By DAVE GUFFEY for GoGriz.com
THE GAME(S): The University of Montana Grizzlies (8-4/4-0 BSC) continue their Big Sky Conference slate on the road, playing new league member University of North Dakota (4-9/1-3) on Thursday, Jan. 10, and Northern Colorado (3-9/1-3) on Saturday, Jan. 12.
GAME TIMES (Mtn.): Tip-off in UND’s Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (3,064) is 6:05 p.m., while the NC contest in the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (2,992) starts at 4:35 p.m.
RADIO/STREAMING/TV: The “Voice of the Griz” Mick Holien, a 12-time “Montana Broadcaster of the Year” pick, calls the play-by-play on Missoula’s KGVO Radio (1290 AM and 101.5 FM) for his 20th season in a row. Audio Streaming is available at UM’s official site at, while video streaming is on BigSkyTV.com. There is no TV for the UND game, but the NC game will be televised on Altitude.
GRIZ LAST TWO GAMES: At Montana 62, PSU Vikings 55: UM’s “Big Three” combined for 41 points for the Griz. Will Cherry, Kareem Jamar, and Mathias Ward, Montana’s three returning starters from its 27-5 and league championship team from a year ago, tallied 16, 14, and 11 points to lead the way, as UM improved to 4-0 in the conference. At Montana 81, EWU Eagles 66: Jordan Gregory and Spencer Coleman paced the Griz, with 17 points and 15 points, respectively — both career highs.
STREAKING: The Griz have won 17 straight Big Sky games and 21 in a row at home.
GRIZ RANKED IN 3-POINT% & FT%: The Griz are ranked 7th in the nation in free throw percentage at 77.8%, while Davidson is the leader at 80.6%. UM is ranked 11th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.7%, and the leader is Lehigh at 44.0%.
SERIES/LAST YEAR: The Griz lead the series 7-5 with UND. Last meeting: 2011-12: at UND 88, Griz 81 (OT).
CHERRY MOVES UP ON GRIZ CAREER SCORING LIST: Cherry now has 1,239 career points moving him up to 11th in school history, as he passed Lou Rocheleau (1,235 points, 1946-49) and Daren Engellant (1,224 points, 1989-92).
100 GAMES: Cherry will be playing in his 100th career game (88th start) at UND.
Game Notes – (PDF) See the roster and cumulative game stats.