebound.
The most telling feature of the Grizzlies’ energy reversal is that those were the last points Tinned would get on the evening. Behind a spirited mid first-half defensive charge from reserve guard Zach Graves, who shut Tinned down for good, Montana shots and playmaking started to click.
"Zach came in and did a great job defending Tinned and kept right in his hip pocket," said Montana assistant coach Nate DuChesne. "And he did the same thing in the second half. He did an awesome job when he was given the opportunity."
While the defense got better as the evening unfolded -- the Lights managed only 20 in the second half -- the Griz ran off two early second half runs, one of 7 points and, a mere minute later, another of 10 straight.
PHOTO: Matt Martin puts up a layup after a steal. Martin made 50% of his shots.
Griz senior Matt Martin, who went scoreless the first half and rode the bench for awhile, charged the offensive surges with three treys and several quick drives to the bucket. He finished the night with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting, notched two assists and had a steal.
Balance was the offensive key for the Grizzlies, who scored from every angle and got double-digit scoring from four of the starting quintet. Jordan Hasquet returned to shooting form and led the Griz with 19 
points on 6-for-8 from the field. Andrew Strait notched 12 points on 6-for-10 from point-blank range and -- when Northern defenders collapsed on Strait -- point guard Cameron Rundles burned the Lights with several smooth pull-up, mid-range jumpers for 13 points.
PHOTO: Jordan Hasquet sinks a baseline jumper in traffic for two of his game-high 19 points.
Now DuChesne wants to see that kind of production throughout each game.
"We want to try to be a 40-minute very intense team in all aspects," said DuChesne. "We have played very well in all three second halves, but we want to put 40 together so we need to focus on coming out hard at the beginning of every game," DuChesne added.
PHOTO: Andrew Strait scores two on a first-half pivot into the key. Strait had 12 points.
Most encouraging was the Grizzlies’ 49% field goal shooting percentage -- 50% from beyond the arc -- in a game of balanced offensive output, including 13 points from bench players.
Led by 10 rebounds from two super subs -- Kyle Sharp and Brian Qvale -- the Griz outrebounded the much smaller Lights 41-28.
"Kyle Sharp and Brian Qvale have been coming off the bench and giving us a great lift that allows us to move Hasquet to the three position," said DuChesne. "
"They just need to continue to keep getting better and to keep pushing our guys every day." said DuChesne.
It was the defensive intensity that wore the lights down and charged the Grizzly offense. The Lights didn’t just struggle for shots, they struggled to get into some sort of offense as Griz defenders constantly badgered the normally high-scoring squad (92 ppg. coming into the game) against base- and sideline, or into corners.
Though Graves played only 13 minutes, he was a game-changer on defense and provided the natural defensive quickness that will be of value against teams with quick backcourt players.
Backup post Qvale was also a defensive force, and added two blocks and a steal to his 10 boards. Qvale scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting, including a resounding dunk off of a nifty feed from Martin.
The Grizzlies travel to Brookings, S.D. for a Friday matchup against the 1-0 Jackrabbits.
