On a night when the Montana Grizzlies weathered two furious Idaho State rallies – one of them with the help of ISU Coach Joe O’Brien – it was the cool demeanor and hot hand of All Big Sky senior guard Anthony Johnson that eventually propelled the Grizzlies to a runaway 91-68 Big Sky Conference win over the Bengals before 3761 fans at Dahlberg Arena Saturday.
With the Grizzlies nursing a 56-46 lead, Johnson literally took command of the game at the tail end of a chaotic span midway through the second half... a bizarre stretch that included three Idaho State technicals (two on O’Brien, forcing his ejection), a flagrant foul on each team, and a bushel-full of Montana turnovers caused by a briefly effective Bengals’ full-court trapping zone press.
With 10:51 remaining in the game, Johnson calmly stepped to the line and sank two free throws after ISU’s Austin Kilpatrick was whistled for a flagrant foul and an
ensuing technical.
Then – after Vassy Banny (who had been fouled by Kilpatrick) made both free throws – Johnson proceeded to score 10 straight points on two three-point daggers from the tip of the key and four more points on free throws after being fouled by ISU defenders.
After the steam cleared a mere two minutes later, with Montana’s lead exploding to 70-48, the senior floor general – with a season high 30 points under his belt – took the bench at the 8:03 mark to a rousing ovation from the Montana crowd.
“That’s something we’ve got to clean up if we’re going to win our next four,” said Johnson. “A couple of lazy passes, one by me... or a couple by me, actually. Just mental lapses that we can’t have if we expect to win.”
Montana coach Wayne Tinkle was more complimentary. “Credit to our guys for staying focused by and large,” said Tinkle. “Other than a couple of spurts during the game when we had to bring them back on page, I thought their focus was really, really good.”
Montana had taken a commanding 16-9 first-half lead by getting the ball to its muscular 6’-11’ junior post Brian Qvale, who scored 10 of those 16 points on two dunks and a variety of other point-blank buckets.
The Bengals couldn’t stop Qvale, so they switched to a trapping zone defense. The change in defense blunted Montana’s charge, even though the Grizzlies maintained distance that was good enough for a 38-30 halftime lead.
Though the Bengals used a variety of zone and full-court zone looks throughout the game, Montana was still effective in the key. Qvale finished with 18 points on 8-for-8 from the field, many of his buckets coming off of assists from forward Derek Selvig, who was scoreless but tied freshman guard Will Cherry with six assists.
Barely into the second half, O’Brien was whistled for two quick technicals and promptly left the court, Johnson sank three of the four free throws and Montana led by 13.
But the Bengals – behind inspired play and 22 points from junior guard Broderick Gilchrest – fought back with several mini-rallies in the early stages. When the speedy guard wasn’t driving and scoring, he was dishing to front-court players Chron Tatum (13 points) or Demetrius Monroe (10 points).
Senior guard Kilpatrick added 13 points on a variety of pull-up jumpers.
Whenever the Bengals narrowed the gap to single digits, Montana was able to respond. Until Kilpatrick’s foul and technical.
On paper, Montana dominated, shooting 65.3 percent from the field to ISU’s 47.9%, wresting a 30-20 margin on the boards, and getting 17 assists from its half court offense. Montana got 24 points from its bench players compared to ISU’s 10. Fouls were a near wash, with Montana whistled for 18 compared to 17 for the Bengals.
Significantly, the Grizzlies never trailed, and when the Bengals rallied, their efforts were never quite enough.
That, to Tinkle, was an important aspect that led to Montana’s final margin.
“We’ve really bought in here lately to win the mental and physical battles,” said Tinkle. “We had two tough teams. I don’t think there were any cheap shots either way. I thought the game was controlled really well in the second half... Obviously, we reacted pretty positively. We didn’t make big deals when we were fouled hard, went to the line, tried to make them pay and to, you know... just to continue to play that physical style of basketball and not back down,” said Tinkle.
So, with Johnson’s final offensive flurry, the Grizzlies coasted to their seventh win over their last eight Big Sky games... at 8-4 that’s good enough for sole possession of third place behind league-leading Weber, four-point victors over Montana State, and Northern Colorado, which plays Sunday.
Montana now hits the road for important games at Portland State and Eastern Washington, games they’ll have to win to keep pace with the Wildcats and Bears.
The Bengals, at 3-8 and in seventh place, need a major turnaround to qualify for post-season seeding.
