grizzlyjournal

Cal Fullerton 100, Montana 91

The Cal Fullerton Titans rode a stretch of six consecutive second-half three point shots in six minutes, defeating the Montana Grizzlies 100-91 in Missoula Friday. I'll have a complete game story with photos later this evening. Check back soon.

Nov. 29 Scouting Notes: CSU Fullerton

THE GAME: California State University Fullerton Titans at Montana, Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.

RECORDS: The Titans are 3-1, with home wins over CSU Bakersfield (92-75) and CSU Los Angeles (87-67), and a road win at  Southern Utah (78-63). Tuesday the Titans were thumped 91-65 at Arizona.

Montana takes a 5-2, Big Sky Conference leading record into the game, with their only losses in Spokane to the 12th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (77-54) and the 9th ranked Washington State Cougars (66-55). The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57) and Mississippi Valley State (69-62).

The Titans’ Arizona loss was the first game of their current road trip, which includes Friday’s visit to Missoula. The Wildcats jumped to a 20-4 lead over the Titans and shot a blistering 62.1% shooting from the field for the win. The Titans were held to 37.5% shooting by the Wildcats. Titan guard Josh Akognon scored 19 points and Marcus Crenshaw and Marcus Morgan notched 13 for Fullerton.

THE COACH: Bob Burton is 71-52 in his  fifth year at the helm, and is the second-winningest coach in the history of CSU basketball, behind Bobby Dye. Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle is 22-17 in his second year at Montana.

HISTORY: Montana leads the series, 6-1. The last time the teams met was in 1996 in Missoula with Fullerton claiming an 80-73 victory.

PERSONNEL: Junior Akognon, a 5’-11” pure-shooting transfer from Washington State, leads the Titans in scoring (22.1 ppg.) and in three point shots, converting 20-45 on the season so far. Senior Frank Robinson, a 6’-4” forward, averages 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Titans suffered a major blow early when 6’-5” senior Scott Cutley fractured his right ankle in the second practice of the season. Last year Cutley averaged 15.6 points for Fullerton. Cutley is traveling with the team, however, and saw his first action of the season, with 12 minutes against the Wildcats, scoring 4 points and grabbing three rebounds. The Titans have a deep bench, with 10 players regularly contributing 10+ minutes per game.

THE TEAM: The Titans were picked to challenge for the Big West crown, nabbed anywhere between third and first by most publications.

Fullerton runs a guard-oriented transition offense that’s in its element when it can score in excess of 80 per game. The team has averaged 80.7 points per game so far -- including their 65-point output against the Wildcats on Wednesday -- while allowing opponents to score 68.3.

The Titans led the Big West Conference in 12 team statistical categories (excluding the Arizona game), including rebounding, assists-to-turnover ratio (+1.2), steals (12ppg.), and turnover margin (+7).

THE MATCHUP: Friday’s game is the first of home-and-home games between the teams this season. It’ll be a match on a par with playing an upper division Big Sky Conference school. The Grizzlies will travel to Fullerton Dec. 20.

The Titans will test the Grizzlies’ perimeter defensive skills and the Griz guards’ ability to withstand perimeter pressure. The Titans love to run the floor and shoot the three on early offense; they’ve shot an average of 21 three-pointers per game this year, making 36 of 87 threes in four games (41%). The Grizzlies are much improved this season in three-point field goals allowed, at 31% per game, compared to a 40% average allowed last year. Griz guards will need to locate and challenge Titan long range shooters.

FRONT COURT: Andrew Strait (6’-9”) and Jordan Hasquet (6’-8”) will be critical to Montana’s success. The Grizzlies have a size advantage in the low blocks, including bench players, so reverves Kyle Sharp and Brian Qvale will also play key roles. Grizzly post players will need to hang on to the ball, post up & get shots in the paint. If so, Montana stands a good chance of offsetting the Titan transition game. The tallest Fullerton players are starting center Andrew Green (6’-6,” 7.7ppg, 4.3rpg.) and backup center Kenneth Alexander (6’-6,” 10.3ppg., 2.7rpg.). Other keys: rebounding, free throw conversions.

BACK COURT: The Grizzlies struggled getting the ball into offense against the perimeter pressure of Air Force and MVSU, but not because of the guards. Though the Grizzlies have a slim minus-average assists-to-turnover ratio, Cameron Rundles, Matt Martin and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor have still taken good care of the ball. Martin leads the Big Sky in three-point field goals. Montana guard Ryan Staudacher has shown continued promise as a scoring threat, both from long range and a versatile pull-up mid-range jumper.

HEALTH: Rested and in generally good condition. Rundles has been bothered by a chronic foot injury that has slowed, but not stopped him.

Following Friday’s game, Montana will get a six-day rest before a Dec. 7 match against Portland University, which lost 78-73 at home Wednesday to Portland State.

Big Sky Conference Hoops Report -- Nov 28

MONTANA (5-2) -- NOTES: The Grizzlies lead the Big Sky in scoring defense (58.4), scoring margin (+6.4), and assist-to turnover ratio (-0.6). In a huge turnaround from last season, the Grizzlies are ranked a league second in 3-point field goal defense (31%). Last season the Griz were dead last, allowing opponents to shoot 40% from long range.

NORTHERN ARIZONA (3-2) -- A rebuilding year for Mike Adras’ Jacks? Forget that. Adras has his relatively young NAU squad playing solid ball early, with solid home wins over Adams State and Missouri-Kansas City and a convincing 9-point road win over Mississippi Valley State, a team the Grizzlies squeaked past by seven, 69-62, on the neutral Spokane Arena court last Sunday. Sure, Kansas thumped the Jacks 87-46 last Thursday, but NAU played  tough in an early-season loss to Arizona, 76-69. A good measure of the Jacks and the MSU Bobcats will be Pepperdine, which beat the Lumberjacks 93-87 in Flagstaff tonight (Nov. 28) and which may play the Cats this weekend, depending on the first-game results of a Bobcat-hosted four-team tourney this weekend. Fans in Flagstaff should be truly ‘jacked,’ since their team will host Division 1 opponents Western Kentucky and UNLV, before also hosting a tough Cal Poly squad. Wow. Great home schedule. NOTES: The Jacks are ranked at the top of the Big Sky in several statistical categories, most notably free throw % (1st), field goal % (2nd), three point field goal % (1st) and defensive rebounds (1st. One weakness: a -7.4 turnover ratio to their opponents.

PORTLAND STATE (3-3) -- In perhaps the major surprise of the week for me (I consider PSU a conference favorite), the Vikings were thumped by UC Davis, 76-68, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Aggies catapulted to an early 23-7 lead, which they extended to as many as 23 points during the first half. The Vikings had a 16-6 run early in the second half, but could pull no closer than 11 until late in the game when the score was trimmed to the final 8-point margin. Earlier in the week PSU beat Div. II Linfield 93-50. Wednesday (tonight) the Vikings visit cross-town Div.I opponent Portland. (As I post this, the Vikings have eked out a 5-point win over the Pilots, 78-73) NOTES: The PSU-Portland game might be instructive to Montana, since the Grizzlies will host the Pilots on Dec. 7. The Vikings are getting solid floor play out of their starting guards and are among the conference leaders in assists (1st), turnover +margin (3rd), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd) and 3-point field goals made (1st).

MONTANA STATE (2-3) -- After a nice jump start, the Cats lost road contests to Fresno State (86-74) and UC Santa Barbara (76-61). The Cats have been paced in scoring by center Divaldo Mbunga (37 points in the two games) and Carlos Taylor (38 points). Freshman sensation Bobby Howard of Great Falls has seen considerable action in every Cat game, but  scored only 13 points in the two games. The Cats will host Alcorn State Nov. 30 and either Univ. of Texas Pan American or Pepperdine the next night. The Bobcats are evidently hosting a four-team weekend tournament, but no detailed info was available on the tourney on the MSU Athletics website. NOTES: The Cats lead the conference in scoring average (72.0) and blocked shots (2nd with 3.2 per game)

WEBER STATE (2-5) -- The Wildcats rebounded from surprising neutral court losses to Div II Cal State Bernadino and Youngstown State to claim a road win over a solid Cal State Bakersfield squad, 61-56, Nov. 19. Weber State forward Arturas Valekia notched his fourth straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win. The Wildcats hit 56 percent of their field goals, but turned the ball over 22 times. The schedule gets brutal for WSU this week, with a (just finished) 72-52 home loss to Utah, and road games at Illinois, Brigham Young and San Francisco. The Wildcats -- in a good preview of Big Sky-level opponents -- play Cal Bakersfield in home-and-home games, like Montana does with a strong Cal Fullerton squad. NOTES: The Wildcats have by far the best field goal shooting percentage in the Big Sky at 50.8%.

NORTHERN COLORADO (3-2)  --  After an impressive UNC 64-46 home win over Denver U. on Nov. 17, Bears coach Tad Boyle held three players -- seniors Kirk Archibeque and Sean Taibi and sophomore Will Figures -- out of the lineup against non-NCAA school Johnson + Wales and the Bears subsequently struggled to an 11-point win, committing 31 turnovers in the process. The non-start by the three was attributed to “getting banged up” in practice. Denver had just beaten Wyoming by 11 and later lost to Colorado by 11. The Bears will host Colorado State Saturday. Despite three returning seniors (including point guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos) Boyle has been playing a sophomore-laden lineup so far. Archibeque has seen limited action (injury?). NOTES: The Bears have a solid scoring offense vs. scoring defense combo, scoring 67.8 points per game while giving up 64.8, placing them at a league second in scoring margin (+3) behind Montana’s +6.4.

EASTERN WASHINGTON (2-5) -- The competition was as tough for the Eagles, who lost 82-68 at Seattle against Washington before going 1-2 in the Great Alaska Shootout, finally eking out a 2-point, 64-62 win over host Alaska-Anchorage. The Eagles dropped a 17-point 69-52 decision to Virginia Tech and battled Michigan, but eventually fell 61-53. NOTES: The Eagles have the second-most Big Sky Conference three-point shots made per-game at 7.43, but are the poorest field goal shooting team in the conference with a 37% average and have the lowest per-game scoring average at 56.3. The Eagles are ranked toward the bottom of the Big Sky in several team defensive categories.

IDAHO STATE (1-5) -- The Bengals notched their first win of the season, then went winless in Portland with back-to-back losses to Oregon State (56-41) and Portland (76-52) in the Thanksgiving Oregon State Classic Nov. 23-24. Idaho State is 1-5 on the young season, their only win a game-long struggle for a 76-69 final edge over the visiting Northern Montana Lights. Shooting woes have hurt the Bengals, who were held to 35% in the two-game Portland tourney. ISU led Oregon State through the first half, but was held to just 15 second half points by the Beavers in a 56-41 loss. Portland then ran roughshod over the Bengals, surging to an 11-point halftime lead, steadily extending the lead to the final 24-point 76-52 margin. NOTES: The Bengals are ranked eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (39%) and last in three-point field goal percentage (22.5%).

SACRAMENTO STATE (1-6) -- The Hornets are 1-6, and have struggled with injuries to several guards. But shooting woes and defensive struggles have also taken a toll. In a 75-62 road loss against Pacific, the Hornets were out scored 23-9 over the first 8 minutes, but battled back to trail by nine at halftime before Pacific took a comfortable 15-point lead that held up for the win. Santa Clara 77, Sac State 65 -- Loren Leath led the Hornets with 21 points and the Hornets led until the final 12 minutes before the visiting Broncos surged with a 21-2 run to claim their fourth win against 1 loss. In a 26-point, 84-58 loss to Stanford, the Hornets made just 9 of their first 32 shots and were out of contention early. NOTES: The Hornets are allowing opponents to score 77.8 points per game and have been out-rebounded by an 8.5 per-game average. The Hornets are ranked last in the conference in seven team categories, mostly related to defense and rebounding.

