THE MATCHUP
The Montana men took a four-game winning streak to Ogden, Utah to face surging first-place Weber State, a team that had won seven in a row after suffering its lone Big Sky Conference loss to UM in Missoula on New Year’s Day.
THE RESULT
Koby McEwen erupted for a game-high 32 points to help lead Weber State to an 80-75 win over the Griz at the Dee Special Events center on Thursday night. The win boosts WSU to 11-1 in league play, 18-5 overall. Montana is now 8-3 in conference play, 15-7 overall.
THE STANDOUTS
McEwen, a Marquette transfer who is one of the leading scorers in the conference, got himself to the free throw line at will throughout the game. The 6-foot-4 McEwen muscled his way to a season-high point total thanks in large part to converting 19 of his 20 free throw attempts.
Montana sophomore Brandon Whitney has emerged as one of the top defensive players in the league. He held Idaho’s Mikey Dixon scoreless last Thursday when Dixon came to Missoula averaging more than 18 points per game. Whitney helped hold Eastern Washington leading scorer Steele Venters (18.6 points per game) to just five points. \
But Thursday, McEwen got cooking early, scoring 11 of Weber’s first 15 points. He finished 5-of-12 from the floor and hit three 3-pointers but scored most of his points at the charity stripe on an evening Weber went 26-of-29 from the free throw line.
With the game tied at 67, Dillon Jones converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4:07 left. Jones then snared a steal, one of 11 turnovers for Montana Thursday, but the hosts could not convert it to points. After a Robby Beasley missed 3-pointer — he went 3-of-6 from deep on a night the sophomore scored 16 points — Weber center Dontay Bassett drilled his lone 3-pointer of the evening to push the lead to 73-67 with exactly three minutes left.
Lonnell Martin Jr. answered with Montana’s 7th and final 3-pointer of the night. But Jones, who finished with 18 points, converted in the paint to keep UM’s rally at bay and McEwen hit five of six free throws in the final 87 seconds to help Weber avoid being swept by the Griz this regular season.
Jones added 11 rebounds to go with his 18 points. Montana sophomore Josh Bannan notched his ninth double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Griz. Whitney scored 13 while dishing out four assists, Martin hit three 3-pointers and chipped in 11 while Cam Parker scored 10 points for the Griz.
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SOCIAL
WHAT’S NEXT
Montana has the weekend off because Idaho State postponed the game against the Griz because of Covid issues within the ISU program. Weber State hosts Montana State on Saturday. The Wildcats beat the Bobcats 85-75 in Bozeman earlier this season. Montana State is riding a seven-game winning streak and has won 12 of its last 13.