With 10:51 remaining in the game, Johnson calmly stepped to the line and sank two free throws after ISU’s Austin Kilpatrick was whistled for a flagrant foul and an
Then – after Vassy Banny (who had been fouled by Kilpatrick) made both free throws – Johnson proceeded to score 10 straight points on two three-point daggers from the tip of the key and four more points on free throws after being fouled by ISU defenders.
After the steam cleared a mere two minutes later, with Montana’s lead exploding to 70-48, the senior floor general – with a season high 30 points under his belt – took the bench at the 8:03 mark to a rousing ovation from the Montana crowd.
The exhausted Bengals, minus their coach and senior leader Amorrow Morgan (out with a sprained ankle suffered Friday), seemed to concede the game as Montana expanded its lead to as many as 28 points, before settling for the 23-point win.
PHOTOS: Montana senior guard Anthony Johnson (Top) is fouled by ISU guard Broderick Gilchrist on a drive to the bucket in first half play. Johnson led all scorers with 30 points. (Second photo) Montana freshman guard Will Cherry scored on this drive past defender Gilchrist to the bucket midway through the second half. Cherry had seven points and six assists. (Third photo) Montana junior wing Raason Young scores two of his nine points on this second half drive past Chron Tatum to the bucket. (Bottom) Brian Qvale scored 18 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting against ISU. Here he scores a tally over ISU defender Demetrius Monroe.
“That’s something we’ve got to clean up if we’re going to win our next four,” said Johnson. “A couple of lazy passes, one by me... or a couple by me, actually. Just mental lapses that we can’t have if we expect to win.”
Montana coach Wayne Tinkle was more complimentary. “Credit to our guys for staying focused by and large,” said Tinkle. “Other than a couple of spurts during the game when we had to bring them back on page, I thought their focus was really, really good.”
Montana had taken a commanding 16-9 first-half lead by getting the ball to its muscular 6’-11’ junior post Brian Qvale, who scored 10 of those 16 points on two dunks and a variety of other point-blank buckets.
The Bengals couldn’t stop Qvale, so they switched to a trapping zone defense. The change in defense blunted Montana’s charge, even though the Grizzlies maintained distance that was good enough for a 38-30 halftime lead.
Though the Bengals used a variety of zone and full-court zone looks throughout the game, Montana was still effective in the key. Qvale finished with 18 points on 8-for-8 from the field, many of his buckets coming off of assists from forward Derek Selvig, who was scoreless but tied freshman guard Will Cherry with six assists.
Barely into the second half, O’Brien was whistled for two quick technicals and promptly left the court, Johnson sank three of the four free throws and Montana led by 13.
But the Bengals – behind inspired play and 22 points from junior guard Broderick Gilchrest – fought back with several mini-rallies in the early stages. When the speedy guard wasn’t driving and scoring, he was dishing to front-court players Chron Tatum (13 points) or Demetrius Monroe (10 points).
Senior guard Kilpatrick added 13 points on a variety of pull-up jumpers.
Whenever the Bengals narrowed the gap to single digits, Montana was able to respond. Until Kilpatrick’s foul and technical.
On paper, Montana dominated, shooting 65.3 percent from the field to ISU’s 47.9%, wresting a 30-20 margin on the boards, and getting 17 assists from its half court offense. Montana got 24 points from its bench players compared to ISU’s 10. Fouls were a near wash, with Montana whistled for 18 compared to 17 for the Bengals.
Significantly, the Grizzlies never trailed, and when the Bengals rallied, their efforts were never quite enough.
That, to Tinkle, was an important aspect that led to Montana’s final margin.
“We’ve really bought in here lately to win the mental and physical battles,” said Tinkle. “We had two tough teams. I don’t think there were any cheap shots either way. I thought the game was controlled really well in the second half... Obviously, we reacted pretty positively. We didn’t make big deals when we were fouled hard, went to the line, tried to make them pay and to, you know... just to continue to play that physical style of basketball and not back down,” said Tinkle.
So, with Johnson’s final offensive flurry, the Grizzlies coasted to their seventh win over their last eight Big Sky games... at 8-4 that’s good enough for sole possession of third place behind league-leading Weber, four-point victors over Montana State, and Northern Colorado, which plays Sunday.
Montana now hits the road for important games at Portland State and Eastern Washington, games they’ll have to win to keep pace with the Wildcats and Bears.
The Bengals, at 3-8 and in seventh place, need a major turnaround to qualify for post-season seeding.
