Montana Turns Back Eastern Rally Late Free Throws Help Decide Outcome In Grizzlies’ 78-66 Win

All five starters, led by J.R. Camel with 15 points, scored in double figures Saturday in Montana’s 78-66 men’s basketball victory over Eastern Washington.

Montana’s lead was as much as 66-51 on two free throws from Dominique Davis with 5:42 to play before the Eagles got within 70-61 on a Michael Lewis layup with 1:31 to play.

Then Montana, which shot 84 percent from the free-throw line, got back-to-back 3-point plays from Camel and Ryan Dick and a pair of free throws from Jared Buckmaster to put the game out of reach.

Eastern Washington led 33-32 at halftime on a Karim Scott jump shot with 3 seconds to play.

“We were right there,” Eagles coach Steve Aggers said. “It was just in the first couple of minutes in the second half they made a couple of shots to get the crowd involved and gain the momentum. When you go on the road and you have a one-point lead at halftime, you have to be able to control the tempo a little bit better.”

The Eagles took a 41-39 lead with 16:56 to play on a Jon Berger layup. Dick put Montana up for good, 42-41, with a 3-point play with 16:37 left.

Berger came off the bench to pace Eastern Washington with 13 points. Deon Williams added 12, followed by Scott with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Lewis with 10 points.

“The second half was not a problem as far as effort,” Aggers said. “Our guys played really hard and we did what we needed to do. The difference was that we fouled them and they made their foul shots.”

Montana attempted 16 more free throws and made 16 more than Eastern Washington.

Montana 78, E. Washington 66

Eastern Washington (8-8, 2-4) - Sims 0-0 2-4 2, Scott 4-5 3-4 11, K. Lewis 2-4 0-0 4, Williams 4-11 1-2 12, Taylor 2-12 0-0 5, Stone 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 2-4 0-0 5, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Berger 5-9 3-4 13, M. Lewis 4-9 2-2 10, White 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 25-56 11-16 66.

Montana (10-9, 3-3) - Buckmaster 3-4 5-6 12, Dick 4-7 5-5 13, Olson 2-5 10-11 14, Reiser 5-10 0-3 11, Camel 5-13 5-5 15, Bowie 1-2 0-0 2, Warhank 1-1 0-0 2, Seidensticker 3-8 0-0 7, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Sil 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 24-50 27-32 78.

Halftime - Eastern Washington 33, Montana 32. 3-point goals - Eastern Washington 5-19 (Williams 3-6, McGee 1-1, Taylor 1-7, M.Lewis 0-5), Montana 3-11 (Buckmaster 1-1, Seidensticker 1-2, Reiser 1-3, Camel 0-1, Bowie 0-1, Olson 0-3). Fouled out - K.Lewis, Seidensticker. Rebounds - Eastern Washington 31 (Scott 10), Montana 33 (Dick 8). Assists - Eastern Washington 13 (Williams 5), Montana 12 (Camel 4). Total fouls - Eastern Washington 26, Montana 18. A - 4,223.

, DataTimes