Johnson scores 22, Grizzlies bounce back against NWIC before Tennessee matchup

Although a matchup against the Division-2 Northwest Indian College Eagles failed to offer the competition of its road battles, Montana (2-1) coming away with a 94-44 victory on Robin Selvig Court Sunday night, the game allowed head coach Travis DeCuire’s team to recalibrate after a tough loss to the Ducks.

The 11th-year head coach said his team returned home, “not a happy group.”

“I probably ruined their game-day mood this morning,” DeCuire said in a post-game radio interview. “They thought they were coming in for shoot-around and they had a practice. They were on edge a little bit today, but I think we needed that.”

The Griz scored more points in Sunday’s first half (56) than in the entire Oregon game (48). The biggest statistical difference came from their shooting beyond the arc; while Montana connected on just 15.8% of three-pointers in Eugene, the team completed 36.4% in the first half against the Eagles. Conversely, Montana forced NWIC into making just 30.3% and 13.3% of its two’s and three’s, respectively.

The Eagles kept the matchup competitive in the first handful of minutes, but a 10-minute, 34-10 run for Montana was enough to create a nearly insurmountable lead entering halftime. By the end of the 20 minutes of play, the Griz led 56-23.

DeCuire said he emphasized shot selection with his team entering the game.

“You go back and watch the film (against Oregon), and bad shots turn into high-percentage shots for your opponent,” DeCuire said. “Just too many times we took contested shots with a lot of time on the clock, they get in transition, we’re poor in transition, they bang three’s.

Senior guard Kai Johnson led Montana in first-half scoring, tallying 15 points on just six field goals and ending the game with a team-leading 22 points. The newcomer to the maroon and silver picked up where he left off in his first regular-season game on Robin Selvig Court. In two home games this season, Johnson has totaled 49 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

With the game already out of hand, senior forward Te’Jon Sawyer took over offensively in the second half. He netted two three-pointers, scoring 12 of his career-high 19 points on the night. He added seven rebounds to a stat line that also featured a team-leading plus-39 score differential while he was on the court.

With all of the scoring for Montana, its most points scored since last season’s 96-86 win over North Dakota State, DeCuire credited fifth-year guard Brandon Whitney for his facilitation and playmaking.

“i thought Whitney set the tone,” DeCuire said. “The way he pushed the ball, his willingness to make sure the ball got to places it needed to get to. He made our transition offense work the way it’s supposed to.

“He set the tone for us offensively in terms of his sharing and ball movement, probably sacrificing some offense for himself to do that.”

DeCuire also complimented sophomore Money Williams by name. While the 6-foot-4-inch guard carried his shooting struggles from Oregon into Sunday’s contest, making just two of 10 attempts from the field, Williams was credited for also helping vitalize the offense with his playmaking. 

Williams led the team with seven assists.

“He’s trying to get his offense going right now, and he turned down some high-percentage shots for guys like Zach Davidson to get layups and to get going,” DeCuire said.

“When you’ve got guys that have the ball in their hands as often as they do turn down shots to get guys going, I think it’s good for the health of the team.”

Montana will face potentially its toughest matchup of the year this week in Knoxville, Tennessee, facing the Volunteers in Rocky Top country. DeCuire said the Vols’ will likely be the toughest defensive opponent his team faces all season.

“It would’ve been nice to rest some guys tonight, tomorrow and then go into Tennessee fresh but for me it’s more about playing good basketball,” DeCuire said.

“For chemistry, for flow, I think we’re a little behind where we want to be right now, especially offensively. We’ll keep working.”

The Griz will tip-off from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville Wednesday at 5 p.m. (MT).