The two-time all-Big Sky selection has been around the block(s) a few times, now that he's a senior. He knows what it takes to get it done in the Big Sky.
Strait liked what he saw in the Grizzlies' Maroon-Silver scrimmage Wednesday night at Dahlberg Arena.
The Maroon team won the scrimmage 61-58 after a two-minute overtime session. Senior guard Matt Martin scored all five of his team's points in OT and finished with 24 on 8-for-10 shooting.
Missoula Hellgate product Jack McGillis, who transferred to Montana after two years at Oregon State, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but still finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
Unfortunately for McGillis, the scrimmage marked the last “game” action he'll see this year while sitting out as a transfer.
“I just want to go out there and have fun,” said McGillis, who had 16 points in the 20-minute first half. “I just want to get my teammates better and help them win games.”
McGillis gave the several hundred Griz fans in attendance reason to look forward to the 2008-09 season.
“That wasn't our plan, but I think Coach (Brian) Marso was trying to win,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said of his assistant, who coached one of the two squads. “He was playing Jack at three or four different positions.
“I did cringe a few times when he made a few of those plays because I knew we weren't going to have him for a year.”
One other newcomer who stood out was freshman Brian Qvale (say KWAL-ee), a 6-foot-11, 235-pounder from Williston, N.D. Qvale finished with 12 points and eight rebounds and held his own when matched up against Strait.
“He's a pretty strong kid for how young he is,” said Strait, who played a lot himself as a true freshman. “He's just an athletic kid. You can teach him a lot of things, but he has that athletic base and you can't teach that.”
If Qvale can play significant minutes as a freshman, it will give Tinkle some options throughout the lineup. A lineup with Qvale at center, Strait at power forward and junior Jordan Hasquet on the wing could pose problems for opposing teams.
“I think some teams might struggle with that in this league,” Strait said.
The battle for the starting point guard slot looked like a toss-up. Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, a transfer from Irvine Valley College, had two points and three assists. Cameron Rundles, last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year, had five points and three assists. Martin had a great shooting night while playing some point as well, but has been playing mostly off guard in practice.
“I'm impressed,” Tinkle said of the guard play. “I couldn't pick one right now.”
NOTES: Dave Vanderjagt sat out the scrimmage with a sprained ankle. ... The Griz host the University of Great Falls next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in their first of two exhibition games. ... Michael Taylor, a transfer from Eastern Washington, had three points and three assists. He'll sit the season out as a transfer as well.
Composite box
Hasquet 1-7 9-13 11, Staudacher 2-8 0-0 6, Martin 8-10 3-3 24, McGillis 9-13 6-7 26, Qvale 4-7 4-5 12, Rundles 1-6 2-2 5, Hurley 0-0 0-0 0, Spurgetis 1-4 0-0 3, Taylor 1-3 0-0 3, Strait 5-10 2-2 12, Sharp 2-3 0-0 5, Elgin-Taylor 0-4 2-2 2, Graves 2-2 1-2 5, Selvig 2-3 0-1 5. Totals 38-80 29-37 119.
3-point goals - 14-30 (Martin 5-7, Staudacher 2-5, McGillis 2-3, Rundles 1-3, Sharp 1-2, Spurgetis 1-3, Selvig 1-2, Hasquet 0-3, Taylor 1-2). Rebounds - 46 (Qvale 8, Strait 7). Assists - 20 (Elgin-Taylor 3). Turnovers - 18 (Rundles 6, Graves 5).
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)