Montana overcame a nine-point first half deficit and held onto the lead down the stretch in Fargo for the first road win of the year. The Grizzlies got a career-high 27 points from Josh Bannan and charged past the Bison in the second half to get back to 5-5 on the season with an 82-75 win.
It also improved the Grizzlies to 3-0 against the Summit League on the season, making it back-to-back wins against the Dakota State schools that have dominated the league for the past decade. They defeated South Dakota State by 25 in Missoula on Tuesday.
The offense led the way yet again, as Montana set a season-high for points in the second consecutive game with 82. Bannan played a huge part in that, along with Brandon Whitney and Aanen Moody who both reached double-figures. The trio combined for 66 of Montana’s 82 points.
Bannan did it all in the second half, scoring off the dribble, knocking down jumpers and backing his defender down. The Bison rarely threw double teams at him, as Whitney and Moody were both lurking as threats. The open space was by design for the Griz, who had five shooters on the floor for much of the second half, and paid dividends. He scored 20 of his 27 in the final period.
“We knew in space they were going to have a hard time containing Bannan, or Whitney. We gave the ball to Bannan in space and let him get around the guys,” head coach Travis DeCuire said. “He had better foot speed and mobility than those two. I don’t think they are accustomed to guarding away from the basket so Bannan found some advantages in our space offensively.”
The trio got off to a hot start, combining for the first eight points for Montana. They had four baskets on four possessions, and led 11-3 at one point after a three from Bannan. He had seven points in the first few minutes, but foul trouble would test Montana’s depth in the first half.
North Dakota State started to climb back into the game, and eventually worked it back to an 18-18 tie after the Bison made 6-of-8 shots during a run. The momentum continued for the home side, who upped the run to 10-2 and took a 24-20 lead. After a 1-for-8 start from the field, North Dakota State made 10 of their next 18 shots and increased the lead to as much as nine points in the first half.
As Montana’s offense sputtered a bit, Whitney put his head down and took over. He scored 12 points in the first half, getting to the line five times as well, to keep the Griz in it.
“We put a lot of pressure on Whitney to kind of carry us offensively. Move some bodies around and get him to the rim, and he did that. He went 4-for-5 in the first half, and those 12 points were huge just to keep us in the game.”
The Grizzlies were able to cut the lead back down to four at the break, as Laolu Oke rose up for a huge rejection defensively on the last play of the half. Oke played a season-high 13 minutes, coming in and helping defensively against some athletic big men for NDSU. Mack Anderson also played well off the bench, bringing physicality and matching his season-high with seven rebounds, six of which came in the first half.
“We knew the way the first four minutes went with our starters in the game that our five was better than their five, we just needed to keep them on the floor,” DeCuire said. “We knew if we could get to halftime and keep the game in reach that the first four minutes of the second half were going to determine the outcome of the game.”
North Dakota State made a couple of threes late to make it interesting, but one of the best teams in the country at the free throw line took care of business down the stretch to hold on for the win. Montana shot 17-of-21 (81 percent) from the free throw line in the game. Still, it was the only area of the game where they were outmatched on the box score as NDSU made seven more free throws on 11 more attempts.
It provided a sweep of the week for Montana against South Dakota State and North Dakota State, a pair of teams that have combined to win 10 of the last 11 Summit League Championships. A league that is at a similar level of the Big Sky, the wins give DeCuire and his team a potential look at what the future holds when conference play starts at the end of the month.
“The biggest thing about this week is South Dakota State and North Dakota State are like opponents. They are like conference games, and if you can sweep the week, you put yourself in position to compete,” DeCuire said. “The teams that sweep the most weeks win championships.”
The win brings Montana to its final road trip of the non-conference season. They will take on Prairie View A&M in the Coaches Vs. Racism tournament in Houston on Dec. 17 before closing out non-conference play against nationally ranked Gonzaga on Dec. 20.
