Montana State beats Montana 85-70 for third straight Big Sky Tournament title
BOISE, Idaho (AP) Robert Ford III scored 22 points and No. 5 seed Montana State beat third-seeded Montana 85-70 on Wednesday night to win the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Montana State (17-17) advances to the Big Dance for the third straight season and sixth time overall. Montana (23-11) was aiming for its 12th appearance after sweeping the Bobcats during the regular season.
Ford made 8 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws for Montana State. He added nine rebounds, five steals and four assists. John Olmsted totaled 16 points and five rebounds off the bench. Eddie Turner III had 15 points, Brandon Walker 14 and Tyler Patterson 12.
Josh Vazquez had 20 points to lead the Grizzlies. Aanen Moody and Laolu Oke each scored 14. Brandon Whitney pitched in with 13 points and six rebounds.
Moody was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws, Josh Vazquez followed with a 3-pointer and Montana closed out the half on an 8-2 run to lead 38-32 at halftime.
Montana took an 11-point lead three times in the first three minutes of the second half, the last at 49-38 on Moody's layup.
Montana State trailed by seven when Turner scored in the paint and Ford and Patterson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Bobcats up 51-50 with 12:25 remaining. Patterson hit two free throws and nailed a 3-pointer to help the Bobcats pull away from a 53-all tie to a 62-53 advantage with 8:30 left to play.
The run grew to 14-0 and Montana State led 67-53 before Moody's layup for the Grizzlies ended the spurt. First-year coach Matt Logie's Bobcats weren't threatened from there.
Weber State is the only other team to win three straight Big Sky tourney titles, doing so from 1978-80.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Â | Brandon Walker vs. Laolu Oke (Grizzlies gains possession) | Â | |
19:38 | Â | Brandon Whitney misses two point jump shot | Â | |
19:36 | Â | Laolu Oke offensive rebound | Â | |
19:33 | Â | Brian Goracke personal foul (Laolu Oke draws the foul) | Â | |
19:27 | Â | Tyler Patterson shooting foul (Laolu Oke draws the foul) | Â | |
19:27 | +1 | Laolu Oke makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 0-1 | |
19:27 | Â | Laolu Oke misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
19:27 | Â | Brandon Walker defensive rebound | Â | |
19:14 | Â | Brandon Walker misses two point layup | Â | |
19:12 | Â | Dischon Thomas defensive rebound | Â | |
18:59 | +2 | Laolu Oke makes two point dunk (Aanen Moody assists) | 0-3 | |
18:42 | Â | Eddie Turner III misses two point jump shot | Â | |
18:40 | Â | Aanen Moody defensive rebound | Â | |
18:30 | Â | Aanen Moody misses two point layup | Â | |
18:28 | Â | Brandon Walker defensive rebound | Â | |
18:23 | +3 | Brian Goracke makes three point jump shot (Robert Ford III assists) | 3-3 | |
18:02 | Â | Dischon Thomas misses three point jump shot | Â | |
18:00 | Â | Brandon Walker defensive rebound | Â | |
17:44 | +2 | Robert Ford III makes two point layup | 5-3 | |
17:25 | Â | Josh Vazquez misses two point jump shot | Â | |
17:23 | Â | Robert Ford III defensive rebound | Â | |
17:16 | Â | Dischon Thomas blocks Robert Ford III's three point jump shot | Â | |
17:14 | Â | Laolu Oke defensive rebound | Â | |
16:58 | Â | Laolu Oke misses two point layup | Â | |
16:56 | Â | Brandon Walker defensive rebound | Â | |
16:50 | Â | Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
16:48 | Â | Dischon Thomas defensive rebound | Â | |
16:33 | Â | Robert Ford III personal foul | Â | |
