grizzlyjournal

Montana wins Holiday Classic with 59-51 victory over Nevada

The Montana Lady Griz struggled against an aggressive Nevada Wolfpack defense, bust broke open a tight game midway through the second half for a 59-51 win in the championship game of the 2008 Lady Griz Holiday Classic before 3466 fans Tuesday.

Senior point guard Mandy Morales shook off a cold-shooting first half to score 15 points in the Montana victory. Forward Lauren Beck played a masterful floor game, with four rebounds, an assist and two blocks to go with her 13 points. Senior shooting guard Sonya Rogers added 11 points.

VIEW MORE GAME PHOTOS HERE.

Britney Lohman and Sarah Ena dominated the paint, leading Montana to a 37-32 advantage on rebounds. Ena pulled down 10 boards and scored seven points, while Lohman had seven boards to go with her nine points.

Guard Dellena Criner led the Wolfpack with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four assists. However, Criner turned the ball over eight times. Forward Cherlanda Franklin had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The game was a classic matchup of iron-willed defenses, a glove-tight man-on defense against Montana’s scrambling flex zone defense. In the end, Montana’s zone won out, holding the Wolfpack to 33.9 percent shooting for the game, though Nevada’s aggressive defense limited the Lady Griz to 40.4 percent on the night.

PHOTOS: Shadra Robison battles for a loose ball in first half action. Robison suffered an ankle injury early in the second half and did not return to action. Sarah Ena grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the putback to give Montana a 48-40 lead with six minutes left. Cherlanda Franklin (#25) defends.

The first half ended with the Wolfpack scrathing out a 25-24 lead after leading by as many as four. The teams battled on even terms through the early stages of the second half until Rogers and Morales nailed a trey on an assist by Rogers, reserve Stephanie Stender made a pair of free throws and Sarah Ena battled for an offensive board and a putback.

That flurry gave Montana its largest lead, 48-40 with six minutes remaining. And that was enough to hold the pack off until the final 45 seconds when six straight free throws extended Montana’s lead to 10.

Montana Lady Griz ambush Hampton Lady Pirates 88-47

The most significant statistics about the Montana Lady Griz’ 88-47 victory over Hampton in the first game of the Holiday Inn Holiday Classic before 3139 fans at Dahlberg Arena Sunday, centered on balance.

No player played more than Mandy Morales’ 23 minutes, or fewer than senior center Tamara Guardipee’s seven. All 12 Lady Griz scored, led by Morales’ 22. And it didn’t seem to matter which lineup Montana coach Robin Selvig put on the floor as Montana pounced early and then steadily built up leads over the outmatched Lady Pirates.

Montana’s balanced scoring was revealed in several statistical areas: 52.6 percent from the field in the first half, followed by 50 percent in the second half. Eleven points and six rebounds from sophomore forward Sarah Ena and 12 points, three assists and a steal from senior off guard Sonya Rogers... and a minimum of four points scored by eight other Lady Griz players.

Montana’s bench players contributed 34 points behind eight from center Shadra Robison, six each from Shaunte Nance-Johnson, Stephanie Stender and Tianna Ware, and five assists and four steals from an energized Nance-Johnson, who turned-in perhaps her best floor game of the season.

The Lady Pirates managed a 46-43 edge in rebounds, but turned the ball over 24 compared to Montana’s 15. The Lady Griz, had 15 steals on an efficient disruption of Hampton’s passing lanes.

PHOTOS: Lauren Beck (#45) and Sarah Ena battle Hampton players Jerika Jenkins (#23), Laura Lewis, (#20) and Ashlee Finlee for a rebound in first half action. Ena scored 11 points and had six rebounds while Beck scored five, had eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Jessa Loman Linford (bottom photo) rebounds the ball in second half action.

Hampton will face Nevada in the tourney’s second game Monday. The Lady Griz will then host Nevada in the tourney finale Tuesday.

Bone's Vikings appear ready to defend Big Sky crown

Though I bleed Griz maroon as much as any Montana fan, I admit I’m almost as much of a supporter of the Big Sky Conference, which I believe has been universally, and wrongly underrated in past years.

And so I don’t come across with trash talk very well. Because, with only a couple of exceptions over the years, I’ve often found myself rooting for players, teams and coaches from Montana’s league competitors. Never while they face the Griz, of course.