Martin, Rundles share Grizzly Journal MVP

Montana Grizzly guards Cameron Rundles and Matt Martin are the Grizzly Journal Co-MVP Players for week three, Nov 18-27.

The two guards, along with their back court teammates, played stellar floor games during the three games of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Nov. 23-25 at the Spokane Arena.

Martin -- who was also named Big Sky Conference Player of the week -- led Montana with 40 points in three games, shooting 54% from the field on 12-for-22 attempts while making 43% of his three-points attempts. The Grizzly shooting guard has achieved solid floor-game statistics as well, with six assists and four steals in the three games, while turning the ball over only three times.

But it was the senior off-guard’s clutch shooting in the late stages of Montana’s 59-57 win over the Air Force Falcons that catapulted the Grizzlies to a 2-1 tourney record and the second place team trophy in the Cougar Challenge Tourney. Martin made 7-for-9 free throws against the Falcons, nailing 3-for-4 in the final 27 seconds to seal the Montana victory. Martin was also a disruptive force in the defensive front court, and his four steals led the team over the three games. As of Nov. 26, Martin was the leading Big Sky Conference three-point shooter with 19 in seven games and had the fourth-best free throw shooting percentage at 84% on 22-for-26 shots from the stripe.

Rundles scored 30 points over the three tourney games, good enough for a tie for second with power forward Jordan Hasquet. But it was the sophomore point guard’s steadily improving cohesive floor leadership that solidified Montana’s three-game success in the tourney, for which he was named to the all-tourney team. Rundles had 12 assists in the tourney, sank a crucial three-point shot in the final minute of the team’s win over Air Force, and dished an assist to fellow guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor for a critical three-point shot that gave the Griz breathing room against MVSU. Rundles also played through the pain of a foot injury incurred against the Delta Devils. Rundles’ 4-assists per-game average ranks third in the conference.

WSU Cougar Challenge Notebook

The three-day, six-game Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge was a fascinating example of how mid-game adjustments in a college basketball game can spell the difference between winning and losing.

For Montana, it often starts with how opposing teams defend Grizzly center Andrew Strait.

DOUBLING ANDREW -- Of course Strait knew he’d be a moving target before the season began. The three Montana games -- an 11 point loss to the Cougars and nail-biters over Air Force and Mississippi Valley State -- were textbook examples of how the Grizzly offense will have to adjust to the way opposing teams defend Strait. (PHOTOS: Strait dealing with double-teams from Air Force, WSU and MVS.)

In game one, the WSU Cougars started with single coverage and Strait responded, burning the tourney hosts with 10 first half points on his classic post moves through the Cougar low post defense. The Cougars adjusted at halftime with effective double-team coverage and Strait didn’t get another bucket.

That left the perimeter open, and Grizzly guards responded, hitting 50% from beyond the arc in the second half and 8-for-18 on the game, compared to 3-for-12 by the Cougars. Close, but not quite enough. The game difference boiled down to field goal percentage and a 6-point imbalance in free throws. WSU shot 49% (24-49) compared to UM’s 39% (19-48), many of the Griz misses coming from contested shots in the low blocks.

In a fascinating contrast, the Air Force Falcons were ready for Strait, smothering the Montana post with a physical double-team defense. Griz guards responded, knocking down 7-of-16 first-half treys, three from Cameron Rundles and two each from Matt Martin and Ryan Staudacher. The effective Montana adjustment from inside game to perimeter game was the primary reason (along with a tight zone defense) the Grizzlies surged to a 16-point 37-21 first half lead.

The Falcons adjusted at halftime, extending the court with effective zone traps on Montana guards, stalling both the Griz outside game and preventing the guards from penetrating the zone traps to get the ball down low. Clutch free throw shooting in the game’s final minute by Martin and Greg Spurgetis was enough to hold off the charging Falcons.

The Misssissippi Valley State Delta Devils picked up where the Falcons left off. The seemingly over-matched but quicker Delta Devils employed relentless first-half perimeter pressure on Grizzly guards, holding them to 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half and 4-of-11 on the game. Meanwhile, the Delta Devils forced 18 Griz turnovers, effectively preventing the taller Griz from generating much low-post offense. Jordan Hasquet responded with 13 points on baseline drives, but it was an adjustment in guard play that guaranteed the win for Montana.

Rundles, Martin and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor (see photo above) responded with quick dribble-enter drives down the lane, where low block screens from Hasquet and Strait freed the guards numerous times for layups. Those quick drives in turn opened up the perimeter for open threes by Martin and Elgin-Taylor... enough to gain an 8-point lead and a slim cushion for the Griz to hold off the Delta Devils.

The Cougar Challenge tourney provided an intense, three-day laboratory full of valuable lessons for Montana. From here the question is this: Will the Grizzlies see more exterior pressure on their guards, or continued double-team defense down low?

One thing is certain: the Grizzly outside game -- led by Rundles and supported by Elgin-Taylor’s capable backup alongside Staudacher (see photo at left) and Martin’s long-range accuracy -- is vastly improved over last year. If Montana’s deep guard tandem continues to successfully fend-off exterior pressure, and convert three-point shots at its current ratio, that will open things up down low.

And that will be a very good thing for Strait, Hasquet and the Grizzly power game.

Before the season began, Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said that opposing teams will this year have to “pick their poison” by double-teaming down low OR applying pressure on the exterior. Not both. If the Grizzlies can continue to adjust their game like they did during the Cougar Challenge, the prospects for the season look increasingly bright.

Grizzlies outlast Delta Devils, 69-62

Montana guard Matt Martin rose up big with clutch shooting for the second straight game, leading the Montana Grizzlies past the intense full-court pressure of the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils for a 69-62 win in the fifth game of Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Sunday at the Spokane Arena.

Martin made 6-for-10 shots, several on slashing drives down the left key, and paced Montana’s gradual separation from the Devils for the 7-point win.

PHOTO: Matt Martin drives past Jordan Hasquet's pick for two of his game-high 16 points.

The Montana victory assured the team the second-place trophy in the tournament. Grizzly point guard, Cameron Rundles, was named to the all-tournament team. 

Although the Grizzlies shot 63.6% from the field and out-rebounded the Delta Devils 31-20, their shooting was offset by18 turnovers, forced from constant on-ball defense that kept the Delta Devils in the game until the Grizzlies opened up a late 8-point margin on a baseline jumper from Martin at the 5:22 mark. Martin’s shot extended the Grizzly lead to 55-47, and allowed the Griz room to fight off several more charges.

Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said some of the ragged Montana play was caused by fatigue. But Tinkle was also upset that half of the18 turnovers were committed by his post players or on in-bounds plays.

PHOTO: Andrew Strait battles against Delta Devils pressure. Strait had 10 points and 8 boards.

“Our guards did a good job of penetrating and dishing it low, but the passes went through (post players’) hands and out of bounds. We’ve got to shore that up,” said Tinkle.

“But I give credit to Mississippi Valley,” said Tinkle. “They came out and outplayed us. We weren’t able to come out and set the tone they way I’d like,”

Rundles aggravated a chronic foot injury and was limited in second half play.

So, reserve guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor stepped up, nailing a critical three-point shot off of a pretty feed from a hobbled Rundles and then later sinking two key freethrows down the stretch to help seal Montana’s win. Elgin-Taylor scored 11 on perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field.

“Cam set me up perfectly on that shot,” said Elgin-Taylor. “He took the ball up past a high (screen) and dragged two guys with him and turned back and hit me and I was wide open. It was all Cam’s play,” said Elgin-Taylor.

PHOTO: Junior drives for two of his 11 points against Delta Devils pressure defense.

Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, Martin, and backcourt mate Ryan Staudacher had perhaps their best full-game outings of the season in the win.

“Matt showed a lot of leadership for our team tonight,” said Tinkle. “And Ceylon Elgin-Taylor gave us a huge boost in the second half with his 11 points.”

Tinkle noted that Staudacher’s improved play is critical to Montana’s success.

“We had a chat yesterday morning and I told Ryan he can’t play 35 minutes and only take two shots.

“I said ‘You can’t look to me to call plays for you all night long, you’ve got to find a way to score.’ Today he did a nice job of getting open in transition,” said Tinkle.

Power forward Jordan Hasquet scored 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and post Andrew Strait had 10 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.

PHOTO; Despite the pressure, Jordan Hasquet made this shot for two of his 13 points.

Rundles scored four points but had a game-high 6 assists.

Despite the ragged outing, Tinkle was excited with his team’s progress.

“We’re definitely not playing at the level we want, but we’re showing some awfully good signs,” he said.

“As much as being disappointed by our effort at times,” said Tinkle, “I was even more happy by the way this team responded and found a way to win.”

The Grizzlies will now prepare for a home contest Friday against the high-powered Cal State Fullerton Titans.

Washington State 71, Air Force 62

Washington State guard Derrick Low, who was held to a scoreless first half by Air Force defenders, scored 19 second half points on 6-8 shooting from three-point range to lead the Cougars past the Falcons 71-62 in the final game of the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Sunday.

With the Cougars trailing the Falcons by three, 40-37 at the 14-minute mark of the second half, WSU scored 14 straight points  and took an 11-point lead they would not relinqish.

Point guard Rochestie Taylor added 16 second half points and led all scorers with 22.

Guard Tim Anderson paced the Falcons with 15 points. Guard Andrew Henke (seen driving past Cougar Robbie Cowgill in photo to the left) who had paced the Falcons in scoring the previous two games, made only 2-10 and finished with 9. Henke made the all-tourney team.

Both Low and Rochestie were named to the all-tourney team while Cougar teammate, Kyle Weaver was named tourney MVP.

Air Force 30, WSU 26 at halftime

The Air Force Falcons, using a compact matchup zone defense, have taken a 30-26 lead over the Washington State Cougars at halftime in the final game of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Sunday.

The Falcons, behind the long-range shooting of center Keith Maren -- who has 11 points and is 3-3 from beyond the arc -- surged to a 25-20 lead late in the half on 50% shooting from the field.

The Falcons' trapping pressure defense has resulted in 7 Cougar turnovers, 4 by guard Rochestie Taylor. Guard Kyle Weaver leads the Cougars with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Derrick Low is scoreless on 0-4 shooting from the field.

Montana 69, Mississippi Valley State 62

Two days after shooting 24.5% against Air Force in a 58-40 loss and a mere 20 hours after scoring only 26 POINTS against the Washington State Cougars, the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils battled the Montana Grizzlies on even terms, finally falling the the Grizzlies 69-62 in the fifth game of Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Sunday at the Spokane Arena.

The Grizzlies shot 63.6% from the field and outrebounded the Delta Devils 31-20, but 18 turnovers from constant on-ball defense kept the Delta Devils in the game until the Grizzlies opened up a late 8-point margin on a baseline jumper from guard Matt Martin at the 5:22 mark, extending the Grizzly lead to 55-47.

Martin, and backcourt mates Ryan Staudacher and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor had perhaps their best full-game outings of the season in the win.

Point guard Cameron Rundles aggravated a chronic foot injury and was limited in second half play.

Check back later today for a full game story and photos of the game. Later I’ll post photos of the entire tournament.

The Grizzlies ended up with a 2-1 record in the tourney and will now prepare for a home contest Friday against the high-powered Cal State Fullerton Titans.

Good in the Clutch

The Grizzlies play a noon PST contest against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, so I'll make most of my posts later today.

I wanted to post this photo of Matt Martin, who nailed three of four free throws in the final 27 seconds (along with one from Greg Spurgetis) for the Montana victory.

