By AUSTIN SMITH
The Montana Grizzlies fought not only against the scoreboard but also their own composure Friday evening during an emotionally-charged 91-74 victory over UM-Western. Both coaches were reprimanded by the referees for yelling cross-court, but only UMW’s Steve Keller was cited for a technical foul.
Keller’s was the second of two technicals leveraged against the Bulldogs – the first was drawn by senior point guard Maazin Butler after his successful flop at half court forced an unnecessary charge penalty onto Montana’s Keron DeShields.
All the excitement came after a surprisingly slow start from the Grizzlies left UMW within four points at halftime. Montana shot a dismal 18 percent from the perimeter and were outrebounded 17-12 before heading to the locker room to face Coach Tinkle’s wrath.
The second half was a different story, with the Grizzlies shooting 7-12 from outside and four players ending the game in double digits. Kareem Jamar scored a game-high 24 points and six rebounds, followed up by DeShields’ 17 points and four rebounds.
Jordan Gregory and Mike Weisner tallied 16 and 14 points, respectively, and combined for four rebounds and two assists. The pair also went 11-13 from the free throw line, taking advantage of 31 total personal fouls from UMW.
The Grizzlies will look to continue their win streak on Dec. 28 when they visit the Idaho Vandals. After a break for the holidays, the Griz will return to Dahlberg Arena and begin conference play with Northern Arizona on Jan. 2 and Sacramento State on Jan. 4.
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