Grizzlies Prevail, Lady Griz Stumble Against Northern Colorado

The University Of Montana basketball teams were back in action last night, but had mixed outcomes in their contests with Northern Colorado. The Grizzly men’s squad started out sluggish, but then turned up the heat right before halftime to cruise to a 76-58 win over the Bears. A crowd of 2,844 welcomed the Grizzlies home, playing at Dahlberg Arena for the first time since December 30th.
Northern Colorado built a 12 point lead early in the first half. Montana began to rally with just under nine minutes left. The rally was capped off by a steal from Jordan Wood and a bucket by Will Cherry to give Montana a 37-36 halftime lead. Momentum continued in the second half as the Grizzlies went on a 22-2 scoring run to build a 59-38 lead. The Bears were never able to recover. Will Cherry led Montana in scoring with 27 points. Derek Selvig, Kareem Jamar and Mathias Ward each added 11 points apiece. The victory improves Montana’s record to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in Big Sky Conference standings. The Grizzlies will be at home on Saturday to face Sacramento State. Tip-off is 7.05.
The Montana Lady Griz struggled from very cold shooting as they only connected on 16 of 60 shots in a 59-42 road loss to Northern Colorado. Montana trailed for nearly the entire game. The Bears jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the contest. Katie Baker, Kenzie De Boer and Torry Hill each scored nine points. Baker also pulled down a team high seven rebounds. The loss dropped Montana’s season record to 10-8 and 3-2 in Big Sky play. The Lady Griz will continue their road stint as they travel to Sacramento State to take on the Hornets on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 3:05 (MST).