Such is the case with Portland State University men’s basketball coach Ken Bone who I would have named conference MVP for last season, if such an award could be given to a coach, no disrespect intended for the Big Sky’s true MVP, point guard Jeremiah Dominguez.

Of course Bone was named the Big Sky’s best coach last season, an award he deserved on several levels, prime of which was his ability to “get the best and the most” out of Dominguez and center Scott Morrison.

Bone is a member of that coaching fraternity that – instead of making his recruited players fit into HIS program – will yearly (or more often) adjust his own coaching philosophies to best match the skills his players bring to the program and the floor. And since those players change year by year, so does the the style of play of the team.

PHOTO: Montana's Kyle Sharp goes up for a shot in action from last season.

I suppose the year-to-year ideal for any coach would be to recruit players who best fit into his program. But it rarely happens that way (witness why so many players transfer to other schools nowadays). And though there are many successful coaches where their “My way or the highway” concept has worked very well, it’s always been fun (or frightening) to see what kind of team Bone will whip into shape as conference play rolls around.

Bone’s Vikings of 2008-09 already look more than capable of defending their conference title. The Vikings are already ranked as significantly stronger than any other Big Sky school, with a College Insider Mid-Major ranking of 17 and a USA Today Sagarin Ranking of 158. Only Weber State is close to PSU in the early rankings.

Saturday’s extra-early Big Sky conference matchup between Montana and PSU in Portland (read the Portland Oregonian account here) will give an early indication just how tough the Vikings will be this season. It will not be the best time or venue for Montana to have to “prove” that the teams’ last meeting was a fluke. But it may not be as important for Montana to prove something as it will be for the Vikings, charged with defending their home court record.

But Wayne Tinkle’s Montana Grizzlies – lest any critics overlook – did reasonably well against Bone’s defending champ Vikings last season, particularly in Portland. Everyone seems to focus upon PSU’s 108-56 dismantling of Montana at Dahlberg Arena last year. They conveniently forget that the Grizzlies’ 70-68 loss in Portland a month earlier could well have gone Montana’s way.

Montana looks for second road win at Big West leader Cal Riverside

Before the Montana Grizzlies embarked on their annual pre-Christmas California road trip, I had concluded that the Griz would have their best opportunity for a road win against Wednesday’s opponent, Cal Riverside, NOT the Fresno State Bulldogs, which the Griz beat 69-65 after leading by as many as 15 points.

Currently ranked as the Big West Conference team with the best non-conference record at 6-2, the  Highlanders had only beaten Big Sky schools Sac State by 12 (61-49), NAU by seven (59-52) and common Montana foe Southern Utah by four (67-63).

Those comparative scores are, I believe, within a range the Griz have measured up to so far this early season. On paper at least, Montana should be competitive with the Highlanders on their home floor.

Those Riverside home-court wins, however, all came before Southern Cal super soph transfer, guard Kyle Austin, became eligible to play. Austin played his first game for Riverside Monday, scored 20 points and led his steam to a 59-52 road win over Loyola Marymount.

Marymount is winless so far this season. But any road win is a special accomplishment and this one should bolster Riverside’s hopes to compete in the Big West this season.

Further research indicates that second-year coach Jim Woolridge (former head coach at Kansas State) is highly regarded for demanding top caliber defensive play from his teams.

Woolridge’s Highlanders have responded, and lead the Big West in scoring defense (54.0 per game), scoring margin (+3.1) and rebound margin (+6.4). Additionally, the Highlanders have limited opponents to 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from three point range.

A significant number of Woolridge’s coaching peers evidently believe the second year coach will make an impact this season and have given Riverside votes in the coach-voted Mid Major Poll (11). No other Big West school received any votes in this week’s poll.

Along with Austin, two JC transfers – Javon Borum and Brandon Dowdy) have played well so far.

PHOTOS: Montana point guard Anthony Johnson, going up for two against Texas Arlington. Ryan Staudacher (bottom) leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage and scored 15 points Sunday against Fresno State.

Nonetheless, Montana seems to match up well with Riverside. I’ve been writing about Montana’s size advantage in the low blocks for two full years and there are glimmers that the Griz are starting to make smaller teams pay in the paint.