It's precisely this kind of game -- very tough contests against ranked teams (Air Force had a Sagarin rating of 73 going into this contest) that will test the Grizzlies' mettle in preparation for Big Sky Conference action.

Martin, and teammate Cameron Rundles, produced in the clutch for a well-earned victory.

The surprise in this game wasn't that the Grizzlies folded a bit under intense pressure. It was, in fact, a surprise that the Griz built such a huge early lead against a tough defensive team. It was, bar none, their best half of the year so far. I'm certain we'll see more of this.

A couple of reader comments indicate the Grizzlies should have taken more long-range shots in the second half.

Answer: Air Force defenders were employing two types of jump-traps on the outside shooters and there were not many open opportunities like the Griz worked in the first half. A couple of open looks on the baseline just didn't fall. However, Jordan Hasquet and Andrew Strait did have several good looks down low that just didn't fall (bounce, bounce, & out).

Truth is, the Griz had good open shots, but did stiffen a bit when they lost momentum late.

I think this was the perfect kind of pre-season test for what will continue to be a very tough non-conference schedule.

Grizzlies edge Air Force 59-57

The Montana Grizzlies and the Air Force Falcons traded full halves of momentum-fueled dominance in the fourth game of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Saturday.

But the Grizzlies  -- behind a clutch three point shot from Cameron Rundles with 1:04 remaining, and critical free throws by guards Matt Martin and Greg Spurgetis over the final 30 seconds -- barely preserved the slimmest remnants of their 16-point, 37-21 halftime lead, and outlasted the Falcons to win 59-57 before 2509 tourney spectators.

PHOTO: Cameron Rundles drives through traffic past Jordan Hasquet for two of his 13 points.

“It’s crazy,” said a relieved Montana coach Wayne Tinkle afterward. “We got a big lead in the first half and we stretched it at the beginning of the first half. “It was a good thing we did, because obviously they made a ton of nice plays late.”

The Griz parlayed their 16-point halftime lead into a seemingly insurmountable  44-21 margin with 17 minutes remaining on quick scores by Rundles, Jordan Hasquet and Andrew Strait.

But then the Falcons applied a series of full-court and half-court traps, which were quickly converted to points on eight second-half Griz turnovers. So, within the span of two minutes, the Griz led by only 12, 44-32.

From there it was a floor battle, with the Grizzlies fighting for every possession until -- with 2:33 remaining, the Falcons trailed by only 52-49.

At that point the Griz got a final solid time-elapsing possession and worked the ball for an open baseline shot by guard Ryan Staudacher. But his shot rimmed out and the Falcons’ Anwar Johnson drove the lane for a short jumper to pull the Falcons within 52-51.

Rundles -- who scored 13 for the game -- took over on the  next possession with his critical trey to extend the Griz lead to 55-51.

“I didn’t make a lot of shots tonight, but on that possession I told Jordan not to ball-screen for me because I decided to go one-for-one, and I got an open shot when he (defender) was backing off.”

“They were trapping on us a few times at that point,” said Tinkle. “So we told Cam we were going to let him try to make the play. He saw the opening and pulled up.  And that’s one thing about Cam,” Tinkle added. “He makes big shots for us.”

Rundles’ shot changed the Falcons’ strategy from pressure to having to foul for possession. That’s when Martin and Spurgetis stepped up. Their shots preserved what would be a mere split second of breathing room, since the Falcons had a final shot with .8 second remaining.

“In a way I’m kind of glad it happened,” said Rundles.  “We were up 20-some points in the second half and it showed us that you’ve got to bury teams. You can’t give teams any life because any chance they get they think they can come back,” he added.

Martin, who paced the Grizzlies with 15 points and four assists, converted 7-for-9 shots from the free throw line. His critical free throws came with 27 seconds remaining when -- on an inbounds pass in front of the Air Force bench -- Martin took the pass and was quickly shoved out of bounds by Falcon defender Andrew Henke.

PHOTO: Matt Martin drives to the bucket in first-half action. Martin was fouled and made both free throws.

The referee closest to the play called Martin out of bounds. Immediately afterwards the referee on the far baseline over-ruled the play and called Henke for the foul, much to the fury of the Air Force bench.

“My heart was up in my throat,” said Tinkle. “It was clear from my angle that the guy shoved him,” he added.

“Call it controversial or whatever, but I thought it was the right call,” said Tinkle. And then Matt went down and made some free throws for us.”

Tinkle said the win was well-deserved by his squad. “It was a great gut-check,” he said. “That’s their first loss. That’s a heck of a team, and we found a way to figure it out.”

Hasquet scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for the Griz. Staudacher contributed 8 points, nailing two pure treys in the early going. Strait was again pummeled down low, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Griz.

The Grizzlies out-shot and out boarded the Falcons. They made 43.5% of their field goals compared to 40% by the Falcons. Each team made 8 treys.

The Grizzlies had a 36-28 rebounding edge, but were forced into 12 turnovers, compared to only 7 by the Falcons.

The Grizzlies meet winless Mississippi Valley State tomorrow at noon while the Falcons play the Cougars in the final game of the round-robin tourney.

Grizzlies 37, Air Force 21 at Halftime

The Montana Grizzlies jumped to a 10-0 lead with a rapid variety of three-point shots and from there pulled to a 14-point margin over the Air Force Falcons in the fourth game of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Saturday.

Both teams, playing zone defenses through much of the first half, have disrupted offensive flow. However, the Grizzlies made 12-27 field goals in the first half, 7-16 from three point range.

Guard Matt Martin paced the Griz with 12 points, while Cameron Rundles has 8. The Griz have outrebounded Air Force 21-15. No Air Force player has more than 6 points.

WSU Rolls Over Delta Devils by 45

Not much more to say about this one. The Washington State Cougars scored the first 13 points of the second half and rolled to an easy 74-26 win over the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in the third game of the Cougar Classic.

The Delta Devils didn’t break the 20-point plateau until the 10:24 mark of the second half, and were held to 9 total second-half points by the Cougars.

Cougar reserves played the final 13 minutes of the game.

Cougar Challenge Notebook -- Saturday

At halftime in the third game of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge at the Spokane Arena, the Washington State Cougars lead the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils 34-17.

Cougar guard Kyle Weaver leads the Cougars in scoring with 9 points on 2-3 shooting from the field and is 5-5 from the free throw line. Forward Carl Lucas is pacing the Delta Devils with 9 points on 4-8 shooting from the field.

Ten Cougar players have seen considerable action so far and are dominating the glass, 19-9 over the Delta Devils

The teams have each notched 22 field goal attempts (22) but the Cougars have made 13-16 from the free throw line compared to 1-2 for the Delta Devils.

MONTANA-WSU GAME NOTES

In a game where Montana stayed with the Washington State Cougars well into the second half before fading, Montana coach Wayne Tinkle was visibly upset about the imbalance in second-half fouls and free-throw opportunities. The Griz made both of their two opportunities; the Cougars made 12-for-15 from the stripe.

CONTINUED MONTANA SHOOTING WOES -- Some of the missed second half Montana shots could be chalked-up to an aggressive Cougar defense, but not all. So, despite playing another sound floor game, Montana shooting woes are largely to blame for their second half fade. Montana shot 11-for-30 from the field in the second half, compared to a respectable 8-for-18 in the first half. That alone was enough to account for the final score differential.

Two Grizzly players who are due to break out of their shooting slumps are guards Ryan Staudacher and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor. In 29 minutes of playing time, Staudacher took only one shot, but had open shots that just bounced off. Elgin-Taylor, 0-for-3 on the game, had a nifty second-half drive in a critical situation where his open layup bounced hard off of the back board.

PHOTO: Guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor drives into the paint against WSU defenders.

MORE MINUTES -- If Griz reserves Brian Qvale and Zach Graves keep playing up to the pace they’ve set for themselves and the team, Tinkle will have to figure out how to find more playing time for each. Qvale (10 minutes) was a force in the second half, altering several Cougar shots, blocking one, and putting up two contested shots for crucial second-half points. I know Qvale is Griz post Andrew Strait’s backup, but I’m intrigued by the prospect of seeing both Qvale and Strait on the floor at the same time against some teams.

Graves (8 minutes) again gave the Griz a defensive boost, allowing Cougar guard Derrick Low only one shot. And a critical defensive rebound-loose ball scramble resulted in Graves scoring the only beakaway layup of the night for the Griz.

BOARDING MOXIE -- The Griz put in a much-improved battle on the boards, particularly on offense. Nine of the 28 Griz rebounds were on offense and several of those resulted in second-chance points.

AIR FORCE CHALLENGE --The Griz can’t allow for any let-down from last night. The Air Force Falcons -- undefeated at 5-0 so far this season -- are a sound defensive team. But the Falcon’s offensive scheme resulted in numerous back-door bunnies against Mississippi Valley State. Falcon guard Tim Anderson penetrated into the key very effectively on dribble-enter drives and then dished off to open players on the baseline for his game-high six assists. Reserve swingman 6”-6” swingman Eric Henke is a capable outside shooter and might present some matchup problems for the Griz.

Photos from Montana-Washington State Game

Montana's Kyle Sharp drives past Cougar defender Daven Harmeling. Sharp had 3 points and three rebounds.

Montana point guard Cameron Rundles drives past WSU guard Rochestie Taylor (10). Rndles scored 13 points, but had 6 turnovers.

Montana's Andrew Strait puts up a first-half shot over Cougar defenders Aron Baynes (11) and Robbie Cowgill (34). Strait scored 10 points in the first half, but was shut out in the second half.

Montana reserve post Brian Qvale scores two on a reverse layup under Robbie Cowgill, who fouled Qvale on the play. Qvale made the free bucket and the free throw.

Zach Graves scores on a layup after stealing the ball. His shot got the Griz within 6 at 42-36.

Washington State nips Montana 66-55

The Washington State Cougars engineered two small second half runs that were enough to pull away from the Montana Grizzlies for a 66-55 victory in the second game of the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Friday at the Spokane Arena.

Although the Grizzlies responded to the first Cougar run, pulling to within seven points, 49-42 with 10 minutes remaining, the Cougars then ran off a quick six points on two three-point plays to lead 55-42.

It took the Grizzlies until the final two minutes to whittle the margin back to 10, but two missed long-range jumpers, two misses under the bucket, and two late turnovers sealed the Grizzzlies’ fate.

Still, the Grizzlies battled the number-9 ranked Cougars throughout due mainly to steadily improving play from the four-guard back court tandem -- despite some untimely late turnovers -- and solid bench contributions from big men Kyle Sharp and Brian Qvale.

Two factors were key in the Griz loss: the Griz had a negative ratio of 12 assists to 14 turnovers, and -- after shooting a respectable 44 percent from the field in the first half, the Griz slipped to 39% for the game when several contested shots in the key would not fall.

Griz post Andrew Strait, after scoring 10 first-half points, was held scoreless in the second half. And Griz power forward Jordan Hasquet was held to 7 points by WSU forward Robbie Cowgill on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. Point guard Cameron Rundles scored 13 on 4-11 shooting and guard Matt Martin made 3-6 treys for 9 points.

“I thought a key was that Robbie did a real nice job on Jordan,” said WSU coach Tony Bennett. “He’s a heck of a player. He’s got some ability, and it was important to use a defensive team concept on him.”

Still, the Griz shot a solid 50% from long range in the second half, finishing 8-18 on the game, led by Martin.

Montana coach Wayne Tinkle expressed obvious displeasure at the second half foul situation. The Cougars were whistled for only 4 second half fouls. In a balanced defensive contest (the Griz did not commit late fouls to get back into the game) WSU made 15-19 free throws compared to the Grizzlies 9-9 (2-2 in the second half).

