Men’s Basketball Drops Conference Opener
MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana
played a strong second half to down Northern Arizona 71-54 in the
Big Sky opener for both teams at Dahlberg Arena Friday night.
“When it is time to win the game, we have to go out there and
win the game,” said Head Coach Mike Adras.
Montana (5-2, 1-0) built a double digit lead midway in the second
half and the Lumberjacks failed to put a serious run on the Griz
the rest of the way. Montana led by as many as 17 points late in
the contest for the final margin of victory after leading by three
at the half.
NAU cut the lead to seven points at 52-45 with 8:52 left in the
game but Montana went on a 19-9 run to finish the game.
“It is a young team and we are on the road in Big Sky
play,” said Adras. “It was their experience that really
showed in the final seven minutes of the game.”
After a strong first half from the field, NAU (2-4, 0-1) managed to
shoot just 38 percent (8-for-21) in the second half. The
Lumberjacks also made just 6-of-16 (37 percent) from the free throw
line for the game, failing to take advantage of opportunities at
the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes (5-of-13).
Junior Shane Johannsen, who missed two games with an ankle injury
last week, returned to score a team-best 16 points with four
rebounds in the game. Junior Cameron Jones added 12 points and Nick
Larson had nine points, all in the first half.
“Shane had a good game,” said Adras. “I was proud
of him. He played tough and really made some nice plays for
us.”
Montana’s Anthony Johnson had a game-high 22 points for
Grizzlies while Will Cherry added 10 in the victory. The Griz shot
55 percent for the game and 60 percent in the second half.
Larson hit three triples in the opening period for his nine points
to go with eight points by Johannsen as the Lumberjacks trailed by
three at 34-31 at the intermission. NAU shot 52 percent in the
first half but had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of
action.
NAU travels to Bozeman to face the Montana State Saturday night at
7:05 p.m. Saturday. The game can be heard on the Sodexo Lumberjack
Radio Network on KAFF 930 AM in Flagstaff and seen for free on the
Big Sky
Television on the internet. Fans outside Arizona can listen to
the Lumberjack Radio Network call on Stretch
Internet.