16:22 | Â | Eddie Turner III shooting foul (Brandon Whitney draws the foul) | Â | |
16:22 | +1 | Brandon Whitney makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-4 | |
16:22 | Â | Brandon Whitney misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
16:22 | Â | Robert Ford III defensive rebound | Â | |
16:06 | +2 | Tyler Patterson makes two point jump shot | 7-4 | |
15:45 | Â | Dischon Thomas turnover (bad pass) (Robert Ford III steals) | Â | |
15:45 | Â | Aanen Moody personal foul (Robert Ford III draws the foul) | Â | |
15:45 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
15:37 | Â | John Olmsted misses two point alley-oop dunk | Â | |
15:35 | Â | Dischon Thomas defensive rebound | Â | |
15:16 | Â | Te'Jon Sawyer misses two point hook shot | Â | |
15:14 | Â | Bobcats defensive rebound | Â | |
14:49 | Â | John Olmsted misses two point hook shot | Â | |
14:47 | Â | Sam Lecholat offensive rebound | Â | |
14:35 | Â | Sam Lecholat misses three point jump shot | Â | |
14:33 | Â | Robert Ford III offensive rebound | Â | |
14:29 | Â | Jump ball. (Bobcats gains possession) | Â | |
14:20 | Â | Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
14:18 | Â | Brandon Whitney defensive rebound | Â | |
13:59 | Â | Aanen Moody misses three point jump shot | Â | |
13:57 | Â | Sam Lecholat defensive rebound | Â | |
13:52 | +2 | John Olmsted makes two point dunk (Robert Ford III assists) | 9-4 | |
13:51 | Â | Grizzlies 30 second timeout | Â | |
13:37 | +3 | Josh Vazquez makes three point jump shot (Dischon Thomas assists) | 9-7 | |
13:24 | Â | John Olmsted offensive foul | Â | |
13:24 | Â | John Olmsted turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
13:02 | +2 | Aanen Moody makes two point jump shot | 9-9 | |
12:43 | Â | Eddie Turner III misses three point jump shot | Â | |
12:41 | Â | Sam Lecholat offensive rebound | Â | |
12:35 | +2 | John Olmsted makes two point alley-oop dunk (Eddie Turner III assists) | 11-9 | |
12:24 | +3 | Aanen Moody makes three point jump shot (Brandon Whitney assists) | 11-12 | |
12:02 | Â | Brian Goracke misses three point jump shot | Â | |
12:00 | Â | Aanen Moody defensive rebound | Â | |
11:46 | Â | Aanen Moody misses three point jump shot | Â | |
11:44 | Â | Brian Goracke defensive rebound | Â | |
11:34 | Â | Robert Ford III misses three point jump shot | Â | |
11:32 | Â | Brandon Whitney defensive rebound | Â | |
11:24 | Â | Brandon Whitney misses two point layup | Â | |
11:22 | Â | Laolu Oke offensive rebound | Â | |
11:20 | +2 | Laolu Oke makes two point layup | 11-14 | |
10:58 | +2 | Tyler Patterson makes two point jump shot | 13-14 | |
10:35 | +3 | Josh Vazquez makes three point jump shot (Laolu Oke assists) | 13-17 | |
10:22 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
10:03 | +3 | Robert Ford III makes three point jump shot | 16-17 | |
9:43 | +2 | Brandon Whitney makes two point layup (Laolu Oke assists) | 16-19 | |
9:17 | +2 | John Olmsted makes two point alley-oop dunk (Robert Ford III assists) | 18-19 | |
8:51 | Â | Sam Lecholat shooting foul (Laolu Oke draws the foul) | Â | |
8:51 | +1 | Laolu Oke makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-20 | |
8:51 | +1 | Laolu Oke makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-21 | |
8:38 | Â | Te'Jon Sawyer shooting foul (Brandon Walker draws the foul) | Â | |
8:38 | Â | Brandon Walker misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
8:38 | Â | Brandon Walker misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
8:38 | Â | Dischon Thomas defensive rebound | Â | |
8:26 | +2 | Brandon Whitney makes two point layup | 18-23 | |