Montana outrebounded the Cougars 28-27 for the game, getting 6 from Jordan Hasquet and 4 each from Strait and Rundles.

The Cougars got balanced scoring from four starters, led by Rochestie Taylor’s 17 with 14 apiece from Aron Baynes and Derrick Low.

Bennett said he expected a tough test from the Grizzlies.

“Montana is a veteran team. They’re very similar to our team,” said Bennett. “They’re physical kids that really know how to play. I had a feeling that they’d be a real good test for us. They’re tough minded and I thought they lived up to that ability tonight.”

The Grizzlies now face a test from a solid defensive Air Force Falcons team that whipped Mississippi Valley State 58-40 in the tourney’s first game. Game time is 3:30 MST.

Washington State leads Griz by two at half

The Washington State Cougars hold a slim 28-=26 lead over the Montana at halftime of the second game in the Cougar Classic in Spokane.

Down 26-21 with three minutes remaining, Griz guard Cameron Rundles was fouled on a three-point shot and drained all three freethrows to pull Montana within two. Seconds later, Griz post Andrew Strait nailed an 8-foot shot from the left baseline to tie the score at 26.

Shortly after getting stripped by Coug guard Derrick Low on the Montana baseline, Rundles stuck with Low on the fast break, stripping the WSU point guard of the ball in mid-air for a shot at the lead with under 30 seconds remaining.

However, another Griz turnover gave the Cougars the ball with 6 seconds remaining and the homestanding team scored on a pub-back for the 2-point halftime lead.

The Griz took a 14-13 lead on two treys by point Guard Matt Martin before WSU surged to a 20-16 lead. However, behind tough Griz defense and a beautiful putback off of a miss by reserve Kyle Sharp, Montana battled back within the final 6 minutes of the half.

If not for three rim-out misses by Strait on shots that looked down, the Griz could have taken the lead.

The Cougars are forcing power forward Jordan Hasquet on double-teams in the paint, but the Griz forward is forcing the Cougar defense to collapse for open Griz shots.

Point guard Rundles, reserve point Ceylon Elgin-Taylor and Martin are playing inspired man-on defense.

Full roundup, in stages, later this evening.

Air Force Smothers Delta Devils, 58-40

A combination of tight man-on and stifling zone defenses catapulted the Air Force Falcons to a 58-40 win over the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in the opening game of the Cougar Challenge Friday in Spokane, Wa.

The Falcons limited the Delta Devils to a 25% shooting average from the field and 24% from 3-point range.

Guard Andrew Henke let the Falcons with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Guard Tim Anderson scored 14.

Though the Delta Devils forced the Falcons into 18 turnovers, the Falcons were able to still score off of numerous back-door layups behind the Delta Devils defense.

The falcons led 35-19 at the half and threatened to make the game a plus-35-point blowaway before Delta Devils applied full-court pressure to bring them within the final18-point margin by the end of the game.

Forward Carl Lucas scored 18 points for the Delta Devils, single-handedly keeping his team within range on 4-for-5 treys in the first half. The Falcons shut Lucas out from long range in the second half. No other MVS player scored more than eight points in the game.

Check back soon for coverage of the night cap between the Washington State Cougars and the Montana Grizzlies.

FCS Intrigue: a Montana vs. EWU rematch?

Surely it’s too early to even think about, much less mention... but what the heck: the 2007 playoffs have a potential matchup of true intrigue with both the Montana Grizzlies and the Eastern Washington Eagles placed in the same bracket.

I know, it’s way too early and there are huge obstacles facing both teams. But ever since the Grizzlies eked out a nail-biting 24-23 victory over the Eagles on Oct. 6, we’ve heard grumblings from around the Big Sky that the better team lost. And it’s true, the Eagles won nearly every major statistical category in that game... except the final score.

What a blast a potential third-round playoff confrontation would be. And what a perfect opportunity for the Eagles to actually prove they’re the better team. Numerous Big Sky media writers, coaches and bloggers have ranked the Eagles as the team with more weapons... one that’s gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Last week even Eagle coach Paul Wulff strongly intimated (in a Spokesman Review story defending an at-large playoff selection for his team) that the Eagles were the better team.

Getting to a third-round playoff game will be no easy task for either team. To score a rematch with the Grizzlies the Eagles would have to win road games against undefeated McNeese State (a distinct possibility in my book) and the winner of the Appalachian State - James Madison game.

There must be numerous doubters nationwide regarding the Griz this year. Because, despite a number two ranking in this week’s Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll, the Grizzlies were seeded fourth. That’s not all. Several RPI strength rankings place the Grizzlies as low as 12th which, by the way, ranks them behind the Wofford Terriers.

All conjecture, of course. For my money, the Griz of the past three weeks have easily been as dominant as any of the “great” Montana teams of the past 12 years. And their distinct brand of power football has been truly enjoyable to watch. I personally think the Griz matchup well against Wofford.

But enough of that. That’s what the playoffs are for, and they’re always great fun.

So, I’ll ride for now with the intrigue of a Griz-Eagle matchup. It’d surely be a great game. And good for the conference on a national “recognition” scale. And of course, my money’s on the Griz to make it to the championship.

Let the games begin.   

Grizzly Journal Will Cover Cougar Challenge

In a week where several stories per day are published in the local media featuring the Montana Grizzlies football team and its first-round home FCS playoff game Saturday against the Wofford Terriers, another Grizzly team is quietly making preparations for a marquee event which may go a long way toward defining its season.

The Montana Grizzlies men’s basketball team is among the field of four in this weekend’s round-robin Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge in Spokane.

Actually, the term “marquee” is probably an exaggeration. Because even the tourney host Washington State Cougars -- like the Griz basketball team -- are scrambling for ink going into the weekend. That’s because fans throughout the state of Washington are more focused on the annual Apple Cup football rivalry between the Cougars football team and the Washington Huskies.

GRIZZLY JOURNAL WILL COVER THE COUGAR CHALLENGE.

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be covering the Cougar Challenge for the duration of the tournament. Depending on my press access, I hope to regularly post photos and post-game stories throughout the tourney. I might even be able to add a mid-game blog or two. I hope you’ll check-in regularly to Grizzly Journal. Comments, particularly with your suggestions for coverage, are welcome.

This year’s Challenge, spanning three days this weekend, features a solid four-team lineup, starting with tourney host, the currently 9th ranked Cougars, which made it to the second round of the 2007 NCAA finals before dropping a two-overtime decision to Vanderbilt.

In addition to the Grizzlies, which made it to the second round of the 07 Big Sky Conference playoffs, are two teams with solid success last year. The Air Force Academy made it to the semifinal round of last spring’s NIT Tourney, where it lost by one to Clemson. Mississippi Valley State won the 07 regular season title in the SWAC before losing out in the tournament championship.

Depending upon how the Griz fare in their first-round Friday matchup against the Cougars, I believe the team has a solid shot... particularly against the Falcons and the Delta Devils.

Scouting reports up soon.

Hasquet is Grizzly Journal MVP -- Week 2

Jordan Hasquet shaped quickly into form as the Grizzlies’ most versatile and potent offensive player of the young season, pacing the club in scoring with 19 points against MSU Northern and 29 in a road win over South Dakota State during week-two action.

The Grizzly power forward served as the catalyst in Montana’s win over the homestanding Jackrabbits, singlehandedly scoring the first 13 points of the second half as the Griz bolted from a 30-30 halftime deadlock to maintain a relatively comfortable lead of between 9 and 16 points in a 70-61 victory.

Hasquet -- who has said his game-by-game shooting averages out over a season, nonetheless dramatically improved his percentages from the team’s first two games, where he shot 28% from the field (12% from beyond the arc). Last week Hasquet shot a blistering 66% from the field on 18-for-27 shooting, 50% from three-point range (3-6).

With opponents collapsing heavily on Grizzly post Andrew Strait, Hasquet has -- with his exceptional big-man quickness -- created space for a variety of slashing drives or, when fronted, quick pull-up jumpers at the top of the lane. Though Hasquet hasn’t shot many treys so far, he nailed two timely treys against the Jackrabbits. Solid offensive play of this style from Hasquet is crucial if the Griz hope to pull collapsing offenses off of Strait.

More of the same will be the order for the weekend as the level of competition ratchets up several notches in the Washington State Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge Nov. 23-25 in Spokane.

Expect Hasquet to continue his aggressive style of play, and if so, open up the floor for more balance in the Griz offensive attack.

Ice Storm disables area power grid

The first winter storm of the season has disabled several networks of the Western Montana power grid. My central office is one of those affected. I will resume my daily schedule of Grizzly Journal posts as soon as our power is restored.

I will be providing coverage of the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Classic in Spokane this weekend. Regards. More soon (I hope).

Big Sky Conference Hoops Report -- Nov. 18

Portland State -- After dropping their opener by 21 at UCLA, the Vikings right the ship for a two straight wins in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. In the late Sunday Championship, the Vikings lost 64-63 to Colorado State on a last second shot. Portland State opened the tourney with a three-point 66-63 win over Akron and a 75-73 semifinal win over Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (picked to win the Summit Conference), a game where the Vikings had trailed by as many as 9 points. Akron came into the tournament as the top-ranked seed. Other teams in the tournament include Alaska-Fairbanks, Oregon State, USC Upstate and Tennessee State. Note: Colorado State advanced to the tourney championship with wins over Oregon State and Tennessee State.

Weber State -- A packed house watched the Wildcats snap a six-game losing streak to Utah State (pre-season national ranking at 50th) nipping the Aggies 78-71 after trailing much of the game. Weber State coach Randy Rahe had previously served as assistant to Utah State coach Stew Morrill (Grizzly men’s coach from 1987-91) for 13 years. Later in the week, the Wildcats lost both games of the O’Reilly CBE Classic in Los Angeles, dropping their first game 71-59 to Division II Cal State San Bernadino and the consolation game 69-66 to Youngstown State. Weber State center Arturas Valeika led the Cats with 22 points against Youngstown State and was named the Big Sky Player of the Week for his efforts in the tourney.

Montana State -- Any prognosticators who picked the Bobcats as a bottom-rung team for this year should take another look at second-year coach Brad Huse’s Cats, 2-1 against tough competition so far. The Cats dropped their opener to UNLV by 11, 76-65, after trailing by as many as 20 early. A 74-56 win over Long Beach State -- picked last in the tough Big West Conference -- and a two-point, 86-84 win over visiting Boise State on a game-clinching trey from point Guard Casey Durham with three seconds remaining, have the Cats at 2-1 so far. True freshman Bobby Howard of Great Falls scored 27 for the Cats in the Boise State win.

Northern Colorado --  The Bears opened the season with a 104-97 victory over last year’s Division I leading offensive team, Virginia Military Institute (100.9 ppg), in the opening game of the Air Force Classic. The Bears then gave Air Force a tussle before falling by 9 in the championship, 71-62. A 12-point 59-47 loss at Iowa -- this year tabbed to occupy the Big 10 cellar -- followed before the Bears romped to an 18-point 64-56 win over visiting Denver. UNC, behind solid play from two freshmen and a sophomore, host Colorado State Dec. 1st.

Idaho State -- The Bengals are off to an 0-3 start, dropping their opener at Iowa 58-43, before getting thumped 90-69 at Brigham Young. Saturday the Bengals dropped an overtime 66-61 decision to Long Beach State after a turnover with 15 seconds remaining led to a game-tying shot by the 49ers. The loss was the 6th consecutive overtime loss suffered by the Bengals (including one to the Griz) going back to last season. The Bengals host MSU Northern Wednesday, a team the Grizzlies beat 72-47 last week. Junior 6-6 guard Matt Stucki had 19 points against the 49ers.

