Does Coach Wayne Tinkle need to remind his team that the going will be tougher in Cheney, Wash., on Sunday afternoon?
“Yes,” said Tinkle, whose Griz face Eastern at 2:05 p.m. MST on Altitude Sports TV. “Our guys know that was not necessarily a fluke, but that (Eastern) is capable of playing a lot better and we played at a pretty high level.”
“We will still have our destiny in our own hands if we can get a split on this trip and come take care of business at home,” said Tinkle, whose club is coming off a tough 70-68 loss at Portland State on Thursday. “We'll be right in the middle of it.”
The Griz pretty much dominated the Eagles in their 80-61 win in Missoula on Jan. 24. Andrew Strait scored 20 points and 8-for-8 shooting and Jordan Hasquet added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Staudacher (14), Brian Qvale (12) and Matt Martin (10) also reached double digits in scoring. The biggest factor, though, might have been Montana's 36-15 rebounding advantage.
“They out-rebounded us 36-15 less than a week ago and we got our butts whipped on the glass (Thursday by Montana State) by a team that isn't as physical as Montana,” first-year Eastern coach Kirk Earlywine said following his team's 64-57 loss to the Bobcats. “So I think as best we can we are going to have to find a way to rebound the ball. It's a little bit of a dilemma and conundrum here. A lot of rebounding is just hard work and physical toughness. But how can I do that without taking our guys' legs away? Kellen (Williams) keeps playing long minutes game after game after game. I could come in (Friday) and do rebounding drills for an hour, but we'll be dragging our tails on Sunday afternoon.”
The Eagles, who have a short bench to begin with, were without leading scorer Adris DeLeon in the loss to the Cats. DeLeon, who scored 19 points in the first meeting with the Griz, was out with the flu.
“I don't even have the slightest clue,” Earlywine said of the status of DeLeon for Sunday's game. “(Thursday) at the game was the first time I've seen Adris in three days. If the doctor and trainer say he can play I will put him in there as much as he can go. He's the only guy we have that can break defenses down. He can create shots for other guys. There is no question he has a significant impact on the game.”
As efficient as Montana was the first time around - the Griz shot 61.4 percent for the game - Tinkle said the Eagles may try to switch things up, especially in how they defend on the blocks.
“They may double team and they might play a little more zone than they did,” Tinkle said. “We'll be prepared for everything. I don't know that they're deep enough to pick us up in the full court and try to pressure us the entire night. The good thing is after facing a team like Portland State, they showed us a lot of full-court and half-court pressure, everything but a large amount of zone.”
Whatever the Griz see, it won't change their approach.
“We had a lot of success the first time around pounding it at them,” Tinkle said. “Whether they're zone or man, we have to make good decisions with the ball and attack the rim.”
Having played the Eagles so recently, the memory of what worked well against Eastern should be fresh in the players' minds.
“The big thing was how we came out and set the tone physically,” Tinkle said. “Our energy level was pretty high and that was what enabled us to get off to a good start. Conversely (Thursday) night, we didn't have - I wouldn't say it was a lack of energy - but that same urgency, so I'm expecting our guys to bounce back with a good start Sunday afternoon.”
NOTES: Hasquet is 20 points shy of joining Montana's 1,000-point club, while Martin needs 65 points to reach that plateau. Š Strait is 26 points shy of 1,500 points, which would tie him for fifth on the all-time list with Tinkle. Š Martin has 196 career 3-pointers, tied with David Bell (1995-96) for second on the all-time list. Š Strait has 653 career rebounds, eight behind Matt Kempfert (1992-95), who is 10th on the all-time list.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
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