The Griz dropped a 67-65 decision to Idaho State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament Saturday night in front of 2,190 fans at Holt Arena. It was the Grizzlies' (14-16) seventh loss by a total of 15 points this season and kept them from reaching the semifinals of the league tournament for the first time in four years.
Idaho State (12-18) advanced to face regular-season champion Portland State in Tuesday's late semifinal at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. It's the Bengals' first berth in the semifinals since 2004. Weber State, which posted a 65-49 win over Montana State in Saturday's other quarterfinal, will face regular-season runner-up Northern Arizona in the early semifinal.
(14-for-18) in the second half and the Bengals' 36-24 dominance on the boards.
“They just manhandled us,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They were way more physical. That's what the postseason's all about. We knew that and we warned our guys about that. We just let them outwork us, push us and shove us, hang onto us; we didn't respond. That's disappointing.”
The Bengals' collapsing zone defense kept Montana's low-post game in check. Andrew Strait scored 13 points, but four of those came when the game was all but out of reach in the closing seconds. Jordan Hasquet never got much going and finished with seven points. He and Strait combined for just eight rebounds.
“They played that zone and it was pretty effective,” said Strait, who finished his Griz career with 1,617 points (fifth all-time) and 721 rebounds (eighth all-time). “When the ball went in, I was pretty quickly surrounded. It was tough. I felt like as soon as I caught it and turned around, I had a couple of guys there building a wall. We did a good job in the first half of knocking down shots Š but for 40 minutes, it was a physical game and I thought it wore us down.”
The Griz were effective from outside in the first half, when they were 7-for-15 from beyond the arc en route to a 32-26 lead at the break. Matt Martin had 10 of his team-high 16 points and Ryan Staudacher had nine of his 14 before the break.
The Bengals, though, repeatedly burned the Griz with mid-range jumpers by Logan Kinghorn (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Donnie Carson (10 points), and a couple of game-changing bombs by Austin Kilpatrick (11 points, three blocks).
With the game tied at 41-41, Kilpatrick got free for a 3-pointer along the baseline, then moments later hit another from the wing to give Idaho State its biggest lead of the game to that point, 47-41, with 9:12 remaining. A pair of free throws and a 15-footer by Carson completed a 10-2 run that put ISU up 51-43.
The Griz couldn't make much of a dent in that lead until Staudacher and Martin hit back-to-back treys to cut the gap to 56-54 with 3:08 remaining.
“Matt Martin and Staudacher had great jump-shooting nights,” ISU coach Joe O'Brien said. “Matt Martin looked like a man on a mission. He made some really, really highly contested threes. When we contest Matt Martin, he's 6-foot-1 and the guy guarding him is 6-6, so he made some tough shots.”
The Bengals countered with a three-point play by Amorrow Morgan and a free-throw line jumper by Kinghorn to stretch the lead back to 61-55 with 2:01 to play.
Some carelessness by the Bengals and another tough 3-pointer by Martin cut the deficit to 64-62 with 12.6 seconds to play, but the Griz were forced to foul Matt Stucki, who made both free throws to put the game out of reach.
All those close losses might have worn on the Griz, Martin said.
“I thought we were going to make a run here to the chipper, that's the way I felt,” Martin said. “I can't even count how many one-point losses we had this year. That takes a toll on the guys, especially the younger guys. It mentally wears on you. But our coaches did a great job of keeping us motivated and never gave up on us.”
For seniors Martin and Strait, this season marked the first that they didn't reach the league semifinals in their four-year careers. The Griz earned trips to the NCAA tournament in their first two seasons in Missoula.
“I was really hoping we'd make it to Portland,” Strait said. “But it's gotta end with a loss, and unfortunately it had to be here. I love this group of guys and I told them that after the game. It's too bad. It's sad to see it end.”
NOTES: Martin and Carson were assessed technical fouls with 1:48 to play after a scramble for a loose ball. Carson was ejected for pushing Martin to the floor. Š Hasquet moved past Craig Zanon (1977-81) and into 16th place on the career scoring list with 1,078 points. Š Martin ended his career with 317 assists, 10th on UM's all-time list, and 214 treys, second only to Kevin Criswell's 218 from 2002-06. Martin finished with 1,021 points, 23rd all time. Š The Griz finished with just eight turnovers while converting ISU's 13 miscues into 17 points. Š ISU was 14-for-22 at the free-throw line compared to 5-for-11 for the Griz.
MONTANA (65)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Hasquet 34 2-6 1-2 4 2 1 7
f-Sharp 13 1-3 0-1 1 2 2 2
c-Strait 34 6-9 1-2 4 4 0 13
g-Elgin-Taylor 36 4-10 0-0 3 5 2 8
g-Staudacher 32 4-7 2-2 4 3 0 14
Martin 17 5-12 1-2 3 3 3 16
Rundles 20 2-7 0-2 1 1 6 5
Qvale 11 0-3 0-0 3 1 1 0
Spurgetis 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 200 24-57 5-11 24 21 15 65
IDAHO STATE (67)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Kinghorn 29 7-12 3-4 10 3 1 17
c-Steijn 21 1-1 0-1 3 2 0 2
g-Stucki 35 3-6 3-5 3 3 3 11
g-Morgan 34 3-8 2-4 1 1 3 8
g-Carson 28 4-8 2-2 5 3 4 10
Kilpatrick 23 3-6 2-3 4 0 1 11
Monroe 22 2-3 1-2 5 4 1 5
O'Brien 8 1-2 1-1 2 0 0 3
Totals 200 24-46 14-22 36 16 13 67
Technical fouls: Martin, Carson (ejected), Steijn.
Halftime score: Montana 32, Idaho State 26.
3-point goals: UM 12-27 (Martin 5-9, Staudacher 4-7, Hasquet 2-4, Rundles 1-5, Elgin-Taylor 0-1, Sharp 0-1), ISU 5-10 (Kilpatrick 3-5, Stucki 2-4, Morgan 0-1).
Turnovers: UM 8 (Strait 4), ISU 13 (Steijn 3, Morgan 3, Carson 3).
Blocked shots: UM 3 (Strait, Sharp, Qvale), ISU 5 (Kilpatrick 3).
Steals: UM 5 (Elgin-Taylor 2), ISU 3 (Kinghorn, Steijn, Carson).
Officials: Kevin Cutler, Brian Shelley, John Weeks.
Attendance: 2,190
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com
Bottom line
Idaho State 67, Montana 65
Stars: Logan Kinghorn scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Idaho State (12-18). Matt Stucki and Austin Kilpatrick added 11 apiece. Matt Martin led the Griz with 16 points, making 5 of 9 treys. Ryan Staudacher added 14 points and Andrew Strait chipped in 13.
Up next: Montana finished its season at 14-16 overall. Idaho State faces Portland State in the Big Sky tournament semifinals Tuesday at 9 p.m. MST at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.
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