Shooting woes cost Eastern
18 turnovers also contribute to loss
MISSOULA – Will Cherry scored 15 points and capped a 15-1 run early in the game with a 3-pointer that sent Montana on its way to a 66-47 win over Eastern Washington on Thursday night.
Cherry made just 5 of 14 shots, but his 3-pointer with 8:17 remaining in the opening half helped Montana (12-5, 4-1 Big Sky) stretch a 9-8 lead to a 24-9 advantage. Montana led 33-22 at the half.
Brian Qvale had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who extended their advantage to 60-35 on Jordan Wood’s 3-pointer with 8 minutes remaining.
Glen Dean led Eastern Washington (4-12, 1-3 Big Sky) with 12 points while Laron Griffin grabbed eight of his team-high 10 rebounds off the offensive glass.
EWU hit just 30 percent of its shots from the field and had 18 turnovers.
Montana entered the game allowing 60.2 points per game with an 8.2 average winning margin – both tops in the conference. It was the second-fewest points EWU has scored this season, having scored 42 in a 30-point loss at Nebraska on Dec. 18.
“We turned the ball over 18 times against very little denial and very little pressure,” said Eastern head coach Kirk Earlywine as the key to the loss. “We gave the ball away and that led to a bunch of points in the first half. We just can’t give the ball away, and we did.”
The loss was the Eagles’ 15th in a row on the road, including nine this season.
The Grizzlies made 44 percent of their shots from the field, and held EWU to 3-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.
Montana 66, E. Washington 47
Eastern Washington (4-12)—Griffin 2-7 0-0 4, Ederaine 2-6 1-4 5, Dean 4-8 3-4 12, Forbes 3-6 0-0 7, Winford 2-7 3-3 8, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Colimon 1-6 0-0 2, Johnson 1-9 3-4 5, Allen 1-4 2-2 4, Hyslop 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-54 12-17 47.
Montana (12-5)—Steward 5-7 1-5 11, Selvig 2-7 3-4 7, Qvale 5-12 3-4 13, Cherry 5-14 3-3 15, Stockton 2-6 0-0 4, Autry 2-5 1-1 6, Wood 2-3 0-0 6, Adams 0-1 0-0 0, Ward 2-2 0-1 4, Hutchison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 11-18 66.
Halftime—Montana 33-22. 3-Point Goals—E. Washington 3-13 (Winford 1-2, Dean 1-3, Forbes 1-3, Johnson 0-2, Colimon 0-3), Montana 5-18 (Wood 2-3, Cherry 2-5, Autry 1-4, Steward 0-1, Adams 0-1, Stockton 0-2, Selvig 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—E. Washington 38 (Griffin 10), Montana 38 (Qvale 12). Assists—E. Washington 2 (Dean 2), Montana 14 (Stockton 4). Total Fouls—E. Washington 17, Montana 17. A—3,609.