Grizzly Basketball News
Griz top Northern Colorado, on to title game
by: Jerek Wolcott of MontanaGrizzlies.Com
Tuesday, 3/9/2010
Updated: 3/9/2010 10:35 PM
Box Score (htm)Box Score (pdf)Will Cherry hit a floater with at 24 seconds to play and Anthony Johnson got a steal and drew a foul with 11 seconds to play to help Montana seal a 68-63 semifinal victory over Northern Colorado and punch its ticket into the Big Sky Conference title game.
The game was a series of streaks for both teams. Montana had a 14-point lead with 8 minutes to play but the Bears fought back to take a 63-62 lead with 1:47 remaining. The Griz then scored six straight points to close out the victory.
Johnson led the Grizzlies with 19 points, while Cherry and Ryan Staudacher both scored ten.
Will Figures paced Northern Colorado with 23 points to lead all scorers. Sophomore Mike Proctor came off the bench to score ten, the only other Bear in double figures.
The Grizzlies dominated on the boards out-rebounding the Bears 36-25. The effort led to Montana outscoring UNC 20-9 on second-chance points. Vassy Banny and Derek Selvig both had a game-high eight rebounds a piece.
The Griz will either face Portland State or the host Weber State in tomorrow night's championship game.
Montana looks to head to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006 when they surprised Nevada to advance to the second round. The game will be broadcast at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN2.