The Griz will take an upper-level course in the motion offense when the University of Denver comes to Dahlberg Arena on Thursday night. It's the first game of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Classic. Denver will face Texas-Arlington on Friday before the Griz take on Texas-Arlington on Saturday.
“For the first year of the tournament, we're really excited about the field,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Denver's a young team, but man, they're disciplined. Folks will enjoy watching them play. Texas-Arlington is a big, athletic team that's hard-nosed. It's going to be three pretty darn good nights of basketball.”
The biggest problem the Griz encountered was the referee's whistle. They were repeatedly called for fouls while chasing UND's cutters through the lane.
“We teach that it's part of being physical and tough to bump cutters,” Tinkle said. “Some of it was a little frustrating because the guy they had in the high post that they were rubbing off of was kind of hip-checking our guys defending the cutter. And we had a couple of bad habits where we were just getting our hands into their chest, and you can't do that.”
Denver has better size than North Dakota, with 6-foot-7 Rob Lewis (14.5 ppg) and 6-9 Andrew Hooper patrolling the paint. But the Pioneers aren't as good from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting 36 percent as a team.
“They're very crisp at it,” Tinkle said of the Pioneers' version of the Princeton offense. “They have the personnel who have done it for a couple of years now, by and large. But they do look at some different options out of it than what we saw. It's nice that we've had a little preparation for the base of it, but we really have to be on point because they really have it dialed in.
“No matter what they play, it's our level of intensity and focus on defense that's going to set the tone.”
Nate Rohnert, a 6-5 junior, leads Denver in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg).
“He's crafty, he finds ways to score around the basket and outside,” Tinkle said. “He can shoot it. He just plays with a lot of energy and savvy.”
The Pioneers have been going only two deep off the bench, so they play a deliberate brand of basketball.
“They do things with a little more purpose,” Tinkle said. “They're very intense on the defensive end. North Dakota played at a faster pace; they didn't pass up their first open shot. And because (the Pioneers) are not overly deep, they want to play at their pace.”
The Griz will be facing primarily a zone defense for the second straight game. The Griz were able to score over and around UND's zone, with Jordan Hasquet and Ryan Staudacher combining for 42 points. Staudacher was 6-for-7 from 3-point range.
“It's nice we made shots, but I think we got away from going to the post,” Tinkle said. “It's going to be an emphasis. We've got to get it to our big guys down there. You don't want to settle for jump shots, then on the nights you're not making them, you don't know what to do. We always have to establish our low-post game and then we can adjust from there.”
NOTES: Hasquet played in his 100th game as a Griz on Tuesday night, his 94th as a starter. He is 13th on the career scoring list with 1,188 points, 26 points behind 12th-place Charles Davis (1947-53). Daren Engellant (1988-92) is 11th with 1,224 points. ... Montana leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage at .479 and 3-point field goal percentage at .407. ... The Griz are last among league teams in rebounding margin at minus-4.5.
Montana Griz vs. Denver
Thursday, 7:05 p.m.,
Dahlberg Arena (7,321)
Tickets: $6 for general admission, $10-35 for reserved.
Radio: KXGZ 101.5 FM.
TV: None. Web: montanagrizzlies.com.
Records: Denver, of the Sun Belt Conference, is 0-4. Montana is 3-4.
Last outing: Denver fell to Wyoming 62-54 last Saturday in Laramie. Montana beat North Dakota 83-63 on Tuesday in Missoula.
Series: Denver leads 16-13.
Last meeting: Denver won 62-54 in 2003 in Denver.
Up next: Denver faces Texas-Arlington on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. Montana faces Texas-Arlington on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.
Probable starters
Denver
24-Nate Rohnert, 6-5, jr. 14.8 ppg
10-Rob Lewis, 6-7, so. 14.5 ppg
33-Andrew Hooper, 6-9, fr. 7.5 ppg
5-Brian Stafford, 6-3, fr. 7.0 ppg
11-Kyle Lewis, 5-11, so. 9.0 ppg
Montana
2-Jordan Hasquet, 6-9, sr. 15.7 ppg
44-Jack McGillis, 6-6, jr. 7.9 ppg
41-Brian Qvale, 6-11, so. 7.6 ppg
5-Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, 6-2, sr. 4.4 ppg
3-Ryan Staudacher, 6-4, jr. 11.7 ppg
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