And of all the scary spirits that emerged during Montana's 77-46 exhibition win over the University of Great Falls, none were more frightening than the demons that haunted the Griz at the free throw line.
The Griz had plenty of treats for the small Halloween crowd, but they were nearly overshadowed by the team's 14-for-35 performance from the stripe.
Senior Andrew Strait led the team with 16 points, while junior Jordan Hasquet added 14 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Ryan Staudacher, who started at small forward, added 12 points and true freshman Brian Qvale had 10 points and 10 rebounds, despite a 2-for-10 performance at the line.
“We had been shooting it well in practice,” said Montana coach Wayne Tinkle, who saw his team shoot 78 percent from the line in last week's Maroon-Silver scrimmage. “Qvale admitted in the locker room ... ‘Coach, I might have been a little bit nervous.' ”
That might have been true for the entire team early on. The Griz were just 1-for-7 from the field to start the game and led just 2-0 five minutes in. But a 9-for-11 stretch followed that resulted in a 22-9 lead with 8:34 to play before intermission. Staudacher had a pair of treys in the burst and Strait and Qvale each had a pair of inside buckets.
Except for a couple of breakdowns in transition, the Griz played solid defense throughout. The Argos made just four field goals in the first half and shot 23 percent for the game.
“We did what we wanted to do on the defensive end of the floor,” Strait said. “We had good intensity. When they took shots, they were tough shots.”
That effort allowed the Griz to find their stroke on the offensive end.
“That's a good lesson,” Strait said. “I think our teams in the past when we've struggled on offense, we've struggled on defense, too.”
The Griz led 41-20 at halftime and maintained at least a 20-point cushion throughout the second half, allowing Tinkle to tinker with his lineups.
Two of the big question marks entering the season were at point guard and small forward.
Senior Matt Martin started at the point and finished with eight points, four rebounds and two assists against just one turnover. Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, a junior college transfer, came off the bench for seven assists, six rebounds and no turnovers. And sophomore Cam Rundles, who started at off guard but played some point, finished with six points, five assists, two steals and two turnovers.
“With that little three-headed monster at point, I'm pretty satisfied,” Tinkle said. “Not so much with the offensive things ... we were expecting that. Their defensive intensity, they kept that up and when the game could have gotten sloppy they continued to make good decisions on the offensive end.”
Staudacher, meanwhile, was 3-for-6 from 3-point range and used his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame to play solid defense. A couple of the treys came from the deep corner, but Staudacher said he has no favorite spot for his shot.
“Anywhere where I'm open,” Staudacher said with a laugh.
The Griz play their final exhibition game on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Whitman College. They open the regular season Nov. 9 at home against Colorado State.
NOTES: Freshman Tyler Hurley of Anaconda did not suit up and will redshirt this season, Tinkle said. ... True freshman Derek Selvig played 11 minutes, did not score, but had five rebounds and two of the Grizzlies' nine blocked shots. Tinkle will watch Selvig again on Sunday against Whitman before he and Selvig make a decision about whether the Glendive product will redshirt this season.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
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