Eastern Washington -- The Eagles  -- with perhaps the toughest first-week schedule of any Big Sky Conference team, are 1-3 so far. EWU opened with a 68-41 loss at Washington State (the Griz play WSU Friday), then dropped a 92-57 decision to the New Mexico Lobos after leading 10-3 in the early going. Friday the Eagles trailed the Washington Huskies by 18 at halftime, eventually losing 82-68. Sandwiched in between the losses was a 59-51 win at UC Riverside (0-4 so far this year). The completely re-tooled Eagles are led by new coach Kirk Earlywine (former Utah assistant under Kirk Majerus) and return only four players, including lone starter Kellen Williams. Eight Eagles have seen considerable action so far this year.

Sacramento State -- The Hornets are off to a 1-3 start, with a lone 104-71 decision over winless NAIA foe Simpson. Cal State Sacramento lost by 31 in its opener at Kansas State, 94-63, before losing a 57-53 decision against visiting Southern Utah. Saturday the Hornets lost at San Francisco, 93-63. The Hornets have been out-scored by an 8.75 per game average, which surges to a minus-19 average deficit if the Simpson victory is dropped.

Griz frosh Selvig will redshirt for 2007-08

Montana freshman Derek Selvig, a 6’-10” forward from Glendive, will be placed on redshirt status for 2007-08. Selvig will not see game action, and will retain freshman status for 2008-09. PHOTO: Selvig (#24) battles for a rebound in the pre-season exhibition practice.

Montana men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle announced the decision prior to the Montana-South Dakota State game Saturday.

Tinkle added that he’s considering the same option for sophomore reserve center Dave Vanderjagt. The 7’-0” post from Townsville, Queensland, Australia opted against redshirt status last year. This year however, injuries have slowed Vanderjagt, who suffered a serious ankle sprain in the pre-season and has yet to see action.

Tinkle said the decision to redshirt Selvig was difficult, but compared the move to the redshirt Jordan Hasquet -- Montana’s 2006-07 MVP -- took in 2004-05.

Tacoma News Tribune covers Matthias Ward signing

Montana Grizzly Men’s basketball recruit Matthias Ward has only one quote. But the lead photo of a story in this morning’s Tacoma News Tribune features Ward and his close friend, Brandon Rohde, shaking hands as they display their signed letters of intent yesterday at 7 a.m.

The two young athletes are classmates at Gig Harbor High School, and gathered in the school library with friends, family and school officials. The athletes signed at 7 a.m., the earliest time possible to make their decisions official.

The story, by TNT staff writer Mindi Rice, has a nice angle on the National Letter of Intent signing ritual. You can see the photo and read the story in the Tacoma News Tribune here.

Grizzly Scouting Report -- Nov. 15

Montana at South Dakota State University, in Brookings, S.D. Saturday @ 6 p.m. -- Montana leads the series 2-0, including an 87-47 win last season, a game that saw the Griz score 57 first-half points.

Word from Grizzly assistant coach Nate DuChesne is that a sellout crowd is expected for the game. The Griz will be a Saturday night post-game attraction of sorts. Brookings will be humming because the home-standing Jackrabbit football team will battle FCS No. 2 Ranked North Dakota State on Saturday for the Great West Football Conference title and an interstate trophy called the Dakota Marker awarded to the winner of the “Dakota Series.”  The Jackrabbits are ranked just out of the top 25 FCS schools, at the equivalent of 27th place. The winning team will be crowned conference champion.

PHOTO: Montana sophomore point guard, Cameron Rundles.

Though the Jackrabbit basketball team is improved from last year, they’re considerably younger than last year’s squad. Two freshmen and two sophomores join Jackrabbits’ lone senior, 6’-7” power forward Casey MacKenzie, on the starting five. The first man off the bench is a freshman.

The Griz will have a considerable height advantage at every position. The Jackrabbits’ tallest player is MacKenzie, followed by 6’-6” forward Kai Williams, who led the Jackrabbits in Missoula last year with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

DuChesne said the game will be an ideal road test. “It’s going to be a hostile environment,” said DuChesne. “So, we’ve got to be composed. We can’t allow the crowd to affect us like we did a little bit at Gonzaga.”

The relatively young Grizzly squad is starting to show some on-court chemistry. The test Saturday will be for Griz guards to run the offense for 40 minutes, said DuChesne.

“We think they’re (Cameron Rundles, Matt Martin and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor) coming along,” said DuChesne. “In the second half  (Wednesday) they did a much better job of moving the basketball.

“ We’re not a one-on-one type of team,” DuChesne added.  “We tell our guards to keep the ball moving, to get the ball inside to the posts and to move the ball inside out.”

KEYS to the Game -- Expect the Jackrabbits to throw a zone at the Griz.

1. Continued long-range shooting accuracy. Matt Martin, a South Dakota native from Spearfish, has shown solid signs of a returning to long-range shooting form. Look soon for a productive outside game from guard Ryan Staudacher, who shot 1-for-5 from the field Wednesday, and simply needs to relax a bit.

2. Power in the blocks. Most important will be the game underneath, since the Griz have a distinct size advantange. If the Griz can flex the zone, expect post Andrew Strait, power forward Jordan Hasquet and especiallly reserve post -- and North Dakota native -- Brian Qvale to have banner nights.

3. Cameron. Point guard, Cameron Rundles, has 13 assists so far compared to a mere 2 turnovers in three games. Rundles is showing steady improvement with each game... enough to gain early merit as one of the premier points in the Big Sky. 

Griz Shoot Lights Out, 72-47

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.

Scouting Notebook: Nov. 13

Lights Out: Montana State Northern, the Grizzlies’ Wed. opponent, rolls into town with a 6-0 record, which includes an interesting comparison against a common opponent. The Lights -- an NAIA Div. I school and a member of the Frontier Conference -- are averaging 92.3 points per game. Included in the 6 wins is a 93-82 victory over the University of Regina, which beat the University of Greaf Falls 84-59. The Griz beat UGF 77-46 in a pre-season game Oct. 31.

A Winning Record: It’s only one game, but the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits will feature something rare when they host the Griz Saturday: a winning record (1-0). The Jackrabbits won their opener 61-54 over the visiting University of Mary. Despite the win, the Jackrabbits committed 23 turnovers in the game, compared to 21 for U of Mary.

Threes are Wild: Cal State Fullerton University, which plays a home & home double header against the Grizzlies on Nov. 30 (H) and Dec. 20 (A) will give the Griz a stiff three-point shot defensive challenge, if Fullerton’s first two games of the year are any indication. The Titans have launched 53 treys, and have made 23. That’s a success ratio of 43%. Guard Josh Akognon, a transfer from Washington State, leads the Titans with 13-24 treys in two games.

Grizzly Journal MVPs -- Week 1

Senior guard Matt Martin: It would help if Martin’s 37% field goal percentage edges upward into the mid-forties, but the versatile back-court senior guard has already made major strides from last year in his overall floor game. While playing at off-guard, Martin has worked quickly off the ball and is creating open creases for precise perimeter shot angles, particularly from the baseline. While playing point, he’s shown ball-control temerity in both penetrating into the key and in ripping lateral passes to open teammates. If Martin continues at this pace, he’ll be a central cog in the Griz offensive machine, particularly via key penetration, thus creating space for Andrew Strait. More than any Griz in Sunday”s loss to Gonzaga, Martin battled the larger and (usually) more aggressive Bulldogs tooth-to-tooth. A team-high 18 points against Gonzaga is impressive enough, but Matt might soon have a breakout game where assists & steals may be more important than points scored.

Reserve forward Kyle Sharp -- Despite playing about half the minutes of most Griz starters in the first two games, Sharp currently leads the team in rebounds, with 7 against Colorado State and 8 against Gonzaga. Sharp, projected as a reserve at the 3 and 4 positions (freshman post Brian Qvale is the backup at the 5 position) has provided the team a solid rebounding boost. The muscular 6’-7” forward has already shown he won’t back down in the thick of the fray. Sharp has also scored on several putbacks off of offensive rebounds. With further game experience, Sharp will give the Griz a matchup against teams with frontcourt size and perhaps a matchup advantage against some teams. Look for a breakout offensive game (10+) soon from "Sharpie" (the name his coaches & teammates call him).

Shooting Percentage the Story in Griz Loss

Montana coach Wayne Tinkle’s three-word summary of his team's 77-54 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane Sunday was concise enough: “It was ugly,” said a distressed Tinkle in his post-game interview with Montana announcer Mick Holien.

In basketball, a win or a loss can occasionally be linked to an intangible factor. For instance, I was encouraged at the solid Griz floor game. Led by Cameron Rundles’ efficient point guard play (2 turnovers, 3 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes) the Grizzlies worked the ball inside very well and -- when the Bulldog defense collapsed and double-teamed Andrew Strait -- they kicked it back outside for clear, wide-open, well-set three point shots from the perimeter. The only problem was that the open shots Grizzly perimeter shooters took were off-target.

Had the Grizzlies shot, let’s say, 48% or 45%... or even 40% they would have made a game of it.

But post-game analysis of this 23-point loss is easy: the Montana shooting statistics tell the story in black & white.

For the game the Grizzlies shot 30.9% from the field (22.7% from three-point range) and 65.2% from the freethrow line.

The other area of concern, rebounding, saw Gonzaga notch a commanding 40-29 edge. Otherwise the stats were remarkably even.

But the inability to put the ball into the bucket spelled early doom for the Griz.

Here’s how dramatic those shooting woes were: their first trey came at the 17:48 mark of the first half -- a pretty baseline jumper by Jordan Hasquet that gave the Griz their only lead of the game at 3-2. It was the last first-half trey they would get. The next nine missed their mark, which means the Grizzlies' first-half three-point shooting percentage was 11.1%.

No doubt, many of the shots the Griz took in the paint were contested by the Zags. But when that happened, an inside-out pass usually found its mark to an open shooter in the corner or at the tip of the key. That’s where the Griz floor game broke down.

Despite all that, the Griz could have made a game of it. Trailing 44-25 at halftime, Montana made a nice run, outscoring the Zags 12-4 and pulling to within 51-37 at the 16:14 mark. Then a strange string of events happened: over the next four minutes the Grizzlies turned the ball over on 4 flubbed inbounds passes. At the end of that strange run the Gonzaga lead surged back to 20  and their win was effectively sealed.

Despite all that I’m encouraged. Besides the solid offensive floor game there were numerous team and individual bright spots. The Griz man-on defense was bulldog tough,  even though their transition D broke down occasionally.

Individually, Matt Martin played a gritty game, pushing the offensive flow with heady aggressive play to the tune of a team-high 18 points. Freshman post Brian Qvale contributed a stalwart game in the post, scoring 9 points on 4-5 shots, grabbing 4 rebounds and notching one block in 19 minutes of play. And Kyle Sharp had a superb 18 minutes on court. Sharp snared a team-high 8 rebounds and scored 4 points by converting offensive second chances. If Sharp continues this style of play, he’ll add a dimension to the Grizzlies’ offensive versatility in the low blocks.

As a team the Grizzlies ran an efficient inside-out offense against a tough GU squad that hung a defensive double-team collar around Strait.

That means the Griz will simply just keep running their O and keep shooting good shots.

At some point the perimeter shots will start falling, the game will open up, and the results will be statistically verified by the final score.

How to establish Mid Major Ranking

As much as anything about today’s Montana-Gonzaga matchup in Spokane, it will be interesting to see how this Montana Grizzly squad will play before the same type of crowd that bolstered the Grizzlies Friday. Today it will be hostile, in contrast to the raucous Montana Zoo that propelled the team to a 36-point win over the Colorado State Rams Friday.

But I liked Montana senior Andrew Strait's comment regarding Gonzaga.

