By AUSTIN SMITH
The Montana Grizzlies had a chance to climb within half a game of the league-leading
Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday, but foul trouble and bad shooting kept them at
a tie for 3rd in the Big Sky Conference after a 78-65 loss at home.
Montana shot a measly 34 percent throughout the contest, only the fourth time this
season they’ve been held to such low scoring. Though they jumped out to an early lead
on the shoulders of redshirt seniors Laolu Oke and Dischon Thomas, Oke was benched
early for foul trouble while the Eagles just kept plugging away, ultimately ending the first
half on a 13-6 run to take the lead 33-30.
Fouls continued to plague the men in maroon turquoise, snuffing out any sparks of
momentum shooters Brandon Whitney (14 points, 2 rebounds) and Josh Vazquez (15
points, 2 rebounds) were able to conjure. Montana trimmed their deficit to only two
possessions as the clock struck 8 minutes remaining, but nearly back-to-back technicals
drove a stake through the heart of the Adams Center and the Griz were unable to
recover against the technically-sound, reigning champion Eagles.
The weekend matchup featured snazzy turquoise jerseys celebrating the state’s Native
American cultures, courtesy of Nike and Fort Peck native Sam McCracken’s N7
program.
The N7 program was created to inspire and enable over 2 million Native American and
Aboriginal youth to take part in sports and physical activity. Nike has invested over
$10.8 million in grants to nearly 300 organizations since 2009.
Next up for Montana is a two-game road trip at Northern Arizona (Feb. 8th) and
Northern Colorado (Feb. 10th) before returning to Missoula for the rivalry matchup
against Montana State (Feb. 17th).