8:04 | +2 | Brandon Walker makes two point layup | 20-23 | |
7:44 | +2 | Brandon Whitney makes two point jump shot | 20-25 | |
7:27 | Â | Brandon Walker misses three point jump shot | Â | |
7:25 | Â | Brandon Whitney defensive rebound | Â | |
7:06 | Â | Brandon Whitney misses two point layup | Â | |
7:04 | Â | Jaxon Nap personal foul (Sam Lecholat draws the foul) | Â | |
7:04 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
6:50 | +2 | Brandon Walker makes two point layup | 22-25 | |
6:30 | Â | Dischon Thomas turnover (traveling) | Â | |
6:21 | Â | Eddie Turner III misses two point jump shot | Â | |
6:19 | Â | Laolu Oke defensive rebound | Â | |
6:03 | Â | Josh Vazquez misses three point jump shot | Â | |
6:01 | Â | Robert Ford III defensive rebound | Â | |
5:53 | +2 | Robert Ford III makes two point jump shot | 24-25 | |
5:33 | Â | Laolu Oke turnover (bad pass) | Â | |
5:07 | Â | Brandon Walker misses three point jump shot | Â | |
5:05 | Â | Brandon Whitney defensive rebound | Â | |
4:45 | Â | Brian Goracke shooting foul (Laolu Oke draws the foul) | Â | |
4:45 | Â | Laolu Oke misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
4:45 | +1 | Laolu Oke makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-26 | |
4:34 | Â | Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:32 | Â | Josh Vazquez defensive rebound | Â | |
4:32 | Â | Robert Ford III personal foul (Josh Vazquez draws the foul) | Â | |
4:32 | +1 | Josh Vazquez makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-27 | |
4:32 | +1 | Josh Vazquez makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-28 | |
4:25 | Â | Eddie Turner III misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:23 | Â | Josh Vazquez defensive rebound | Â | |
3:57 | Â | Te'Jon Sawyer turnover (traveling) | Â | |
3:57 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
3:52 | +2 | John Olmsted makes two point alley-oop dunk (Eddie Turner III assists) | 26-28 | |
3:20 | Â | Laolu Oke misses two point layup | Â | |
3:18 | Â | Tyler Patterson defensive rebound | Â | |
3:11 | Â | Josh Vazquez blocks Eddie Turner III's two point layup | Â | |
3:09 | Â | Bobcats offensive rebound | Â | |
2:51 | +3 | Sam Lecholat makes three point jump shot (Jed Miller assists) | 29-28 | |
2:24 | +2 | Brandon Whitney makes two point jump shot | 29-30 | |
2:17 | Â | Jed Miller misses two point jump shot | Â | |
2:15 | Â | Josh Vazquez defensive rebound | Â | |
2:00 | Â | Brandon Whitney misses two point jump shot | Â | |
1:58 | Â | Sam Lecholat defensive rebound | Â | |
1:43 | Â | Laolu Oke shooting foul (John Olmsted draws the foul) | Â | |
1:43 | Â | John Olmsted misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
1:43 | +1 | John Olmsted makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 30-30 | |
1:29 | Â | Tyler Patterson shooting foul (Aanen Moody draws the foul) | Â | |
1:29 | +1 | Aanen Moody makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 30-31 | |
1:29 | +1 | Aanen Moody makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 30-32 | |
1:29 | +1 | Aanen Moody makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 30-33 | |
1:09 | Â | Jed Miller misses two point jump shot | Â | |
1:07 | Â | Jaxon Nap defensive rebound | Â | |
0:47 | +3 | Josh Vazquez makes three point jump shot (Brandon Whitney assists) | 30-36 | |
0:40 | Â | Bobcats 30 second timeout | Â | |
0:31 | +2 | Eddie Turner III makes two point jump shot | 32-36 | |
0:04 | +2 | Brandon Whitney makes two point layup | 32-38 | |
0:01 | Â | Eddie Turner III turnover (bad pass) (Josh Vazquez steals) | Â | |
0:00 | Â | End of period | Â |