"We know Gonzaga is one of the toughest places in the country to play," said Strait. "But we’ll throw everything we have at them. I think it’ll be a fun time."

More than actually winning or losing, the style with which this talented Montana squad plays will be worth observing. How the Grizzlies play may perhaps have as much impact on the players in terms of self confidence than the final score. PHOTO: Tinkle in a post-game interview with Grizzly radio play-by-play announcer Mick Holien.

Last year, in coach Wayne Tinkle's first at the helm, his team wilted against tough competition in Orlando’s Old Spice Classic and the team returned to Missoula with a 1-4 record that took much of the year to erase.

The Gonzaga game won't intimidate Tinkle, who is himself a Spokane native and very familiar with Gonzaga and the Mid Major status the Bulldog teams have built over the past years. My guess is that, with a year under his belt, he’s well prepared to start placing a powerful stamp of identity on his team.

I recall  distinctly one of the first statements of then new Grizzly Coach Pat Kennedy, who in 2003 announced that the Montana Grizzlies would play major college competition... and confidently predicted would soon become a known Mid Major commodity.

That the Grizzlies’ first Mid Major ranking of significance (2006) happened three years later, then under head coach Larry Krystkowiak isn’t as important as the fact that Tinkle was an assistant -- and very actively recruiting the players on this current squad -- with both Kennedy and coach K.

I also know that -- when Tinkle was playing -- Gonzaga and Washington State were teams the Grizzlies competed well against.

At some point a good team on the cusp of Mid Major ranking steps up and beats a heavily favored team. Games like that can be self-defining for coaches and, more particularly, for players. If this Griz squad can hang with Gonzaga through the first half, anything can happen. Why not today?

Your comments are welcome.

Griz Smother Colorado State, 75-39

Freshman post Brian Qvale battles two CSU players for a loose ball. Qvale scored 3 points, snared 5 rebounds and had a blocked shot in his first game as a Griz.

The Montana Grizzlies nailed their first three shots from long range, then got a thunderous put-back dunk from forward Jordan Hasquet and were never threatened from there in a resounding 75-39 whipping of the Colorado State Rams Friday.

Colorado State stayed within striking distance, slowing the Griz attack with a tight zone and trailed by 6, 26-20 at the half.

But from there on the Griz took control, surging to an 18-point 39-21 lead in the first four minutes of the second half.

The Griz outside game finally forced the Rams out of their zone midway through the second half and then Andrew Strait went to work, scoring 9 of his game-high 14 points on several low-block pivots in the key and one 3-point dagger as the shot clock was expiring.

Reserve forward Kyle Sharp played a key role in UM's second half surge, grabbing 7 rebounds and registering a blocked shot to go with his 4 points in 17 minutes of playing time.

"Kyle’s a great player," said Strait. "When he’s given the opportunity to get on the floor and get a little momentum going he’s all over the place. He grabbed a ton of rebounds, is a really explosive player and is definitely a key to our team."

Sophomore Cameron Rundles directed the offense efficiently, notching a game high 8 assists while committing only one turnover. He also hit two three point shots at critical junctures, ending up with 11 points on the game.

Off guard, Matt Martin, made 3-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 11 points.

The Grizzlies got double-figure scoring from four of their five starters. Every player to see action scored.

Reserve guard Greg Spurgetis had a frightening full-speed collision with CSU's Josh Simmons, who fouled out on the play. After shaking off the cobwebs, Spurgetis nailed both ends of a 1-and-1.

Reserve guard, Zach Graves, capped the Grizzly scoring in the  final 8 seconds with an open-court slam off of a CSU turnover.

The young Rams shot a dismal 34 percent for the game, but most shots were vigorously contested by Griz defenders, who slapped alternating zone and man defenses on the Rams throughout. CSU did not score in the last 5:47, making the game look like more of a blowout than it actually was.

The Griz now hit the road for a Sunday afternoon contest with the 12th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

"We know Gonzaga is one of the toughest places in the country to play," said Strait.  "But we’ll throw everything we have at them. I think it’ll be a fun time."

KEY STATS:
•The Griz scored 23 points on CSU turnovers and notched 18 second-chance points compared to CSU’s 8.

•Bench  points by the Griz: 19; By CSU, 4.

• The Griz shot a respectable first-half 40% from three-point range, but increased that to 47.6% by game’s end.

•The Griz outrebounded CSU 37-25 and had a solid 11-7 assist-to-turnover ratio, compared to a  negative 7-14 ratio for the Rams.

GAME QUOTES & PHOTOS

MATT MARTIN  -- "Early on we tried to get the ball inside on the Rams, but they had two 7-footers down there, so we were able to get it out to the perimeter for some outside shots. But then in the second half after we hit some good outside shots it really opened up the inside for Andrew." On Strait's second-half trey: "That 3-pointer came out of nowhere for him. That was a really sweet shot."

"We definitely locked the Rams down defensively. But they’ve got a good young team that’s really talented invidually."

"Defense is going to be our key this year. But it’ll definitely be a test on Sunday to see how good defensively we really are. We’re going to have to be ready to defend them."

JORDAN HASQUET -- "It’s always good to see what you work on in practice all week, and all off season pay off. Doing it like that in your first game is really awesome. It showed us how far ahead of the curve we are."

"As long as you keep on working on the D and rebounding like we did, things kind of take care of themselves."

ANDREW STRAIT -- "I think defense was really our goal all week long. The coaches had been stressing defensive  intensity. When you play well on the defensive end of the floor it really helps you out on offense. They have some big bodies inside and they really packed the zone. Our guys did a great job of stepping up and making long range shots and then when that happened they had to get out on our shooters and so we got some open looks inside

"The environment and the arena and the fans did a good job of creating some momentum for us. It was really fun. I hope that continues all season. That kind of support really helps us out at home."

"We knew they played a lot of zone and it was nice to see a man-on look after they played a lot of zone all game. I think we were able to take advantage of them when they switched to man."

Griz will get a zone test from Rams

Against a young, tall, Colorado State Rams team, the Montana Grizzlies will get an immediate first-game test that may well answer some important questions which hearken back to last year’s campaign.

Scouting reports indicate the Rams will play an up-tempo game in combo with a 2-3 zone, which they’ll pack tightly around Grizzly all-conference post Andrew Strait.

Good. Give the Griz that game-one zone test. 

There’s no better time than the present for the Grizzlies to reverse last year’s sometimes lack of success against most zones, most of which went a long way to neutralize the potent scoring stats of Strait.

The sooner the Griz can show that they can:
    Penetrate the zone with key-top drives and quick reverse-flow passes,
    Collapse their opponents’ zone with inside-out passes to open the firing range for long-range shooters, and
    Produce offensive rebounds for conversions from within their zone offense... the sooner they’ll be able to reverse any scouting reports that say: “Pack the zone around Andrew and dare the outside shooters to fire away.”

In truth it takes several games for most teams to iron out the kinks in their zone offenses. But Strait and frontcourt partner Jordan Hasquet are legitimate Big Sky MVP candidates, and most opposing coaches are already aware that a zone may be the only way neutralize the big guys.

If so, then we should hope for big games, with shooting stats near 40 percent, from guards Matt Martin, Ryan Staudacher and Cameron Rundles.

The best thing the Griz can accomplish early in this season is to force opponents out of their packed-in zones... and make them play man-up against the powerful Montana man offense.

The Rams are young. But, contrary to what some folks are saying, they’re a young, perhaps green, team with great potential. Game one will test the Griz. Here’s hoping they pass the zone test.

Montana Grizzlies Basketball Preview: new faces, new defense, newfound chemistry

After the conclusion of interviews with seven players and two coaches from the 2007 Montana Grizzlies basketball team, the message had become clear: what sorely vexed last year’s highly talented but inconsistent Grizzly team is now gone.

In its place at the beginning of a new season is a Grizzly squad -- loaded with a highly touted junior college transfer (Ceylon Elgin-Taylor), two talented freshmen (6’-11 center Brian Qvale and 6’-10 forward Derek Selvig), and two quality transfers (Jack McGillis and Michael Taylor) -- laboring with the daily construction of a team into a cohesive unit.

It’s early. But the 1007-08 Grizzlies show promise of becoming a team with depth, improved defensive grit and a multi-faceted look on offense.

PHOTO: Sophomore Cameron Rundles is guarded by sophomore transfer Michael Taylor.

Sophomore floor general Cameron Rundles put it concisely. ”On this team we have no guys who are talking about I,” said Rundles. “We’re playing together this year better than we ever have.”

Rundles cited teammate Jordan Hasquet as a catalyst.

“Jordan set the tone early, “ said Rundles. “Jordan said we weren’t going to lose in the second half because we were tired. After we were finished running he got after us and said we were going to run some more.”

“I liked that, “ said Rundles. “I fed off of that.

“And that’s just carried on to the start of the season and so we’re excited to get it started Friday,” said Rundles.

The players stressed that two major fundamental game plans are critical for season-long success: improved defense and game-long offensive discipline.

“Defensive intensity is important for us from the start,” said Hasquet. “We’re going to have to get opposing teams to realize we’re going to be up in their face and intense the whole game.

“We think that if we come out really intense on defense, then it’ll transition well to the offense,” said Hasquet.

Both factors were missing early last year and the team absorbed several painful early-season losses.

“We definitely want to get a few more pre-season wins this year,” said Hasquet.. Last year was kind of tough on us. We started in a hole and it was kind of tough to have to dig ourselves out.”

Things won’t be any easier this year. The Grizzlies play formidable competition early. On the slate are the 12th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (Nov. 11), 8th ranked Washington State Cougars (Nov. 23), and games against Air Force, Cal Fullerton (home and home) Pacific and Santa Clara, all teams which are expected to battle for conference titles.

The Griz will be led by three-year senior starters Andrew Strait at center and Matt Martin at off guard (see Grizzly Journal senior profiles). Last year’s team MVP, Hasquet, a junior, returns at power forward. Rundles, a sophomore who quickly won the starting point guard as a freshman, returns to man that post. The only true newcomer (though he played minutes last year) is 6’-4” wing Ryan Staudacher, who’s expected to be a long-range threat.

Grizzly coach, Wayne Tinkle, hasn’t fully set his starting rotation and will experiment with several lineup looks in early games. Junior Kyle Sharp -- who continues to show that there'll be little or no dropoff when he subs for Strait -- and promising freshman center 6’-11’ Brian Qvale will see considerable action.

Backup point guard Elgin-Taylor (see newcomer profile) and 6’-10” forward Selvig (who may still redshirt) will also see action. Selvig has exceptional court vision and will likely gain minutes as the season progresses.

Of the Grizzly reserves, Hasquet thinks Qvale will give the  Griz an imposing new front-court look.

“Brian Qvale I think will step in right away, Said Hasquet. “He’s tough down low, changes shots and rebounds and that’s just what the team needs.”

Junior guard Greg Spurgetis, an accomplished long-range shooter, will likely see some time at off-guard. Redshirt freshman Zach Graves, an intense defender with accomplished ball-handling skills, will see more time as the season progresses. Sophomore post Dave Vanderjagt has been hurt, but will provide the Griz matchup size against some opponents. Transfers McGillis and Taylor are ineligible until next year. Freshman Tyler Hurley of Anaconda will redshirt.

The Grizzlies jump into the fray early, hosting a young but imposing Colorado State Rams squad of the Mountain West Conference before traveling to Spokane Sunday to take on the Bulldogs.

The Rams have height (two seven-footers), speed, and will throw 2-3 zone defense at the Griz. Last year’s Grizzlies struggled early in the season against zones, so Friday’s game will be an early test to see if the Griz can get “into the zone” early.

