When practice began for Montana in early October, the building narrative was that the Griz would be a guard-dominant team with the ability to lean on any one of the five ball handlers head coach Travis DeCuire had at his disposal.
Saturday night, in a tense 75-69 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, DeCuire inserted sophomore Michael Oguine, freshman Sayeed Pridgett and sophomore Ahmaad Rorie into his starting lineup and spelled them with seniors Mario Dunn and Walter Wright.
Fifty-nine points and some crucial defensive stops later, the quintet supplied the first tangible evidence that the early season expectations were accurate during the second win of the season for Montana.
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire/ by Jason Bacaj
Home for the first time since a November 14 loss to Wyoming, the Griz went as their guards took them Saturday night: Dunn hit timely 3-pointers, Rorie sparked a second-half barrage, Wright resembled the playmaker he evolved into last season, Pridgett and Oguine relentlessly attacked the rim and the combination eventually wore Milwaukee down.
“We challenged our opponent with our depth,” said DeCuire as Montana improved to 2-6 with San Jose State coming to Dahlberg Arena on Wednesday. “We went through some quick rotations and kept the pressure on them. I thought we kind of ran them into the ground a little bit.”
If the strategy was to out run the Panthers, the plan became especially important after the visitors hit eight first-half threes to take a 38-37 halftime lead. Those shots, however, disappeared in the second half as Montana locked in defensively with a platoon of fresh legs on the perimeter. On the other end, the rotation provided the Griz with six threes, four of them coming in a two-minute span that elicited the loudest eruption from the 3,369 fans who showed up.
It began as Wright found Dunn for his third three. Rorie added back-to-back triples before driving into the lane and whipping a one-handed pass to Bobby Moorehead for another 3-pointer and a 55-49 lead with 13:42 remaining.
Rorie ran through the lane, his hand up with three fingers raised as Moorehead let loose. When it cut through the net, Rorie celebrated as the Panthers called for time to regroup. The sophomore transfer from Oregon was the energy and the offense for the Griz in the early portion of the second half, scoring 10 points in six minutes. His effortless jumper was reliable from everywhere, making good on eight of his 11 attempts to that point.
“Travis told us to just go be you,” said Rorie, who finished with a game-high 21 points. “Everybody is going to play. He doesn’t know how many minutes. He just told everybody to be you, just play your game.”
Montana sophomore Michael Oguine slashes to the hoop against Milwaukee/ by Jason Bacaj
Montana’s narrow advantage — the largest of the game for either team to that point — was erased on three straight Bryce Nze layups that tied the game at 56.
But Wright, who came off the bench for the first time in his 40 games at Montana, hit consecutive jumpers and a three for a seven-point lead with 8:05 to go. Following a script that seemingly played out all night, Milwaukee answered with a three, but Wright found Dunn for the senior’s fourth three and cashed two free-throws for a nine-point advantage, supplying a gap big enough to withstand a lengthy late-game drought that allowed the Panthers to get within one with 1:45 to play.
Any thoughts of a collapse were erased as Oguine drove hard to the hoop and tossed in a layup over Nze that electrified the sophomore guard playing in just his second game this season after breaking a bone in his hand.
“It was very important just to get a win under our belt — another win,” said Wright after scoring 13 points and dishing out five assists. “We’re going back to the basics and doing everything right and sticking to what we do. It paid off for us tonight.”
Notes: Dunn finished with 12 points, hitting all four of his threes in a season-high 29 minutes. … Fabijan Krslovic pulled down 13 of Montana’s 30 rebounds. He was credited with 10 in the second half. … Oguine scored seven and Pridgett finished with six. … Montana allowed at least seven threes in a half for the fourth time this season. … After hitting eight of 15 threes in the first half, Milwaukee hit just two in the second half. The Panthers were led by Dan Studer’s 15 points and 11 rebounds.
