Griz, Lady Griz take care of business in Brawl of the Wild

The Montana Grizzlies hadn't lost to the rival Montana State Bobcats in Dahlberg Arena since 2010. They weren't about to let that streak end on national TV.

Sunday afternoon in Missoula, in front of an ESPNU audience, the Grizzlies toppled the Big Sky Conference leading Bobcats, 80-74 in a game the Griz led nearly wire-to-wire.

Montana had lost its first game to the Cats last month in Bozeman, but sophomore Josh Bannon came out firing on all cylinders as he led the Griz to an early double-digit lead. Behind the dominant play of Jubilee Belo, the Cats clawed back into it down the stretch of the first half, but the Griz were still able to take a 44-33 lead into halftime in the 303rd meeting between the two rivals.

The Griz, who shot 51 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers, extended their lead to 17 points in the second before the Cats stormed back behind a huge second half from Xavier Bishop.

With less than two minutes to go, the Cats, who are still in first place in the Big Sky, cut the lead all the way down to six points, but huge plays from Kyle Owens, Bannon and others helped the Griz hold off the MSU comeback down the stretch.

Bannon had a monster outing for UM, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Brandon Whitney finished with 17 points for the Griz, who had four in double figures. Belo was just as big on the other end with 21 points and 16 boards. While Bishop led everybody with a game-high 27 points.

Still, as good as the Cat tandem was, in front of a national TV audience, it was the Griz who finished off a dramatic Brawl of the Wild sweep in Missoula, as they improved 11-7 in the Big Sky, while the Cats fell to 13-6, but still hold on to first place in the standings, as the regular season enters its final week.

"We got a tough group," Bannan said, alluding to the 50-50 balls that Montana came up with in the final two minutes. "We got a lot of guys who are willing to put their body on the line for the team and I think that's the kind of thing that wins you these types of basketball games. It comes down to effort and I think our effort was super tonight."

Lady Griz snap Brawl streak

On senior night in Missoula, the Montana Lady Griz snapped a seven-game losing streak against arch rival Montana State Saturday night with a dominant 71-57 win in Dahlberg Arena.

Behind Carmen Gfeller's career-high 34 points, the Lady Griz cruised past the Bobcats to split the season series for the first time in four seasons. Games between Montana and Montana State were cancelled due to COVID-19 last season.

The Lady Griz led 9-8 early on, and with the game still tight at halftime, a 7-0 spurt in the third quarter gave the Griz a cushion that they were able to hold the rest of the way.

In her final game as a Grizzly, Malta's Sophia Stiles scored 13 points, while Abby Anderson chipped in with 12. Former Havre High star Kyndall Keller played 15 minutes in the game, going 1-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line as Montana improved to 11-7 in the Big Sky with two games left. The Bobcats fell to 13-5 in conference play with two games left in the regular season as well.