The Grizzlies game plan is set, said Rundles. “We have to get the shots down low, even if they’re contested. We have to play by committee on offense, defense and on rebounding,” said Rundles.

Rundles said the Grizzlies would appreciate fan support early this year. “But no excuses,” said Rundles. “We have to take care of business. If we do, I think the fans will come.”

Added Staudacher, “Hopefully, when we start winning games and get people started believeing in Griz basketball, maybe things will start going the right way and more people will come out to the games.”

Meet New Griz, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor

NICKNAME: Junior. “I’ve had that name since birth.”

Ht: 6' 2" Wt: 185 lbs.
Year: Junior. Major: Sociology.
High School: Pioneer H. S., San Jose, CA. As a senior, Elgin-Taylor was named Northern California Division 3 Player of the Year.
Previous School: Irvine Valley Community College. Elgin-Taylor was named to the first team All Conference as a freshman and a sophomore.

POSITION: Point Guard (#1 position). Off Guard (#2 position)

UNIFORM NUMBER: #11

On his decision to play for the University of Montana: “It was the first school I visited and I liked it a lot. All the guys welcomed me. It was a real good connection. It was the best connection I had on all of my visits. My parents and my coaches wanted me to wait and said to see other things. I went to two other bigger schools but I didn’t feel the connection that I feel here.”
On his Grizzly teammates: “This is the closest team I’ve ever been on. High School. Junior College. A lot of teams I’ve been on it seems like there are little groups. But you know, this team is just one group. I think having that friendship, having that relationship off the court helps on the court, too. The chemistry is there. Ever since open gym I’ve just felt that chemistry from everyone.”
On his personal goals as a Grizzly: “My main goal is that I want to be the best teammate I can possibly be by making players around me better. That helps make myself better. In terms of personal goals, I want to be the best defender on the team. I want to be the guy who’s got to cover every other team’s best perimeter player. And then mainly, I want to just win.”
On his role as point guard for the Grizzlies: “It’s my job to get the ball to our shooters. We’ve got a lot of skilled guys on this team. So I’ve got to get the ball inside and outside to Ryan and Matt. And we’ve got two of the best post players in the conference, you know. So, my role is to get the ball to those guys and that’s what I’ll try to do.”
On his recent development as a player: “At the beginning of the year last year I was hurt. I had to play with a cast on my leg. It kept me  back for awhile. It took half of the year into conference play. But then I started scoring more points each game.”
On the Grizzly-Bobcat rivalry: “One of my best friends on last year’s team at Irvine Valley (Marcus Blackshire) is playing for the Bobcats. We talk every week or send text messages back and forth.”
On Preparing for Colorado State: “Colorado State or any team, you know we’ve got to be really ready to play defense. Colorado State is very athletic. We can’t let them get going. I look forward to playing them.”
Personal anticipation: “I’ve never played before a big crowd in my life, so I hope there’s a big crowd here Friday.”

Grizzly Hoops Preview: Matt Martin Pt. II

PART II -- (Read the full Matt Martin Profile here.)

  Montana coach Wayne Tinkle described Montana senior guard Matt Martin as an ultra competitive player who often competes against himself. That’s because Martin, said Tinkle, has sometimes tried to prove himself to both his teammates and to himself at the same time... which hasn’t always worked for the multi-talented guard.

“Matt’s the kind of guy that when the ball’s in his hands, he thinks he can always make the play and get the basket,” said Tinkle.

“But this year we want his teammates to make some important plays for him.  We don’t like him shooting the ball when he has it in his own hands. We want to have somebody else make the play, pass it to Matt and then have him shoot it when he gets his legs under him,” said Tinkle.

With three or even four other talented Grizzly guards competing for backcourt play, Tinkle said it’s more important than ever for each player to share the ball with others in the Grizzly motion offense.

Martin knows there will be no guarantees. And he realizes that competition for backcourt play has intensified, with any of his teammates capable of stepping in, and stepping up, on any given night.

That’s OK said Martin, with a laugh. He said, in fact, he’s excited about the quality of the back court competition.

“Cameron (sophomore, Cameron Rundles) is an awesome kid to play with,” said Martin. “And (juco transfer) Ceylon Elgin-Taylor is great and he’s going to help us defensively big time. Ryan Staudacher (sophomore off-guard) and me roomed on the road last year and got along well,” he added.

That renewed competitive chemistry will make this year’s Grizzly squad all the tougher, said Martin.

“I think this year we’re a real close team. Last year we had some guys that were over here.... some guys that were over there... and we just didn’t really bond as a team.

“This year we have great team chemistry.”

With only two seniors -- Martin and post Andrew Strait -- the team is young.

And the Grizzlies play a brutal pre-season schedule. They host Mountain West Conference member Colorado State Friday in their home opener, and have early games against 8th-ranked Washington State, 15th-ranked Gonzaga, and Air Force.  Martin realizes the younger players will be critical to any early success. And he knows that leadership will be expected of him, Strait and Junior Griz MVP Jordan Hasquet.

“With the group of guys that we have, Jordan, Andrew and myself, who’ve played in some big games,” said Martin... “We’ve been trained to play hard every game. So we’re going to have to stand up as leaders to play with intensity.”

Martin’s goals are obvious: to win the conference and return to the NCAA tourney like the Griz did during Martin’s freshman and sophomore years. But Martin wants to do it better this year.

“We won our first two conference championships on the road,” said Martin. “It was sweet that we won the tournament. But it was kind of bitter because we couldn’t do it for our home fans,” who Martin adds are the best in the conference.

“Coming straight out of high school, then suddenly playing in the conference tournament... and then all of a sudden we’re in the NCAA’s, that was really something,” said Martin of the  2005 Big Sky Griz squad.

“Then the next year, beating Nevada and playing against Boston College in the second round and everything that came with that tournament was really amazing.”

Martin believes this year’s squad has the elements necessary for another run.

“This year, Andrew (Strait) and I said to ourselves, let’s get these guys going on the right track. You know, there’s a lot of young talent out out there, so all we have to do is lead by example and they’ll all pull together.

“My sophomore year when we won the game in the tournament we had two seniors on the team. This year we have two seniors. There’s a lot of similarities.”

Grizzly Hoops Preview: Matt Martin Pt. 1

A year of “What ifs” was over. And Matt Martin was still a little out of synch.

The Montana Grizzlies had just fallen short in their first post-season game of 2007, a loss to Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The game was a microcosm of the entire season, one where the critical shots didn’t fall and on-court chemistry fizzled. Martin needed some answers.

For the three-year Grizzly back-court starter and Big Sky Conference three-point threat, the answer was basic: get in touch with your first-ever coach and best friend. Then get back to the basics.

In Martin’s case that coach was his father, Jim Martin, himself a former NAIA Division II college coach and current boys’ basketball coach at Belle Fourche, South Dakota H.S.

After a frustrating year that took Martin nearly half the season to get down to a good playing weight, he was determined to be ready at the start of his senior season.

With a summer of help from Jim -- who served as both coach and personal trainer -- Matt says he’s ready.

The factors that led to Martin’s off year weren’t entirely his fault. But they were still his to solve.

Having built heady success and scoring numbers as a frosh phenom for the Grizzlies and coach Larry Krystkowiak in 2005, and then duplicating those statistics in 2006, Martin took coach K’s advice and hit the court with extra bulk from a summer of weight training.

It backfired.

“My first two years here I was quick,” said Martin.

“But last year they wanted me to be bigger and stronger.

“I got too big for my abilities. And my shooting percentage didn’t go up until midway through the season,” said Martin.

So Martin spent the past summer with his father, training in the second-story Spearfish Elementary gymnasium.

“My mom is a PE teacher, so it was kind of cool,” said Martin. “She has a key to the grade school gym, so we’d go over to the gym every night to work out.”

“It’s the old high school upper level gym,” he added. “It has the glass-arced backboards. The old hardwood floor... We went and worked hard every night.”

Martin lost 14 pounds. In the process he rebuilt his quickness.

With 3-for-6 three-pointers as the off-guard starter in the second Grizzly pre-season game against Whitman, Martin proved that his deadly long-range accuracy has returned.

Not surprisingly, so has his mental toughness, which he admits was a little battered last year.

“I had never really understood how mentally challenging college basketball is,” said Martin.

“But I’ve adjusted. Now this year, I think  I’ve matured and so I’m really excited about the season.”

Montana coach, Wayne Tinkle, believes a productive year from Martin is essential for the team’s success.

“We need Matt to play well in order for us to be successful,” said Tinkle. “He is really due for a good year. He’s shown a lot of maturity, and that’s good for him,” Tinkle added.

“But I’m looking forward to seeing him develop that even more this year,” said Tinkle.

“This year we need stability and consistency from him as a player and leader,” Tinkle added.

“We know what he gives us when he’s open and he’s got his legs under him and he’s taking good quality shots. When that happens, he hits them at a high percentage and that really helps us,” Tinkle added.

To be continued.

Coming Wednesday, Nov. 7, Matt Martin Profile, Part 2

Grizzly Hoops Preview: Andrew Strait Pt. II

PART II -- (Read the full Andrew Strait profile here.)

Andrew Strait knows that a leadership role will be expected from him this year by his coaches and by Grizzly Fans.

Strait and four-year teammate, off-guard Matt Martin, are the only seniors on the relatively young Montana Grizzly team.

“This year, Andrew and I said to ourselves, let’s get these guys going on the right track,” said Martin. “You know, there’s a lot of young talent out out there, so all we have to do is lead by example and they’ll all pull together.

That wasn’t the case  last year.

Beyond having to adjust to a third head coach in four years, last year’s team suffered with issues of team chemistry. On top of that Strait became a moving target of many teams and -- as the season progressed -- more opponents double-teamed him or packed a tight zone around the key.

Strait’s coach, Wayne Tinkle, said this year’s team has the horses to take some pressure off of Strait.

“I think last year he got a little frustrated at times because what he had done as a younger player didn’t come as easily,” Tinkle said.

“This year, teams are going to have to pick their poison,” Tinkle added. “If they want to try to take Andrew out of the mix, we’ve got more guys on the perimeter that can shoot it. It’s going to be tough for teams to try to just say, let’s try to take care of Andrew Strait.”

Strait also believes most issues of chemistry have already been addressed with this year’s Grizzly squad.

“We’ve got a lot of new faces on this team and there are some guys that are going to contribute that people in town don’t know so much about. But they’re sure going to learn about them,” said Strait.

He exudes a quiet confidence that a solid team chemistry -- along with skilled players in several key positions -- will catapult this year’s team to the top of the Big Sky.

“You’ve got to have guys who are willing to take on a role and do whatever they can for the team and not necessarily be the leading scorer or lead in some category.”

That solid chemistry is already brewing, said Strait.

“The bar’s been raised from when I was here as a freshman and it’s helped everybody on this year’s team to practice hard and get better as an individual player.”

“Plus, it’s helped our team to get better as a whole.”

To prepare for his senior year, Strait said he has continued to work hard on little-noticed fundamentals that got him where he is.

“I really think one of my strong points is working before the ball gets to me. The coaches call it getting the work done early. When the ball’s on the opposite side, I work hard to try to get in position to get a better shot,” said Strait.

“I also take pride in setting screens and getting other guys on the team open for a shot, because when you get other guys open it eventually gets you open in return.”

Strait also focused upon his physical condition for the upcoming season.

“I’ve worked on my endurance more this year. In past years I was a little top heavy.

"Of course being a smaller post, I know it’s an advantage if you can get out on the court and run because some of those bigger guys you can beat down the floor. My condition this year fits my body type better.”

Tinkle also expects senior leadership from Strait.

“Andrew needs to continue to do for us what he has done offensively, said Tinkle.

