Kyle Lewis hit a driving jumper under pressure in the key ith three seconds remaining to lift the Denver Pioneers to a 67-65 win over the Texas Arlington Mavericks in the second game of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Grizzly Classic men’s basketball tourney Friday night at Dahlberg Arena.
A three-quarter court shot launched by a Texas Arlington player at the 1.9-second mark was disallowed because Mavricks’ coach Scott Cross had been granted a timeout by referees. The Mavericks did not get a shot off when play resumed.
Lewis’ basket broke what had been the only tie of a game where the Pioneers led throughout, and by as many as 13 points midway through the first half.
Denver held a 10-point, 35-25 lead at halftime.
PHOTO: Denver forward Travis Hallam pulls down a rebound against Texas Arlington's Roge'r Guignard.
Second-half full-court pressure and a trapping half-court zone by the Mavericks, and dominant Inside play by Texas Arlington center Anthony Vereen, who scored 21 points, triggered a late rally that just fell short.
Led by sharpshooting guard Nate Rohnert, the Pioneers made nine-for-20 first-half treys over a passive Texas Arlington zone. It was a different story in the second half as the Mavericks held the Pioneers to only 3-for-9 from beyond the arc.
At that point, Denver forward Kyle Lewis converted on several post-up moves. Lewis finished with 16 points. Forward Justin Couglin had 10.
Guards Roge’r Gyignard and Marquez Haynes scored 13 and 11 points respectively for the Mavericks.
The win was the first of the young season for the Pioneers, now 1-5, while Texas Arlington slips to 4-2.
Texas Arlington now faces the tourney host Montana Grizzlies Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:05 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.
TOURNEY NOTES:
• No Surprises – There should be no surprises for University of Montana players, who watched the Texas Arlington Mavericks employ a variety of full-court and half-court pressure and trapping zone defenses in a game-long attempt to pull even with the Denver Pioneers.
Though the Mavericks’ full-curt pressure was successful at shortening the clock, it was a switching run-and-jump trapping half court zone that gave Denver the most trouble. The Pioneers rarely got into their passing game offense over the second half, even though they beat the Mavericks pressure on several occasions.
• Good practice – The Mavericks are the ideal preseason opponent for a Montana team that has struggled against pressure defense. Arlington is a very quick team that attacks passing lanes very well from its variety of zone defenses. If the Grizzlies can stretch the Mavericks’ full court trapping pressure, they should be able to get the ball on early offense to their taller low post players. Any time Denver penetrated the zone, the result usually resulted in free throws for the Mavericks. This might be a good opponent for Jack McGillis to have a break-through scoring game. Kyle Sharp, whose speed at post can be effective against full-court pressure, could also have a good game.
• Deceptive Size – Montana will be taller than the Mavericks a every position. But that size might be a bit deceptive. At 6’-7,” Maverick center Anthony Vereen ( #32, in photo at right) will be shorter than Montana’s post, Brian Qvale (6’-11”) and power forward, Jordan Hasquet (6’-9”). But Vereen is a “big-bodied” player in structure, at 245 lbs. and posts up with authority in the key. He’ll be a load for whichever Montana player defends him.
On offense, however, Montana should be able to convert size into points... that is if they can get the ball to the big guys, a task that has not been easy for the Griz over the past several games.
• Factoring quickness – Montana’s guards will be significantly taller than the Mavericks at every position as well. But the Mavericks’ ghree-guard back court may be the fastest the Grizzlies have faced this season. Once again, Montana’s size advantage could lead to a mismatch from within the paint. It’s getting there against the quick Mavericks’ guards that’ll be tough.
• Depth issues – It may be that Texas Arlington coaches decided the best way to attack Denver was with a three-guard front. But depth could be another factor. The only player with any size after Vereen was starting forward Tommy Moffitt (6’-5”). Reserve Trey Parker (6’-9”) rotated with Vereen and Moffitt, but any foul problems to Vereen or Moffit could hinder the Mavericks significantly down the stretch. The Griz might gain a significant advantage with early aggressive play in the low blocks. And who knows how a second-straight game “at elevation” might affect the Mavericks.
• Transition warnings – Though Montana has reasonable quickness at guard, particularly when Anthony Johnson is on the court, the Griz would be well advised not to get into a transition game with the Mavericks, who run the court very well. The Mavericks are not a fast-break team, but they will force the tempo aggressively, and work hard to get the ball to Vereen very early.
• Zoned out tourney – Both Denver and Texas Arlington employ zones as their primary defense. And Thursday Montana, which hasn’t played much zone yet this season, used an effective 3-2 zone to pull away from Denver in the second half. The Mavericks’ quickness at guard might prompt the Grizzlies to use their 3-2 zone for a second straight night.
• Common opponent – Texas Arlington’s only previous loss this year was a last-second 73-70 loss to the Eastern Washington Eagles in Cheney. Vereen scored 19 on 6-for-7 shooting from the post and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Moffitt had 12 while guard Marcus Haynes scored 15.
