MISSOULA — The University of Montana Grizzlies scored 29 points off of turnovers and had four players score in double figures, defeating the visiting Minot State Beavers 82-53 Wednesday evening in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.
Montana (1-1) employed a full-court press on Minot State (0-2) with about 15 minutes left in the game, and after leading by 10 points (39-29) at halftime, they jumped to a commanding 56-36 lead with 13:53 remaining on a jump shot by sophomore guard Keron DeShields.
The Grizzlies continued their pressure defense, and surged to a 31-point (70-39) advantage on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Gregory with 8:04 left in the contest.
The Grizzlies had their hands full in the early going, and the Beavers actually took an early 7-2 lead on a three-pointer by junior guard Isiah Gandy with 17:37 to go in the opening half.
The teams then went back-and-forth for the next 15 minutes or so, and the game was knotted up four times in the first half. The final deadlock of the contest was 23-23, when senior forward Kevin Fraser hit a jumper with 5:05 left until intermission. The Grizzlies led 39-29 at halftime.
Senior forward Mathias Ward led the Grizzlies with 19 points, while junior guard-forward Kareem Jamar scored 18. Ward made 7-of-12 shots from the field, 3-of-4 three-pointers and both of his free throw attempts, while Jamar was 5-of-10 from the floor, made 3-of-5 treys and was 5-of-7 from the line. Jamar also had a team-high 6 rebounds, while DeShields dished out 7 assists.
Ward and Jamar are returning starters from last year’s 25-7 Grizzly team, as is senior guard Will Cherry. Cherry remains out of the line-up as he recovers from a foot injury, and his return date is unknown at this time.
Also in double figures for UM were sophomore forward Mike Weisner who tallied a career-high 11 points, and junior forward Spencer Coleman added 10 points in his first career start.
Senior forward Josh Johnson was the only Minot State player in double figures with a game-high 23 points, and he also had a game-best 9 rebounds.
The Grizzlies are at Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 17, with tip-off at 8:05 p.m. (Mtn.). The Beavers host Northland on Sunday, Nov. 18.
— UM Sports Information
MINOT (0-2) — Josh Johnson 8-15 5-7 23; Thomas Korf 2-7 0-0 6; Isiah Gandy 2-7 0-0 5; Kelvin Fraser 2-4 0-0 4; E.J. Williams 1-6 2-2 4; Dominique McDonald 1-7 1-2 3; Anthony Enriquez 0-2 2-2 2; Chris East 0-4 2-2 2; Adam Randall 1-4 0-0 2; Dan Yale 1-1 0-0 2; Omar Zaghdane 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Yale 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-58 12-15 53.
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA (1-1) — WARD, Mathias 7-12 2-2 19; JAMAR, Kareem 5-10 5-7 18; WEISNER, Mike 4-6 0-0 11; COLEMAN, Spencer 2-6 6-6 10; GREGORY, Jordan 3-5 0-0 8; HENDERSON, Kevin 2-6 2-5 6; DESHIELDS, Keron 2-7 0-0 4; MARTIN, Andy 0-0 2-2 2; HUTCHISON, Eric 1-2 0-0 2; WILEY, Jake 1-1 0-0 2; EMERSON, Nick 0-0 0-0 0; YOUNG, Morgan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 17-22 82.
MINOT………………………….. 29 24 — 53
University of Montana……… 39 43 — 82
3-point goals — MINOT- 5-16 (Thomas Korf 2-6; Josh Johnson 2-4; Isiah Gandy 1-1; Dominique McDonald 0-3; Adam Randall 0-1; E.J. Williams 0-1). University of Montana 11-21 (WEISNER, Mike 3-4; JAMAR, Kareem 3-5; WARD, Mathias 3-4; GREGORY, Jordan 2-4; DESHIELDS, Keron 0-2; HENDERSON, Kevin 0-1; COLEMAN, Spencer 0-1). Fouled out — MINOT-None, University of Montana-None. Rebounds — MINOT- 37 (Josh Johnson 9), University of Montana 34 (JAMAR, Kareem 6). Assists–MINOT-M 7 (Dominique McDonald 3), University of Montana 19 (DESHIELDS, Keron 7). Total fouls — MINOT-M 19, University of Montana 16. Technical fouls — MINOT-M-Josh Johnson, University of Montana-COLEMAN, Spencer. Attendance — 2,748