Lady Griz survive body blow; beat tough Denver squad

Tom Stage’s radio play-by-play gave a pretty good mind’s eye view of the battle. A bloody nose to Sonya Rogers. Mandy Morales constantly getting slowed down by grab & jabs. Sarah Ena and Britney Lohman doing battle on the boards and in the paint. And Jessa Linford taking the brunt of a charging foul at a critical juncture of the game.

Montana coach Robin Selvig’s post-game comments with Stage were clearer still. The Lady Griz took a body blow late in the first half, and slid even more in early second-half play to a 13-point deficit against the Denver Pioneers.

But Selvig spoke with clear admiration of the ability of his team to shrug off the physical play and numerous “no-calls” to rebound for a 68-63 win over the Pioneers.

It wasn’t until 48 seconds remained – when Ena rebounded a miss by Lauren Beck, scored the put-back and sank a free throw – that the Lady Griz finally took a 63-60 lead, their first since midway through the first half.

Though Montana lost two games on a neutral court at the tough Caribbean Challenge tourney in Cancun, Mexico, this win means the Lady Griz have gone undefeated on the road in preseason play.

 Friday’s 4 p.m. confrontation with an excellent Gonzaga team may go a long way to give the Lady Griz mid-major (or even top 25) ranking. That game promises to be a battle as well.

Selvig didn’t outright say so, but this Montana Lady Griz squad has the opportunity to be one of the best in Montana Lady Griz history. That is truly saying a lot.

PHOTOS: Britney Lohman (top) pulls down a rebound against Boise State earlier in the season. Lohman tied Lauren Beck with eight rebounds to lead the Lady Griz, who out-rebounded Denver44-31. Sonya Rogers (#10) drives to the bucket against Colorado State. Rogers led both squads wisth 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting, 3-for-5 from three point range.

GAME BOX SCORE

Read Joel Carlson's game story here.

Montana's 4-point road breakthrough: another 'view'

Though most college teams will happily settle for a win of "any" kind on the road, it's encouraging to see that the Montana Grizzlies did a lot of things right in their four-point, 69-65 road breakthrough at Fresno State Sunday.

The win might be a matter of perspective, I guess. Did the Griz "barely hold on for the win?" Or did they "weather a furious Fresno rally?" A little of both, perhaps. But I'll take the latter in a breakthrough against a young team fresh off of a road win against Pacific.

Leading by 54-39 with just over nine minutes remaining, Montana was outscored 26-15 by Fresno over the final eight minutes. But there's an interesting account in the Fresno Bee that credits Montana's game-long defensive intensity. And that's exactly what Montana needs to build upon if it intends to challenge for the Big Sky title.

Most interesting, however, is that Montana beat the Bulldogs by making 11-of-14 freethrows, nine during the last 56 seconds of play. Junior wing Jack McGillis sank 7-of-8 while junior Anthony Johnson made two. Missesd freethrows contributed directly to a home loss to Santa Clara just a week earlier.

But there were encouraging stats in a number of other areas which support the account in the Bee. More on those stats later.

Semester finals over, Griz face final pre-season road-trip exams

At the completion of finals week the Montana Grizzlies move on to a two-game semester-ending exam which will help determine their standing heading into an extra-early start of conference play at Portland State next Saturday, Dec. 20.

 Sporting a 5-4 preseason record so far, one that could easily be 6-3 – if not for a last-shot loss to Santa Clara –  the Grizzlies have shown signs that seven newcomers are finding their roles and that defensive intensity – a weakness last season – is slowly providing the Griz the catalyst for competitive play.

The single setback this week – the probationary loss of senior point guard Ceylon Elgin Taylor for at least two games – may actually end up benefitting the team in the long run, even though it will hurt the team’s chances at notching a road win or two.

PHOTO: Montana's success in Big Sky Conference play may well depend upon continued development by newcomers Jack McGillis (#44) and Anthony Johnson (#23). McGillis was the catalyst on this play: he knocked the ball loose, allowing Johnson to take it the distance for an early-offense layup in Montana's 67-65 win over Texas Arlington. Montana's Kyle Sharp is in the background.

