The sophomore buried a clutch 3-pointer to help blunt an Air Force rally during the Montana men's basketball team's 59-57 win over the Falcons on Saturday in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge at the Spokane Arena.
But that wasn't why the Griz guard thought he might show up in ESPN's highlight package. After receiving a football pass from Jordan Hasquet on an inbounds play with seconds remaining, Rundles passed the ball to an unsuspecting Greg Spurgetis, who watched the ball go through his legs and out of bounds with less than a second to play. The Falcons, though, could not muster a shot as time expired.
“I'm going to dribble it out,” Rundles said with a laugh and a shake of his head. “I'd have been on SportsCenter for the all-time record for the dumbest play in the world.”
“It was a great play by Jordan to find him,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. “It was a valuable lesson.”
File that play and the whole game under “A,” for all's well that ends well.
The Griz (4-2) made seven 3-pointers in the first half while racing out to a 37-21 lead at intermission. Then they scored the first seven points after the break to take a seemingly insurmountable 23-point lead, 44-21, with 17:02 to play.
But Andrew Henke sparked a 15-0 run by the Falcons that closed the gap to 44-36 with 10:10 to play. Henke, who had 14 points off the bench, started the run with a 3-pointer and capped it with a three-point play. Anwar Johnson, who led the Falcons with 19 points, added four of those during the burst.
“We were just trying to keep our composure,” Griz junior Jordan Hasquet said. “Every good team makes a run and they made a helluva one. We held on for dear life.”
Air Force eventually narrowed the margin to 52-51 with 1:31 to play after a 7-0 burst. Johnson had five of those, the last coming on a tough hook shot.
That's when Rundles stepped up and buried a 3-pointer near the end of the shot clock with 1:03 to play, giving the Griz breathing room at 55-51. It was the Grizzlies' only trey of the second half.
Rundles said he noticed the Falcons extended their defense early in the shot clock, but packed it in the lane late in the clock.
“I told (Hasquet) not to set a ball screen,” Rundles said. “I knew I would take the shot. As a sophomore, I'm fortunate to have guys who will listen to me. I'm a confident player. I didn't shoot the ball well all day (5-for-13), but that's how you have to play.”
A pair of free throws by Matt Martin extended the Griz lead to 57-51 with 27 seconds to play. Martin led Montana with 15 points, shooting 7-for-9 at the line.
But the Falcons (5-1) got within 58-55 on two free throws by Johnson with 9.4 seconds left, then appeared to force a turnover when Martin was pushed out of bounds on the inbounds play. The official closest to the play gave the ball to Air Force, but the official along the baseline overruled his colleague and called a foul on the Falcons' Saj El-Amin. Martin made one of the free throws to put the game out of reach, at least until Rundles gave the Falcons their last hurrah.
“My heart was in my throat,” Tinkle said of the controversial play. “It was clear from my angle, but the ref under the basket couldn't call it. The guy with the best position overruled it. This crew did a great job.”
NOTES: Hasquet finished with 10 points and eight rebounds despite a number of injuries. He injured the tendons in his pinky on his left hand and has a jammed thumb on his right. “Just aches and pains everywhere,” Hasquet said. Š Andrew Strait battled foul trouble and played just 22 minutes. He finished with three points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Š The Griz had eight turnovers in the second half after having just four in the first 20 minutes. Š UM won the rebounding battle 36-28. Š No. 9 Washington State dismantled Mississippi Valley State, 71-26, in the tournament's early game on Saturday. Kyle Weaver and Caleb Forrest scored 13 points apiece to lead the Cougars (5-0), who shot 48 percent from the field. Carl Lucas had 18 of Mississippi Valley's 26 points. MVS shot 28 percent from the field, 0-for-15 from 3-point range.
AIR FORCE (57)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Holland 11 0-3 0-0 2 0 0 0
f-Johnson 33 5-9 7-11 4 1 2 19
c-Maren 22 0-3 0-0 5 2 0 0
g-Anderson 37 4-10 0-1 2 3 4 9
g-Washington 31 3-6 1-1 2 3 1 7
Henke 35 5-13 1-2 5 2 3 14
El-Amin 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Hood 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Fow 12 1-3 0-0 2 1 1 3
Merriex 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Kenzik 18 2-3 0-0 2 2 1 5
Totals 200 20-50 9-15 28 16 12 57
MONTANA (59)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Hasquet 32 4-9 2-2 8 2 1 10
f-Staudacher 35 3-7 0-0 1 2 1 8
c-Strait 22 1-4 1-2 10 3 0 3
g-Rundles 34 5-13 0-0 4 2 2 13
g-Martin 35 3-6 7-9 3 1 4 15
Elgin-Taylor 11 1-1 0-0 2 0 1 2
Spurgetis 5 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 4
Sharp 11 1-1 0-0 2 2 2 2
Qvale 15 1-3 0-1 3 3 0 2
Totals 200 20-46 11-16 36 15 11 59
Halftime score: Montana 37, Air Force 21
3-point goals: AF 8-21 (Henke 3-9, Johnson 2-2, Kenzik 1-1, Fow 1-3, Anderson 1-4, Holland 0-1, Washington 0-1), UM 8-22 (Rundles 3-9, Martin 2-5, Staudacher 2-5, Spurgetis 1-1, Hasquet 0-2).
Turnovers: AF 7 (Maren 2, Henke 2), UM 12 (five with two).
Blocked shots: AF 0, UM 0.
Steals: AF 4 (four with one), UM 1 (Hasquet).
Officials: Mike Eggers, Darren White, Jim Giron.
Attendance: 2,509
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
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