Montana Sweeps NAU

The University Of Montana Basketball squads both put in solid performances last night, completing a sweep of Northern Arizona. The Lady Griz were at home while the Grizzlies made the journey to Flagstaff.

The Lady Griz came out on fire in the first half, en-route to a 60-48 win. Montana hit 14 of 32 shots to build a 32-19 halftime lead. The Lumberjacks rallied late in the game to pull within eight points with 1:43 left in the game. However the Lady Griz would sink six of six free-throws to stave off the rally. Montana was lead in scoring by Katie Baker with 18 points. Reserve guard Kellie Cole came off the bench to score a career high 16 points. The Lady Griz defense forced 12 NAU turnovers during the first half. The Lady Griz are now 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky. The will face Weber State on Saturday at 2pm at Dahlberg Arena.

The Grizzly men’s team dominated their contest with the Lumberjacks from the opening buzzer to cruise to a 78-53 victory. Montana jump out to a 39-23 commanding halftime lead, connecting on 13 of their first 19 shots. Northern Arizona pulled to within 12 points early in the second half. The rally was squashed by the Grizzlies scoring the next eight points. Kareem Jamar lead Montana with 15 points while team-mate Mathias Ward contributed 10 points. Jamar also grabbed seven rebounds and had assists. Will Cherry added 3 steals to the Grizzly defensive performance. Montana extended their win streak to six games and stand at 11-5 and 4-0 0on the season. The Grizzlies will meet Weber State in Ogden on Saturday at 7:05pm. Montana and Weber State are currently tied for first place in Big Sky Conference standings.