That’s because two of the positions with questions remaining to be answered – point guard and shooting guard – will see some new lineup combos in contests on the road against Fresno State and Cal State Riverside because of Elgin-Taylor’s absence.

And the more on-court experience that back-court backups, JC transfer Anthony Johnson and sophomore transfer Michael Taylor get, the more versatile Montana’s attack will become by the time Big Sky play cranks up full-steam in early January.

Junior two-guard Ryan Staudacher – the Big Sky’s best three-point shooter with 2.67 per game at 63% – has improved his defensive game steadily as the starter at shooting guard.

But both Johnson and Taylor have played well enough to earn more time on-court, and both have rotated between the point and shooting guard slots. Each guard gives the Montana offense a unique look. That's good, of course, but it’s been confusing at times. Still, it’s been fun to watch unfold, since each guard takes a unique set of skills onto the court that makes defending the Griz a tough task. The competition among the four guards has been intense. The roles have yet to be solidified.

Though the Griz will surely miss ET’s experience and leadership (Montana coach Wayne Tinkle did not specify why the senior is not accompanying the team) both Johnson and Taylor are capable of strong play at both positions. The road trip unfolds another dimension in the back-court as well... the steady improvement (in practice) of freshman point guard Shawn Stockton.

Though assistant coach Nate DuChesne told me that Stockton’s “frosh” physical conditioning has limited his playing time, Stockton has steadily worked his way into the guard-mix and possesses unique point-guard skills, particularly as a passer. Since Stockton is the single Griz guard whose skillsets are closest to the definition of a “classic” point guard, his continued development will surely help the Griz as the season progresses.

The best thing to see against Fresno State and Cal Riverside would be the kind of combined guard play that leads to at least one road win from the two games. Fresno State will be a very tough opponent... but no tougher than Santa Clara. A breakout game from Johnson, Taylor or Stockton could be the catalyst – not only for a win or two – but for team depth going into conference play.

There are other concerns, particularly at wing where juniors Jack McGillis and Vanny Bassy have struggled at times. When Montana gets offensive production from either or both of those quick, physical players, they’ll be tough to beat, no matter how things shake out at the two guard spots.

In the meantime, the last two nonconference road games, minus their senior point-guard Elgin-Taylor, will be a semester final of sorts for the Griz. How well Montana does against Fresno State and Cal Riverside, may well determine how the Griz fare against the 6-1 defending Big Sky champ Vikings on Saturday.

There’s still time. Montana has two nonconference games (Utah Valley State in Missoula and Washington in Seattle) before things really crank up. But the first week in January is looming with three-straight conference home games.

By then there’ll be no looking back; the Griz will have to have their “A-Game” ready. 

Montana second-half defense shuts down Colorado State, 68-53

Though Mandy Morales has long reserved a place among that select assembly of elite Lady Griz point guards, any doubters would be well advised to get a ticket to watch her guide her Montana team toward yet another bid for the Big Sky conference championship.

A mere day after being named the Big Sky Conference women’s Player of the Week for the ninth time In her stellar career, Morales scored 16 points, dished eight assists, snared nine rebounds and led Montana to another double-digits 68-53 win, this time over the Colorado State Rams before a sizeable mid-week crowd of 3020 appreciative fans.

On another night where the visitors focused -- with some success -- on stopping Montana post Britney Lohman and long-range shooting ace Sonya Rogers, Morales took control. When she wasn’t notching an assist on dribble-enter drives down the right baseline, she posted up and shot over her defenders.

Though Selvig was a bit surprised at Colorado State’s 10-for-17 shooting from beyond the arc, he was pleased with Montana’s offensive attack at the other end.

“If you’re going to be a good team you’ve got to have a lot of weapons,” said Montana coach Robin Selvig. “I mean... other teams worked really hard to take Mandy and Sonya out of there. It’s hard to do if other people can do things,” he said.

“We were getting what they were giving us,” Selvig added.  “You know, they were covering down on some people, and of course when we hit Mandy in the post she’s good at finding the right person. And if they make the shots, then we’re in good shape.”

The main recipient of Morales’ assists was usually forwards Lauren Beck, and Sarah Ena. Beck sank several mid-range jumpers on the left side. Ena – though good on only 4-for-12 from the paint - scored on several quick pivots and a couple of pull-up jumpers from near the free throw line.

