The race for second place will come down to the final Monday of the season in Big Sky Conference men’s basketball.
Eastern Washington’s men claimed their second straight outright Big Sky championship by beating Montana on Thursday night. That plus Weber State’s overtime win over Northern Colorado meant that the Eagles take the No. 1 seed into next week’s Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho but the Griz, Bears and Wildcats remained tied entering Saturday’s action for second place.
That tie remains after Montana made short work of Idaho in Moscow, Weber State blasted Northern Arizona to celebrate the final home game for superstar Dillon Jones and Northern Colorado rode Saint Thomas to a nail-biting win over Idaho State in Pocatello.
That means UNC, WSU and UM are tied at 11-6 in league play entering the final day of the regular season on Monday. Because of tie-breakers, Weber sits in second place and Northern Colorado in third. The Wildcats swept the Bears this season, while UNC swept Montana. The Griz have a win over Weber State but were swept by Eastern Washington, who Weber also beat.
All four teams are assured to finish in the top four and get the subsequent byes that comes with the finish. The battle for fifth (and a bye) remains alive as well with Montana State sitting at 8-9 in league while Portland State, Northern Arizona and Idaho State are all tied at 7-10.
Montana 80, Idaho 57
Montana hung tough in Cheney Thursday night but eventually fell to EWU, costing the Griz (and the Bears & Wildcats) the Big Sky title.
Saturday, Montana took out its frustrations on the Vandals in one of the Grizzlies’ most dominant performances of the year. The Griz shot 53 percent from the floor and 50 percent (9-of-18) from beyond the arc. UM won the battle of the boards 38-24 and led from start to finish to earn its 20th win overall.
The 20-win season is the fifth under 10th-year head coach Travis DeCuire, which is a Montana record. DeCuire’s 10 seasons at the helm (2014-2024) marks the second-longest tenure in Griz hoops history, behind George Dahlberg (1937–42, 1944–55).
“It’s been huge. It says a lot about the players that we have in our program and the staff and the work that everyone puts in,” DeCuire said in a UM press release. “It’s been unfortunate the last four years in that we haven’t played a full schedule, so when you look at those 17 and 18 wins when you’re only playing 29 games it’s been difficult to get to that point.”
DeCuire made a bit more history with the win, improving to 124-58 in Big Sky play in his career. His 124 wins are the second-most in conference history as he passes former Montana State coach Mick Durham, who went 123-117 in 17 years at MSU. He now trails only Weber State’s Randy Rahe in the league’s history.
Aanen Moody hit eight 3-pointers and scored 35 points on Thursday in Cheney. He stayed hot in Moscow, drilling four 3-pointers and shooting 9-of-15 overall on the way to a game-high 22 points.
“There is a level of desperation that he’s playing with and like I say, it’s better to be hot in March than it is in November,” DeCuire said on Moody.
Dischon Thomas continued his All-Big Sky campaign, pouring in 20 points to go with six rebounds. And Te’Jon Sawyer led the bench charge with 14 points in reserve duty.
Montana still has not lost consecutive games in conference play.
“Our hunger and attention to detail, but really just our willingness to commit to the defensive side of the ball,” DeCuire said of the keys to the bounce back. “There was a level of physicality that we didn’t play with on Thursday, and we brought it tonight. We just really executed our defensive game plan today.”
Montana returns home for the final game of the season against Idaho State on Monday.
The Grizzlies don’t own the tiebreaker over either WSU or UNC, so they will need a win on Monday and a loss by one or both teams they are tied with in order to move up in the tournament seeding.
Montana and Idaho State last met on Dec. 30. UM won 76-68 in the second game of Big Sky play for both teams.
“I think we’re both playing a lot different right now, but for them it’s post play,” DeCuire said of the keys to a win. “That ball is going inside a lot. We’re going to have to keep it out of there and guard one-on-one on the block. And then three-point shooting for them. We can’t allow Tomley to get going. Offensively, we’ve got to find ways to space them out and attack the rim as much as possible.”
Eastern Washington 108, Montana State 104, OT
The first half was a slug fest in which Montana State held the explosive Eagles to just 31 points. Last season, EWU clinched the regular-season title with its 16th straight win only to lose two in a row before the Big Sky Tournament. Then EWU lost in its first game in Boise, losing on a buzzer-beater to Northern Arizona.
For a moment, it looked like a similar lapse would beset EWU after clinching the regular season title on Thursday night against Montana. And the Bobcats gave Eastern all it could handle.
