By DAVE GUFFEY for GoGriz.com
Senior guard Jordan Gregory scored a game-high 22 points to lead three of his teammates were in double figures, as the University of Montana Grizzlies defeated the Whitworth University Pirates 94-79 in the debut of first-year UM mentor Travis DeCuire in an exhibition game Monday evening in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.
It was a back-and-forth contest during the first 10 minutes, and the Griz finally took the lead at 17-16 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Jermaine Edmonds Jr. with 11:36 to go until intermission.
The visitors from Spokane, who were 23-6 last season, took a 14-7 lead with 14:23 to go in the opening half, when senior post Adam Wilks scored on a lay-up. But, Montana out-scored Whitworth 10-2 after Wilks’ bucket, and then took the one-point lead on Edmonds’ trey, and led the rest of the way.
Montana took its largest lead of the contest at 16 points (47-31) right before halftime on a lay-up by junior forward Martin Breunig with 32 seconds to go until the break. The Griz were red-hot from three-point range in the first half, making 8-of-13 (61.5%) treys.
Edmonds, a 6-4 transfer from Diablo Valley College, added 19 points, including 14 in the first half. Also in double figures for the Griz were Breunig, a transfer from Washington, who was a redshirt last season with 16 points, and freshman forward Fabijan Krslovic, a prep signee from Abbotsbury, Australia with 10.
Montana maintained a double-digit lead until late in the game, when sophomore guard Kenny Love scored on a lay-up with 3:15 left to play, cutting the Griz advantage to nine points at 84-75. Gregory made back-to-back free throws after that, though, and UM led by double figures the rest of the way.
Junior guard/forward George Valle led the Pirates with 21 points and he also grabbed 7 rebounds, but he fouled out with 6:13 left to play. Love scored 15 points, while WU sophomore forward Christian Jurlina hauled down a game-high 9 rebounds.
Breunig, senior center Chris Kemp, and sophomore guard Mario Dunn led the Griz with 6 rebounds apiece. Dunn had a game-best 10 assists with just two turnovers, and scored 9 points. Sophomore guard Riley Bradshaw added 8 points for UM.
The Pirates helped their cause by making 30-of-37 free throws (81.1%), as the Griz were called for 29 fouls. Montana was 15-of-25 (60.0%) from the stripe, while Whitworth was whistled for 22 fouls.
Montana hosts Saint Martin’s this Saturday, Nov. 8, in its second and final exhibition game of the 2014-15 season, with tip-off in Dahlberg Arena at 7:00 p.m.
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