Joining Morales in double figures were forwards Beck and Ena with thirteen each in a contest where the Lady Griz were never really challenged, and allowed Selvig to give playing time to 12 players, nine of whom scored.

Guard Kim Mestdagh led the Rams with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 6-8 from beyond the three point arc, but no other Colorado State player scored more than eight.

PHOTOS: Montana point guard Mandy Morales drives the baseline against Colorado State. On this play, Morales dished to forward Jessa Linford for a jumper. (Middle) Morales, just after getting one of her game-leading nine rebounds. (Below) Montana forward Sarah Ena posts up for two of her 13 points on the night. Ena made 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

After allowing the Rams to shoot 44 percent from the field during the first half, the Lady Griz clamped down on defense and pulled steadily away, limiting the Rams to 35 percent in the second half and leading by as many as 20 at one point midway through the second half.

The Rams outrebounded Montana 42-36, but nearly every other statistical category tilted steeply in Montana’s favor, particularly in turnovers where the Lady Griz commited only eight compared to 20 for the visitors.

Reserves Jessa Linford and Shaunte Nance-Johnson played well off the bench.

Montana will now host Portland Saturday at 7 p.m. before heading to Denver for a single road game Dec. 17.

PHOTO: Reserve Stephanie Stender goes up for a shot in second-half action. Stender was fouled on the play and made both free throw shots. Stender had three rebounds and a steal for the game.

Montana Lady Griz celebrate Selvig's 700th with #702

Though Montana Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig would be the last person to want a game like Sunday’s 72-51 victory over the Boise State Broncos, his recent mark of 700 career victories as a college basketball coach became the main story on this day.

The Lady Griz win was actually number 702, but since numbers 700 and 701 came in Cancun, Mexico and Eugene, Oregon, Montana’s crowd was happy enough to fete him with an extended standing ovation prior to tipoff.

Selvig’s players orchestrated the ceremony, and it was an emotional one, not only for coach and players, but for the large and loud crowd of 4543 fans, many of whom have been faithful Lady Griz fans since he got his first win as a coach.

PHOTOS: Sonya Rogers (Top) and Mandy Morales each scored 20 points to lead the Lady Griz. Morales led Montana with 14 rebounds while Rogers had three steals, two assists and a block.

As a result, the Lady Griz started the game and played the first half as if they were distracted. Which they were. Montana struggled simply getting into the flow of the game, and a 33-29 halftime lead reflected an 0-11 shooting percentage from three point range.

It took all of three second half possessions to re-direct the game’s course. Point guard Mandy Morales nailed two treys and a putback jumper and Sonya Rogers buried another three-point laser and Montana broke to a 15-point, 44-29 lead by the 16:36 mark of the second half.

Barely three minutes later the lead had ballooned to 56-33 and the game was in hand. Selvig shuttled every player on his bench continuously over the next 12 minutes for the easy win.

Pendulum swings Montana's way in 67-65 win over Texas Arlington

In a game with as many double-edged pendulum swings as some gothic horror story, the Montana Grizzlies somehow survived three blown Texas Arlington shots in a chaotic fray under the Mustangs’ basket during the final five seconds of play, and escaped with a 67-65 heart-stopper in the final game of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Grizzly Classic before 2597 fans Saturday.

The Mustangs’ final foray at the basket came after Griz guard – and tourney MVP – Anthony Johnson lost the ball out of bounds with 15 seconds remaining on a baseline scramble as he attempted to drive the baseline for an insurance bucket.

The Mustangs got the ball quickly to their workhorse Anthony Vereen in the paint. Vereen - who had been good as gold for the Mustangs all night – posted up for a rare miss, followed by a rebound and miss by forward Tommy Moffit, and finally a block of Moffit’s second shot by Griz Kyle Sharp before Montana forward Jordan Hasquet snared the rebound with a mere tick left to secure the Montana win.

The final episode was no more climactic in pace and drama than the previous 39-plus minutes were in a wildly shifting game where the lead changed 16 times, was tied four times, saw each team lose grasp on eight-point leads, and even saw Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle rip his sports jacket off in classic Jud Heathcote fashion and toss it over the Montana bench.

