The Montana men’s basketball team lost its second game in a row to open the 2022-23 season against the defending NIT Champion Xavier Musketeers on Friday night, falling 86-64 in Cincinnati.
The Grizzlies (0-2) kept pace for much of the first half, but Xavier (2-0) knocked down its first 10 shots from the floor and made 64 percent of their shots to outpace Montana’s offense. The Musketeers, who are receiving votes to be ranked in the top 25, put together a complete team performance in the win.
A 12-point halftime deficit was extended in the final period of play as the Grizzly offense struggled against a tough defense. Josh Bannan scored in double-digits for the second consecutive game to start the year, and was on triple-double watch at the half with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. He finished with a 12/7/5 line.
The Grizzlies shot well from the perimeter as a team, knocking down nine shots from beyond the arc at a 47 percent rate. Lonnell Martin Jr. and Dischon Thomas each had multiple triples. Thomas led Montana with 15, while Martin Jr. contributed 13 points. It was a big improvement in the rebounding department for the Grizzlies, who were even in the battle for the boards against a much bigger Xavier roster, splitting the total rebounds 24-24. The biggest difference between the two schools was in the turnover battle. The Griz coughed it up 16 times, which the Musketeers turned into 19 points while Montana didn’t get a score off a turnover.
Early on, Brandon Whitney showed strength finishing in the lane, converting an and-one finish among the trees that cut a Xavier lead to 18-15. Despite Xavier continuing a hot start by making its ninth consecutive shot to open the game, Montana hung around by trailing just 22-17. Xavier then went on a 7-0 run, remaining perfect from the floor, to take a double-digit lead. Montana was able to get it back inside 10 later in the half thanks to a Martin Jr. three, and closed the half with a big shot from deep for Josh Vazquez, but they still trailed 49-37 at the break.
The Grizzly offense was finding open shots and knocking them down, converting at a 55 percent rate from the floor. But Xavier had found another level shooting, knocking down an astonishing 71 percent of their attempts in the first half. Xavier jumped out to a 20-point lead early in the second half thanks to a 10-2 run. Thomas tried to keep Montana hanging around with back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions to make it a 17-point game, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Whitney scored eight and dished out four assists in the effort. Jaxon Nap, a freshman from Renton, Wash., scored his first career points at the free throw line down the stretch. After a very difficult road trip against A-10 and Big East opponents to start the season, the Grizzlies now get to return home for four consecutive home games. They will play three games in three nights in the Zootown Classic and then wrap up the long home stand against MSU-Northern.
