The University of Montana’s two dynamic guards, Will Cherry and Kareem Jamar, combined for 40 points as the Griz defeated the University of Northern Colorado Bears 70-56 Friday evening in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The victory advances Montana (24-6) to the Big Sky tourney championship game, Saturday, March 16, at 7 p.m., for the second year in a row. Once again the No. 1- seeded Grizzlies will play the No. 2-seed Weber State Wildcats (26-5) for the tourney title which gives the winner an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Griz defeated the Wildcats 85-56 in the tourney championship game.
Saturday evening’s Big Sky Tournament Championship game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
NC (13-18) got within three points of the UM lead twice, the second one coming with 13:06 left to play when junior center Connor Osborne scored on a lay-up, making the score 41-38, Griz. But UM outscored the Bears 9-2 after that and took a 50-40 lead.
Montana, ranked 13th in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, has now won 20 of its last 22 games. The Grizzlies’ 24 victories this season ties them with the 2005-06 team for the third most in school history. The Griz have now won 29 home games in a row over Big Sky teams.
Seventh-year head coach Wayne Tinkle’s team also tied a school record with the teams from 1983-86 earlier in the season by registering its fourth straight 20-win season. Montana has won 92 games over the last four seasons – a school record.
The Wildcats defeated the University of North Dakota 76-75 in the first semifinal game of the evening to earn a berth in the championship game. WSU, which had to overcome 12-point (UND led 56-44 with 15:44 left to play) deficit, was led by junior forward Davion Berry with 25 points. UND (16-16) was paced junior guard-forward Troy Huff’s 22 points.