MEN’S BASKETBALL’S WINNING STREAK HALTED BY MONTANA, 67-58

2/11/2012

Junior swingman Joe Eberhard had 11 points and five rebounds, but it was not enough to beat Montana

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Montana opened the second half on a 24-7 run, and Will Cherry scored a game-high 17 points (all in the second half) as the Grizzlies defeated Sacramento State, 67-58, in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game Saturday evening at the Nest.

The Hornets held a lead the final 17:20 of the first half and a Heath Hoffman baseline jumper at the buzzer gave Sacramento State a 30-25 advantage heading into the break.

However, Montana turned up the defense to start the second half, and forced the Hornets into 3-for-12 shooting and four turnovers during the first 10 minutes of the second stanza. During that time, Sacramento State scored just seven points and the team didn’t reach double-figure points in the half until Jordan Estrada sank a three ball with 7:57 left.

All 24 points of the Grizzlies’ 10-minute run to start the second half came from four players, comprised of Cherry (7), Art Steward (6), Mathias Ward (6) and Derek Selvig (5). By the time the run ended, Montana held a 49-37 cushion with 9:59 left in the contest.

Sacramento State cut the lead to five points with 4:42 left, but a pair of free throws, and a three-pointer from Cherry put Montana back up 10 points with 4:07 left. Sacramento State got no closer than within eight points of the Grizzly lead the rest of the way.

With the victory, Montana (19-6, 12-1) has now won eight straight and 14 of the last 15 games. The Grizzlies remain in a two-way tie for first place with Weber State. Sacramento State (9-15, 4-9) had its season-best four-game winning streak snapped and the team fell back into eighth place in the conference standings. The four-game winning streak tied for the second longest in the team’s Div. I era (1991-pres.).

With just three Big Sky games remaining in the season, Sacramento State remains 1.5 games back of sixth-place Eastern Washington (5-7) and one game back of seventh-place Northern Colorado (5-8). The top six teams in the nine-member league qualify for the Big Sky Tournament, and the Hornets will likely have to win their remaining three games to have an opportunity to qualify.

Sacramento State finished the game shooting just 32.8 percent (19-58) from the field and 33.3 percent (9-27) from the three-point line. The Hornets were also whistled for 27 fouls (compared to just 17 for Montana), and the Grizzlies held a sizeable advantage at the free throw line. In fact, Montana went to the free throw line 35 times (27 makes) compared to just 17 times for Sacramento State (11 makes). That included 23 free throw attempts in the second half. Montana wasn’t even whistled for its first foul of the second half until there was 9:36 remaining. By that time, Sacramento State had six fouls and Montana found itself in the bonus with 8:11 left.

The Grizzlies didn’t shoot much better from the field, including 39.1 percent (18-46) from the floor and 26.7 percent (4-15) from the arc, but the free throw line disparity was too much to overcome for Sacramento State.

The Hornets were led by swingman Joe Eberhard, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds in 39 minutes. Shooting guard Jackson Carbajal had 11 points, point guard Dylan Garrity had nine points and seven assists, and Hoffman added seven points and a team-best seven rebounds. John Dickson had four points and five rebounds.

For Montana, most of Cherry’s 17 points came from the free throw line where he went 12-for-15. He was joined in double figures by Selvig (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Steward (16 points, eight rebounds). Ward added eight points and three rebounds.

Sacramento State returns to action next week for a huge Big Sky road game at Portland State on Wednesday followed by an ESPN BracketBusters home contest against San Jose State on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.