Montana Grizzlies whip the Bobcats, twice

MISSOULA (AP) - The Montana Grizzly football team has lost its last to games in the Brawl of the Wild Series. This winter, the Grizzly basketball team has certainly got some payback.

Sayeed Pridgett and Timmy Falls scored 14 points apiece and Montana rolled to a 90-63 victory over Montana State on Saturday night to clinch at least a share of the Big Sky Conference title. The victory in front of sellout crowd at Dahlberg Arena was Montana's second double-digit win over the Bobcats this season.

Montana (21-7, 14-2) rebounded from consecutive road losses to Eastern Washington and Idaho, which beat Weber State on Saturday. The Grizzlies now have a two-game lead over Idaho and Weber State atop the conference standings, and they conclude the regular season next week hosting Weber State and Idaho State.

Pridgett was 7-of-11 shooting and Falls made three of Montana's five 3-pointers. Ahmaad Rorie and Karl Nicholas added 13 points apiece. Michael Oguine had 11 points and Bobby Moorehead 10.

Despite Griz forward Jamar Akoh fouling out in 16 minutes, the Griz finished with a 46-39 rebounding edge and a 46-14 advantage in points in the paint. Akoh fouled out on a phantom call when Harald Frey slipped with no contact, and DeCuire said it was unfortunate Akoh was never able to get going.

Montana State (13-16, 6-10) has lost six of its last seven games. Montana State's Tyler Hall was limited to 11 points on 2-of-16 shooting while being guarded by Bobby Moorehead and Rorie. Harald Frey scored 14 points to pace Montana State, while Keljin Blevins added 12 points.

Montana built a 16-point advantage at the break. Karl Nicholas and Moorehead made back-to-back dunks and the Grizzlies led 64-35 with 10 minutes to play.

"Michael (Oguine) and Ahmaad didn't make a 3(-pointer), and we kind of kept them off balance," Montana State head coach Brian Fish said, "but their depth and their ability to score ... I thought Sayeed and Karl played really well for them today, gave them a big boost."

Lady Griz crush the Cats

Missoula - The Montana Lady Griz took care of two tough losing streaks in one day. Saturday afternoon inside Dahlberg Arena, the Griz snapped a four-game losing streak, and a three-game slide to arch rival Montana State with a commanding 87-63 win over Montana State in the Brawl of the Wild.

Montana took a 61-41 lead into the fourth quarter and from there it was smooth sailing, with the Lady Griz hitting 7 of 11 shots in the final frame. 

"It was great to come out and put 40 minutes together," said Lady Griz coach Shannon Schweyen, whose team improved to 9-7 in Big Sky Conference play, 13-14 overall. "The girls played with incredible emotion and heart today."

Madi Schoening led the Griz with 18 points, while Jace Henderson added 17 and Taylor Gologoski chipped in with 14. Malta's Hailey Nicholson also scored 10, while Hannah Caudill scored a game-high 20 points for the Bobcats, who fell to 8-8 in the Big Sky and 14-13 overall, while losing to UM for the first time since 2016.

Note: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.