In the end, EWU seniors Jake Kyman and Ellis Magnusson helped the Eagles endure the late onslaught from MSU dynamo Robert Ford III to emerge with a gutsy overtime victory that was more about pride than anything else.
“It’s always a chippy game against those guys,” EWU third-year head coach David Riley said in his post-game interview on ESPN +. “They did some stuff before the game last time. Obviously there was a punch thrown today. It just seems like one of those teams that there’s not much love lost there.”
Magnuson and Kyman, who were recognized for their collegiate careers in a pre-game ceremony, sank two free throws apiece to ice the win and push EWU to their 20th victory of the year. This marks the sixth time Eastern has won 20 games in a Division I season.
It was a notably chippy game from the start at Reese Court, with 51 total fouls called including five technical fouls and a player ejection — MSU’s Brandon Walker just over five minutes into regulation — limiting the rhythm for both sides. Eastern shot 58% overall (34-for-59) despite going only 7 for 24 from beyond the 3-point line. The Bobcats were less efficient overall (36-74; 49%) but hit 15 threes on 34 attempts.
After Montana State reserve forward John Olmsted — playing a career-high 28 minutes with Walker unavailable — found an easy dunk for two of his 15 points with 1:20 left in regulation to give MSU a 2-point lead, Eagle redshirt freshman LeJuan Watts snapped him a triple from the right corner and followed up with a spinning layup to give EWU a 3-point edge with 24 seconds remaining. Watts finished with career-best 21 points on an efficient 8 for 11 from the floor.
Bobcats guard Eddie Turner III hit a clutch three to tie it with 8 seconds remaining, forcing EWU to head to overtime for the first time since February 2022, when they beat the same MSU program 88-86 at home.
Six different Eagles scored in the extra time — led by Watts with 6 points — as EWU displayed strong ball movement to find easy buckets inside. EWU scored 52 points in the paint and made a season-high 33 free throws on the day. Ethan Price hit three freebies to put Eastern up 7 with 34 seconds left in OT but two quick buckets by MSU cut it to 3 again just 16 seconds later. They traded layups once more before Magnuson and Kyman sealed it late.
Cedric Coward picked up his sixth double-double of the season with a team-high 23 points and 10 rebounds as he continues his push for Big Sky MVP. Kyman finished with 18 despite going 1-for-8 from 3.
For MSU, Turner finished with 24 to top all scorers, helped by Brian Goracke (22) and Ford III chipping in 18, including nine in OT.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” MSU head coach Matt Logie said. “We played a really good basketball game. They’re continuing to get better every week. Obviously you’re playing on Senior Night on the road in a hostile environment and you need to have your poise, and obviously there’s a situation there where we lost that, but I thought the way we responded to that, the way guys stepped up, the way John Olmsted came in and impacted the game in Brandon’s absence was tremendous. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.”
Northern Colorado 81, Idaho State 79
Saint Thomas and Jaron Rillie each chased their first-career triple-double and helped the Bears to the victory. Thomas finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and matched his career-high with eight assists. Rillie added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Brock Wisne recorded 13 points on 6 of 7 from the floor, with his lone miss from 3-point range.
A Northern Colorado win at Northern Arizona on Monday combined with a Weber State loss at Montana State would give the Bears the No. 2 seed. If UNC and Weber both win, the Wildcats are the second seed and the Bears earn third. The Bears clinch third with a Weber State win and a Montana loss. And UNC finishes fourth with a loss and a Montana win.
Weber State 85, Northern Arizona 58
Sacramento State 73, Portland State 61
The Hornets lost 11 games in a row between January 18 and February 24 leading up to last weekend’s breakthrough at Montana State. Now it’s two in a row for one of the youngest teams in the league.
Four Hornets scored at least 14 points, and Sacramento State limited Portland State to 32% shooting on Saturday at the Nest.
Sacramento State’s defense limited the Viks to 20 first-half points – PSU’s lowest scoring half of the season. The Vikings started the game with five turnovers and 1-for-9 shooting, but the Hornets led just 7-5 at the 11:49 mark. However, Sacramento State would then make nine of its next 12 shots to pull away. Portland State did not make a field goal the final seven minutes of the half and the Hornets led, 34-20, at halftime.
Jacob Holt (15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks), Austin Patterson (15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals), Zee Hamoda (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Bailey Nunn (14 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists) all came up big for the hosts.
Sacramento State has won two straight, and concludes the regular season on Monday at home vs. Eastern Washington (6 pm start). Regardless of Monday’s outcome, the Hornets will play Idaho in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in Boise on Saturday, March 9, at 4:30 p.m. PT.
