In their second game in as many nights and facing a team that alternates full court pressure with a tricky zone defense, Montana rode its defense early before finally finding a breakthrough late in the second half to win its second straight game by double-digits, knocking off Merrimack 62-51 to remain unbeaten in the Zootown Classic.
The Grizzlies will play against Troy at 7:30 p.m. November 20 with a chance to win the tournament for the second time in as many seasons. They have now won their past 11 games at home in tournament play, not having lost a home tourney game since the 1999 season.
The defensive struggle may not have led to the prettiest game, but Montana made the plays that mattered down the stretch to pick up the win. It may not have happened without a career night from Aanen Moody, who scored 17 of his career-high 22 points in the second half. The former Southern Utah transfer connected on three triples and also went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, turning a tie game at the half into a big Grizzly win.
“If you want to be a good basketball team you have to find a way to win ugly games. Zone, pressure, back to zone. They try to control your pace and when you’re a tempo team it’s difficult,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said. “We had some guys miss some shots early, and when you don’t know when you’re getting your next one it can be difficult.”
The first moments of the game showed what type of plan the Warriors had for the night. They pressure the Grizzlies the entire length of the floor, but fell back into a zone. It forced Montana into some difficult shots away from the rim. Overall, it limited Montana to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and under 10 percent from beyond the arc in the opening half.
Montana countered with a stellar defensive performance of their own, something that has become expected under DeCuire. The first basket of the game didn’t come until nearly three minutes in, as Merrimack scored first and would jump out to an early 12-7 lead as the sides struggled shooting the ball.
Overall, Montana held Merrimack to just 36 percent shooting. A lot of it came in isolation play as the Warriors had just six assists on the night, struggling to find passing lanes against a stout Montana defense. And in a game with plenty of missed shots from both sides, it became crucial to win the rebounding battle.
Montana did just that. The Grizzlies grabbed eight more on the defensive end and four more on the offensive, ending up with a 38-26 edge on the glass. It was the second consecutive game that Montana had a double-digit advantage in the category against a D-I opponent, which is something the Griz didn’t do all of the 2021-22 season.
The game was dictated by runs all night, and Montana found their first burst on the offensive end in response. Dischon Thomas and Josh Bannan developed a good chemistry between them, going post-to-post against the zone for some easy buckets. A Bannan and-one gave Montana its first lead of the game at 13-12 and capped off a 6-0 Grizzly run.
They did get a spark from Laolu Oke in the opening half, as the big man came off the bench for a couple of emphatic slams, including a fast break one-hander that gave Montana a 17-16 lead.
But outside of the posts, not much went right for the Montana offense in the opening half. Another connection between Montana’s two posts later on in the half led to a Bannan dunk, but the Grizzlies still trailed 21-19 and were shooting just 1-for-11 from three-point range in the early going.
The second half started much the same, with both teams going over three minutes without scoring. When the Grizzly offense was in its worst slump of the night, Jonathan Brown came off the bench and knocked down a triple at the 15:23 mark to finally put Montana on the board. It seemed to open a lid off the basket.
Moody hit a three on Montana’s next possession. Then a free throw from Bannan got Montana back within two points. The gym finally got rocking during the next stretch.
Moody hit back-to-back three pointers within 30 seconds to make it 38-36 and give Montana its first lead since 17-16. The transfer from Southern Utah had the crowd and his teammates fired up, and kept looking for more shots as he drew in the attention of the Merrimack defense.
“He’s got real confidence. His confidence isn’t based on the success he had last possession, it’s the work that went in and how he feels about himself and his abilities,” DeCuire said of the redshirt-senior guard.
It opened up chances for Dischon Thomas, who knocked down a couple of shots. Josh Vazquez was fouled on a three and made every shot from the line and the Grizzlies had put together a 13-0 run and jumped on top 45-36.
After starting 1-for-16 from beyond the arc, they hit four straight. It was a breakthrough that felt inevitable to happen as Montana continued to get open looks. It still may not have been the best night shooting the rock (21% from three), but the Grizzlies made the ones that mattered most.
“You just keep telling them at some point the percentages catch up. We have good shooters, just keep taking good shots and the ball is going to go in,” DeCuire said. “With zones, you tinker with them. They are just like broken cars, you just keep tinkering until you figure out what is going to work and what you can fix. Once we found it, we got a lot of high-percentage shots.”
The win pulls Montana back to .500 on the season and sets them up with a chance at a title tomorrow against Troy. The Trojans lost on a buzzer beater to St. Thomas in the early game Friday night. Montana defeated St. Thomas 78-59 on Thursday.