The sports jacket didn’t return to its rightful position on Tinkle’s frame until after the awards ceremony, when Hasquet, all-tourney team trophy in hand, assisted Tinkle by straightening a sleeve and helping his coach put the jacket back on.

PHOTOS: Montana point guard Ceylon Elgin Taylor drives past Texas Arlington's Marquez Haynes for two of his seven points. (Bottom) Montana post Brian Qvale had three blocks and two assists to go with his six points and four rebounds.

That’s because a seemingly comfortable eight-point 63-55 Montana lead with 3:20 remaining – built by point guard Ceylon Elgin Taylor’s efficient management of the Griz passing game for buckets by post Brian Qvale, wing Jack McGillis and Johnson - disappeared in the span of 50 fleeting seconds.

The Montana lead had been built up while Vereen and Haynes took their only breathers of the night. When they returned to action, the Montana lead vanished. Haynes quickly nailed two treys from the tip of the key, the second a four-pointer when he was fouled by Montana forward Jack McGillis. Suddenly Montana’s lead was down to one, at 63-62.

Qvale scored moments later from a laser-sharp feed by Elgin Taylor and Hasquet made two free throws seconds later. The four points would be enough on this night.

“You know, we certainly didn’t feel like it should have come down to the last possession.,” said Tinkle after the awards ceremony. “We’ve got an eight point lead with three minutes to go and we made a couple of errors.

Montana escapes with 67-65 thriller over Texas Arlington

Guard Anthony Johnson scored 16 points and forward Jordan Hasquet added 13 to lead the Montana Grizzlies to a 67-65 win over the Texas Arlington Mustangs in the final game of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Grizzly Basketball Classic in UM’s Dahlberg Arena in front of 2597 fans Saturday.

Johnson was named tourney MVP while Hasquet joined him on the all tourney team.

PHOTOS: Montana guard Anthony Johnson scoops up the ball at midcourt after forward Jack McGillis (right) knocked it loose. Johnson scored on a breakaway layup on the play. (Bottom photo) Jordan Hasquet looks for a cutter in the key. Hasquet led the Montana with six assists.

Forward Anthony Vereen shot 8-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three point range, to lead the Mustangs, who fell to 4-3 with the loss. Guards Marquez Haynes and Roge'r Guignard combined for 36 points, mostly from well beyond the three point arc, for the Mustangs.

The three Arlington starters all played 38 minutes for the Mustangs, combining for all two of the Mustangs' tota.

Ten Montana players saw action and eight scored to lead Montana's bench to a 26-0 margin over the Mustangs bench. Montana outrebounded the Mustangs 26-25, while each team had 14 turnovers.

The Grizzlies shot 55 percent from the field, while holding the Mustangs to 42.6 percent, though the Mustangs shot a deadly 10-for-17 from beyond the three point arc compared to Montana's 5-for-15.

Joining Johnson and Hasquet on the all tourney team were Mustangs Vereen and Haynes and Denver University guard Kyle Lewis.

With the win Montana evened its record at 4-4 on the season and gets a week off for final exams before hitting the road on an extended road trip that concludes with its first conference tilt of the season, Dec. 20 at Portland State.

Full story and more photos will be posted later tonight.

Denver nips Texas Arlington 67-65 in Montana hoops classic

 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.

Sharp kick-starts Montana to a 63-44 tourney win over Denver

Montana forward Kyle Sharp scored 13 points on a dominating 5-for-6 shooting performace in the paint and the Grizzlies used a suffocating zone defense to transform a 27-26 halftime lead to a 63-44 walk-away over the Denver University Pioneers in the first game of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Grizzly Basketball Classic before 3054 fans Thursday.

The game’s first 10 minutes were still a struggle for Montana, which played its third game in four days. Denver jumped to a quick 11-5 lead behind the dead-eye shooting of guard Nate Rohnert and forward Rob Lewis. Rohnert scored on several quick back-door plays down the key and two treys from the tip of the key.

With 11 minutes remaining and a media timeout, Montana coaches substituted four players into the game. That’s when Sharp made his first impart.

Sharp literally kick-started the sluggish Montana offense with several nifty pump-fake and pivot moves for scores in the paint, which then quickly opened things up on areas of the floor as the Grizzlies pulled even with young Pioneers for the remainder of the half.

