The Griz will try to make it five when they travel to UC Riverside on Thursday night for their final nonconference tuneup before Big Sky Conference play begins Saturday at Portland State.
Montana is coming off a 69-65 win at Fresno State on Sunday afternoon, its first road win of the season. With the showdown with the preseason favorite Vikings looming on Saturday, the win was timely.
The adversity was two-fold: Senior forward Jordan Hasquet was feeling ill and senior point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor was back in Missoula after being placed on probation.
“That tells you a little bit about the character of our guys,” Tinkle said. “Some teams would've folded; our guys really rallied. We talked about pulling together and circling the wagons, so to speak.”
Elgin-Taylor was arrested for drunk driving Dec. 6 in Missoula and did not make the road trip. Tinkle said Elgin-Taylor wouldn't play against Riverside and that he will “probably not” play at Portland State, although no firm decision had been made about Saturday's game.
The Griz are likely to have their hands full with the Highlanders (6-2), who are four games over .500 for the first time since moving up to Division I for the 2004 season.
“Their new coach has done a really good job of getting them to play hard and physical, and they're pretty disciplined,” Tinkle said of second-year UCR coach Jim Wooldridge. “They've bought into that style of play. It's a physical, ugly style of ball, which is in stark contrast to the way Fresno wanted to play. If you get undisciplined at all, their toughness will make you look silly.”
The Highlanders are allowing just 54 points a game and are outrebounding their opponents by more than six a game.
“They're an athletic, physical team on the glass,” Tinkle said. “That's going to be a key stat at the end of the game. If we can win the rebounding battle, then we'll feel like it'll give us a leg up on winning the game.”
Riverside got a boost in its win over Loyola Marymount on Monday when Kyle Austin played his first game since transferring from USC. The 6-foot-7 forward scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“He's a player,” sophomore guard Jalonni Diggs told the Press-Enterprise of Southern California. “And when players come down, when it's big time, when we need a bucket or when we need a rebound, he's the type of player that will get it for us.”
The bulk of the Highlanders' scoring punch comes from guards Brandon Dowdy (11.0 ppg), Javon Borum (10.0 ppg) and Aaron Scott (9.4 ppg). Dowdy, though, has an injured left shoulder and is listed as questionable for Thursday's game.
“We'll probably take a little inside-out approach to our defense,” Tinkle said. “I think they're averaging four made 3-pointers a game, so we'll challenge them there and mix up defenses, try not to let them get in a rhythm at home.”
The Griz, meanwhile, have been getting it done by committee. Anthony Johnson, who started at point guard in place of Elgin-Taylor, matched Jack McGillis for team-high honors with 15 points at Fresno State. Ryan Staudacher, the nation's leading 3-point shooter at 62.2 percent, added 14 points.
“I think we just really need to execute,” Tinkle said. “The other night was more about making plays for each other. I think this game we're going to really have to run our stuff, set screens, cut hard and space the floor. Because of the way they play defensively, that will help us dictate the shots we want to get.”
NOTES: The last time the Griz won four in a row was in March of 2006. The streak culminated with their win over Nevada in the NCAA tournament and was ended by Boston College. ... The Highlanders were picked to finish last by both the media and coaches in the Big West preseason polls. ... “It would be nice to have him for the Utah Valley game (at home Dec. 22), but we have to see how the rest of this week goes and how all the other stuff shakes out,” Tinkle said of the possible return of Elgin-Taylor. ... The Griz rank 14th in the nation in 3-point shooting (.417) and 16th in field goal percentage (.498).
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
Montana Griz at UC Riverside
Thursday, 8 p.m. (MST),
Student Recreation Center (3,168)
Radio: KXGZ 101.5 FM.
TV: None.
Web: montanagrizzlies.com.
Records: Montana is 6-4. UC Riverside, of the Big West Conference, is 6-2.
Last outing: Montana won at Fresno State, 69-65, on Sunday. UC Riverside won at Loyola Marymount, 59-52, on Monday.
Series: Montana leads 2-0.
Last meeting: Montana won 72-65 on Dec. 9, 2006, in Missoula.
Up next: Montana opens Big Sky Conference play Saturday at Portland State.
Probable starters
Montana
2-Jordan Hasquet, 6-9, sr. 13.7 ppg
44-Jack McGillis, 6-6, jr. 8.3 ppg
41-Brian Qvale, 6-11, so. 7.1 ppg
23-Anthony Johnson, 6-2, jr. 12.8 ppg
3-Ryan Staudacher, 6-4, jr. 11.0 ppg
UC Riverside
20-Kyle Austin, 6-7, so. 20.0 ppg
31-Christian Soto, 6-8, sr. 6.1 ppg
1-Javon Borum, 6-0, jr. 10.4 ppg
2-Aaron Scott, 6-4, sr. 9.4 ppg
11-Jaloni Diggs, 6-1. so. 3.1 ppg
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