By DAVE GUFFEY | Photos by WILLIAM MUNOZ
Five Davidson players scored in double-figures, as the Wildcats defeated the host University of Montana Grizzlies 110-99 Wednesday night in an entertaining and offense-filled game in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.
The Grizzlies (3-5) had four players with 10 or more points, led by and junior forward Martin Breunig and senior guard Jordan Gregory who scored career-highs of 30 and 29 points, respectively.
There were three ties and four lead changes in the game, all in the first half, and the Griz took their final lead at 38-37 when Gregory was fouled on a 3-point make and the converted the subsequent free throw with 2:43 to go until halftime, giving UM a 37-37 edge.
Davidson (7-1) regained the lead for good at 40-38 on a 3-point shot by junior guard Brian Sullivan with 2:30 to go until intermission. The Wildcats led 45-42 at the break.
Photo by ©William Munoz for Make it Missoula
Montana stayed with-in striking distance in the final half, and whittled Davidson’s lead down to three points (99-96) on yet another 3-pointer by Gregory with 2:01 left to play.
But, the Wildcats, whose only loss this season was 90-72 at North Carolina, got a critical 3-pointer by Sullivan down the stretch, and three different players made 7-of-7 free throw attempts to thwart the comeback effort by the Grizzlies.
Gregory scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half, while Breunig was right behind him with 22 points in the final 20 minutes.
Sophomore guard/forward Jermaine Edmonds Jr., who started for the third straight game for UM, scored 11 points, while sophomore point guard Mario Dunn chipped in 10 points. Sophomore guard Brandon Gfeller started in place of injured senior forward Mike Weisner, and scored 8 points. Breunig led the team with 6 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jack Gibbs led the Wildcats with 28 points, while Sullivan scored 22, and senior guard Tyler Kalinoski added 21. Gibbs, who scored 23 points in the second half, was 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
Both teams had an excellent shooting night. The Griz were 33-of-59 (55.9%) from the floor, 11-of-22 behind the arc, and made 22-of-27 (81.5%) free throws. The Wildcats made 33-of-56 (58.9%) field goal attempts, 10-of-23 (43.5%) treys, and scored 34 points from the line on 34-of-36 (94.4%) shooting. Montana was whistled for 29 fouls, while Davidson had 21.
The last team to score more than 100 points in Dahlberg Arena was Portland State, which defeated the Griz 108-56 in the 2007-08 season. The most points scored by an opponent in a Montana setback at home was in the 1970-71 season, a 111-79 loss to Oral Roberts.
The Grizzlies are in action at Milwaukee-Wisconsin Sunday, Dec. 14, in a game that tips off at 4:07 p.m. (Mtn.). The Wildcats host Niagra on Saturday, Dec. 13.
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