“But more than anything, I think is his defensive presence and his communication on defense. He’s got to be the traffic cop down there on defense, and then set the tone for us on the glass. He’s going to be fine offensively, but we really need him to be a leader defensively,” added Tinkle.

However the season pans out, whatever is accomplished, Strait’s personal goals have nothing to do with his own statistical or scoring achievements at season’s end. “I just don’t want to have any regrets at season’s end,” said Strait.

And for Strait that means team success.

Strait knows a third championship in four years won’t be easy.

But he exudes the excitement of a potent, and surprisingly mature young team, built over two years by the continued recruiting of Tinkle.

“I keep going back to this, but I think it’s just the group of guys we have here this year,” he said.

“At the beginning of practice I said to coach Tinks that we’ve got a lot of talent on the floor this year.

“If we can learn how to put that all together and harness it, then we’ll be in really good shape.”

Lady Griz Dump Northwest Sports 73-55

Montana Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig may already have made a decision regarding the possible redshirt status of freshman forward Sarah Ena. Regardless, she provided more ample proof that she’s ready to make a major contribution to the 2007-08 Lady Griz.

In a game of laser-like efficiency, the Lady Griz disposed of an overmatched, and somewhat out of shape, Northwest Sports squad, 73-55.

With her usual efficiency, point guard Mandy Morales scored 14, and had two assists and two steals. Forward Johanna Closson scored 6 points and snared 8 rebounds while guard Sonya Rogers scored 6 and notched two assists.

PHOTOS: Above, Lauren Beck (45). Below, Sarah Ena.

But Enah and backup guard Lauren Beck displayed role-filling qualities that make this year’s Lady Griz squad measurably better than last year’s Big Sky Champs. Ena scored 14 points, most off of nifty pivots in the paint. She also grabbed 7 rebounds and had two steals. Beck scored 9 points and had one assist and a steal.

Junior post Tamara Guardipee has a sprained ankle and didn't suit up.

The Lady Griz shot poorly from the field, but that can be attributed to first-game jitters more than anything else.

Grizzlies Stifle Whitman 75-47

PHOTO: Matt Martin readies a feed to Andrew Strait.

GAME NOTES: UM coach Wayne Tinkle told me earlier in the week that any team that tried to shut the Griz down by double-teaming post Andrew Strait would, in effect be “picking their poison,” stressing that the Griz long-range shooting is much improved over last year. That was the case early in the Grizzlies’ 75-47 thumping of the Whitman Missionaries Sunday.

Strait got his touches, early, of course. When he did, Whitman coach Skip Molitor would yell, “Double, Double,” and the Whitman Defense collapsed around the big guy.... who promptly popped a pass back to perimeter shooters Ryan Staudacher or Matt Martin. The shooting guard duo responded with a combined 53.8% first-half shooting percentage. Staudacher made  4 of his 5 first half three pointers while Martin shot 2-for-4. Staudacher notched 15 points and shared game scoring honors with Jordan Hasquet.

The good signs from Staudacher include not only his quick release and feathery touch, but his defense. At 6’ 3” Staudacher might be slightly undersized for the wing position, but he made up for it with solid defense. If Staudacher continues with the kind of performance he showed today the Griz may already have an answer at wing.

The other major difference in the game was ball movement and shots in the paint. The teams’ turnover numbers were comparable, with the Griz turning it over 16 times to Whitman’s 19. But the difference came in offensive efficiency... Griz guards notched 20 assists to Whitman’s 7 and the Grizzlies scored 30 points in the paint compared to 10 for Whitman.

The second half slowed somewhat after Whitman employed a zone early. It was a good early test for the Griz who responded after a few rotations, shredding the Whitman zone on quick reverse-direction passes to Strait (3-for-3) and Brian Qvale (3-for-4, and 2-2 from the line) on point-blank buckets..

DEFENSIVE QUESTIONS: It’s too early to make any judgements about the Grizzlies’ defense. But the intensity was there early as the Griz held Whitman to 20 first-half points. The defensive switch and rotate by posts at the tip of the key kept Whitman point guards from penetrating into the key. Griz guards seemed to locate shooters more effectively than in the first exhibition game against Great Falls. Baseline defensive is already 100% better than at almost any point last year. The defense can only get better.

PHOTO: Jordan Hasquet draws a foul and scores the bucket.

The only player with any success against the Griz was Whitman point guard Chris Faidly, who led his team with 20 points, although 10 came at the freethrow line. That was the result of heavy defensive pressure from the Griz guard rotation. Faidly is a Big Sky caliber guard but he caught several breaks from the refs, who were calling touch fouls very closely on guard play. A key to the Grizzlies succes this year will be guard defense and locating the opponents’ long range shooters. The first real test will come Friday against Colorado State.

INDIVIDUAL KUDOS: Starting point guard Cameron Rundles (4 assists) was hobbled with a minor foot injury, but backup Ceylon Elgin-Taylor responded with a team-high 5 assists, two coming off of quick drive & dish moves into the paint  for easy scores. Elgin-Taylor would have noteched two more assists if the big guys he dished it to had been ready for the gut-bucket passes.

Backup post Kyle Sharp had a quiet but efficiently blue-collar game, shooting 3-3 (one nice slam) and snaring 5 boards. Though Sharp and Qvale rotate with both Hasquet and Strait, it’s encouraging to see that there’ll be little drop off in front court strength this year.

Shaping quickly into a major strength for the Griz is Qvale, who has old-timers buzzing with comparisons to former posts Ken McKenzie and Tinkle. Qvale not only added six rebounds to his 8 points on offense, but he blocked two shots and stole the ball twice. Tinkle, as many fans recall, was a particularly disruptive defensive player.

Lastly, a player who will gradually see more playing time is Zach Graves. The backup guard plays a fierce defensive game and his quickness will cause match-up problems for some teams. Graves played only five minutes but had one assist and a steal.

Grizzly Hoops Preview: Andrew Strait

Andrew Strait says he’s pretty satisfied with his basketball career so far at the University of Montana.

Given the opportunity as a freshman in 2004 to contribute to a young Montana Grizzly squad with a young new coach (Larry Krystkowiak, now head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks), Strait quietly stepped up and produced one of the outstanding freshman seasons ever for a Grizzly big man.

In the two years since, Strait has emerged as one of the Big Sky Conference’s dominant big men.

The statistics tell the story: The muscular 6’-8” Grizzly post is currently ranked among the select group of conference leaders in six separate statistical categories.

The man who recruited Stait, his coach Wayne Tinkle, says Straight brings much more to the court each game than his statistics indicate.

“We always know what we are going to get from him, night in, night out,” said Tinkle, referring to Strait’s steady production on the low blocks, particularly on offense.

“It’s nice to know that you’ve got that guy you can go to when the game’s on the line,” said Tinkle, “That he’s going to get that basket or find the open man if he gets double teamed. He’s a real solid force for us down in the paint. You know that’s always been one our strengths here at Montana.”

And so, entering his senior year at the axis of the Grizzly game, Strait has been projected as the pre-season Big Sky “Player of the Year” by numerous publications.

Though Strait won’t say so, there’s more to come.

With UM’s first official game of 2007-- a home contest against Colorado State -- Strait will likely assume his rightful place among the top 10 Grizzly men’s basketball career scoring leaders. He needs just six points to surpass Darren Engellant (1989-92) and 16 to move past Lou Rochleau (1945-49).

In fact, a mere “average” scoring year from Strait will move him, by season’s end, into fifth place, one notch ahead of his coach, Tinkle, and one  spot behind former teammate Kevin Criswell (2002-05).

And yet -- three years and two additional record-pace years behind him -- Strait casually dismisses the catalog of statistics and personal records he has accumulated.

Instead, the memorable experiences of his illustrious career are directly tied to the Griz twice winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship (2005, 06) and playing major college competition (Washington, Nevada, Boston College) in the NCAA post-season March Madness playoffs. Those experiences, Straight emphasizes, were not individual, or statistically based but rather were earned, and shared, by the combined members of those Grizzly teams.

“It was huge when we got to go to the NCAA tourneys, especially when we got that win against Nevada,” said Strait.

“And so that’s definitely going to be my ultimate goal this year with the group we have. It’s going to be big for us and I’m going to really encourage everyone else to achieve that goal.”

Another championship is within reach of this year’s squad, said Strait. Despite the constant transition through three coaches over four years, the steadying influence has been Tinkle, who recruited him when he was a senior at Yakima, Washington’s West Valley High School. And Strait is ready to assume whatever leadership role is required to get there.

“A good team needs guys that are willing to come in and do the little things to balance the team out,” said Strait. “Tinks and his coaches have influenced us a lot on how important it is to trust your teammates to help you and I think we’ve got guys this year that are willing to do that.”

To be continued.

Coming Monday, Nov. 5, Andrew Strait Profile, Part 2

Griz Journal 'Sky Power' Ranking: Week 9

1. Montana -- (1st last week) Mathematically, at least, Bobby Hauck’s Griz need one win to clinch a tie for the Big Sky Crown. While the Vikings of Portland State seem to present matchup problems for the Grizzly defense, PSU’s offensive line will have to play its “game of the year” to pull it off. Care for a Blitzkrieg? Each of Montana’s next three foes has revealed some sort of glaring weakness the Grizzlies have exploited so efficiently. If there’s a catbird seat in the Big Sky this year, the Griz are the team about to claim it & settle comfortably in.
2 3, 4, Northern Arizona (2nd last week), Eastern Washington (3rd last week), Montana State (4th last week) Talking points from coaches and media analysts hold out slim playoff chances for each of these “pretenders.” Truth is, all three play each other this week and next week. Wave the postseason bye bye.
5. Weber State -- (6th last week) The Wildcats are the lone team besides the Griz that seems to get better each week. But with a 3-3, 3-5 record, all these Cats can do is spoil it for some other team.
6. Portland State -- (5th  last week) A team with a befuddling propensity for losing. The Vikings run & shoot offense got a kickstart last week from frosh quarterback Drew Hubel, and the Vikings appear to have the "passing-game" guns to score some points on the Griz. But can PSU’s porous defense hold the Griz under 45?
7. Sacramento State -- (7th last week) The 54th Causeway Classic pits two struggling programs -- the 1-7 Hornets against the 3-6 Aggies. Cal Davis will this year record its first losing football season in 38 years.
8. Idaho State -- (8th last week) The annual Border War pitting neighborhood foes with nearly identical losing records appears to favor the homestanding Wildcats.
9. Northern Colorado -- (9th last week) The Bears are not likely to get their second straight win in two seasons this weekend against the Eagles. But, who knows? Maybe next week.

UP SOON: Strait, Martin exclusive features

Just over a month after the debut of Grizzly Journal I’m still ironing out the kinks of format, design and writing style. I will continue to make this blog easy to access, easy to read and -- most importantly -- interesting. If  you’ve “dropped by" a few times and have some advice to offer, please do. Write a comment by responding to any of my articles. Or, drop me an email by using the feature in the upper left hand column.

In the meantime I’m still experimenting with content and style. I want to stress that Grizzly Journal will be primarily a basketball blog covering the Montana Grizzlies and Montana Lady Griz, with occasional pieces on prep basktball.

At this point I’m pleased to announce that Grizzly Journal will -- over the next week -- publish three exclusive interview-based stories. Each story will appear in two or three installments. The features will then be available through the season on a separate titled page, with updates as the season progresses.

By Saturday you’ll be able to read an exclusive interview with Grizzly senior post Andrew Strait. On Sunday, part one of another exclusive, a feature on senior guard Matt Martin, will run. If you like them, send a grizzlyjournal link to your friends. I’m pleased with readership so far, but the more readers the better.

My third exclusive will be a feature on the voice of the Montana Grizzlies, Mick Holien, which will run next week.