By DAVE GUFFEY for GoGriz.com | Photos by AUSTIN SMITH
The University of Montana’s Kareem Jamar registered a double-double and reached more school and Big Sky Conference milestones, as the host Grizzlies defeated the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 82-54 Saturday on “Senior Night,” in a league contest in Dahlberg Arena.
Jamar, a 6-5 senior guard/forward from Venice, Calif, scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as the Griz won their third game in a row and improved to 10-7 in the conference and 15-11 overall. SUU falls to 0-18/1-26.
Jamar now has 1,620 career points, which moves him up to fifth in school history, as he passes former forward Andrew Strait (1,617 points, 2005-08). Jamar is now 17th in Big Sky history in total points, as he goes by Chris Childs of Boise State (1,602 points, 1985-89), Weber State’s Jermaine Boyette (1,613 points, 2000-03), and Strait.
Senior Night. The Montana Grizzlies donned retro Grizzly colors as the defeated Southern Utah 82-54. Photo by Austin Smith for Make It Missoula.
The Griz jumped to a commanding 44-21 halftime lead, and maintained a 20-plus lead for the entire second half. Jamar led the way in the opening stanza, scoring 17 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, and he made 7-of-8 shots. Junior forward Mike Weisner was also a key in UM’s first-half surge, scoring 8 points.
Montana’s largest lead was 33 points, and that happened when sophomore forward Nick Emerson scored on a lay-up with 57 seconds left to play. Nine different players scored for Montana, led by Jamar’s 25, while Weisner tied a career-high with 17 points, and junior forward Chris Kemp also tied his career-high with 10.
Jamar (10-of-14) and Weisner (5-of-6) were both hot from the field, making a combined 15-of-20 shots. All five of Wesiner’s makes were from behind the arc. Jamar also added 7 assists and 3 steals.
It was the 15th time this season that Jamar has scored 20 or more points, including nine of his last 13 games. He has now scored 20 or more points 25 times in his career.
Keron DeShields added 9 points and 4 assists, while fellow junior guard Jordan Gregory scored 7 points. UM’s other senior, 6-9 center Eric Hutchison from Longview, Wash. had 3 points and 2 rebounds.
The Grizzlies were 30-of-54 (55.6%) from the floor and made 11-of-23 (47.8%) 3-pointers, but struggled from the line, shooting 57.9% (11-of-19). The Griz out-rebounded the T-Birds 35-31.
SUU was led by sophomore forward A.J. Hess, who scored 13 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. The T-Birds were limited to 33.3% shooting, going 18-of-54 from the floor.
The Grizzlies play their final home game of the season Monday, March 3, hosting the Montana State Bobcats, with tip-off at 7:05 p.m. MSU is 9-8 in league play and 14-14 overall.
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