PHOTOS: Kyle Sharp posts up against Denver player Nate Rohnert for two of his 13 points against. (below) Reserve power forward Derek Selvig drives past a high post screen by Sharp for two of his seven points.

Though Montana maintained a lead in the early going of the first half, it was Sharp again who had a hand in a 20-5 run midway through the second half. The Grizzlies did it in the paint and on high post drives to the bucket.

“With the posts we needed to duck and seal more,” said Sharp. “If we’re standing around it’s tough for the guards to penetrate and get us the ball. So when we’re moving around and get things moving, we can make plays.”

A power post-up layup and free throw by Sharp at the 11:37 mark of the second half gave Montana a 41-32 lead, which was quickly extended to 44-32 on a Jordan Hasquet trey and the Grizzlies pulled away to a 49-32 lead before the Pioneers would score again.

When Sharp wasn’t scoring off of post-up moves, he was often in the middle of the action, setting a screen near the free throw line which resulted in dribble-enter plays by several teammates who were playing the high post.

“The high posts did a great job. Jack (McGillis), Jordan, Derek (Selvig),” said Sharp.  “They get the ball in the high post. And they’re like guards out there passing the ball. If they can do that every time I’ll seal them and try to get easy baskets for us,”Sharp said.

Hasquet, Staudacher, Sharp lead Griz past North Dakota, 83-63

Power forward Jordan Hasquet scored 22 points on a variety of power moves in the low blocks while off-guard Ryan Staudacher nailed 6-of-7 shots from three-point range to lead the Montana Grizzlies to an 83-63 victory over the North Dakota Sioux at Dahlberg Arena Tuesday.

Hasquet credited Montana’s win to its defensive effort, particularly in light of the struggles the team had in a three point loss to Santa Clara on Sunday.

“Overall our focus was mainly defense,” said Hasquet. “But we were a lot more focused this game, this time around.

“We really wanted to come out,” said Hasquet. “Because... a few games we’ve had here we haven’t come out with the intensity we need and we were battling back and by the time it gets to that point in the second half we’re already down too much. We needed to come out and set the tone early and get the early lead.”

PHOTO: Montana's Kyle Sharp (#40) and Ceylon Elgin Taylor grab a reound over North Dakota's Daniel Harkins in Montana's 83-63 win over the Sioux Tuesday. Sharp had eight rebounds in the game.

Hasquet credited reserve post Kyle Sharp for providing an instant kick start on the defensive end early in the game.

“Sharp really set the tone there,” said Hasquet.

Defensive struggles hinder Montana's hoops progress

If I were to write an early season analysis critical of Montana’s cumbersome start to the 2008-09 men's hoops season (and I am NOT; this is not that column), it would be difficult for me to be more critical of the Grizzlies than Montana’s own players and coaches have been.

In public, on record, usually in post-game interviews, several Griz players have been bluntly self-critical. Coaches, particularly head coach Wayne Tinkle, have taken a broader, more diplomatic view... with the same candid conclusion.

Montana’s problems revolve around defense, and the key areas of play that affect defensive results. It’s too early to use statistical averages to make sweeping predictions. Nonetheless, there are some giant red flags whipping around these Montana Grizzlies.

PHOTO: Montana's Jack McGillis defends Santa Clara wing Michael Santos.

Early statistical numbers support the notion that Montana’s defense and rebounding require significant foundational repair over the next three weeks if the Griz expect to be Big Sky contenders when conference play rolls around.

Without belaboring this early season’s Big Sky statistical indicators, a quick rundown of six key areas shows Montana’s Big Sky Conference rank as follows:

• Scoring Defense: 6th (71.3)
• Field Goal Defense: 6th (.463
• Three Point FG defense: 7th (4.17)
• Rebounding: 9th (a whopping -4.5 pg.)
• Steals: 8th (3.33)
• Blocks: 2nd (3.67)

Those numbers rank Montana at a defensive average of seventh in the nine-team Big Sky Conference.

So what if no other Big Sky team has played Duke? Can’t make that excuse this year. Montana’s non-conference slate is NOT tougher than the schedule of any other Big Sky school, particularly Eastern Washington’s or Idaho State’s.

All that being said, I’m not cashing in any chips just yet.