NCAAB Game Recap - Eastern Washington at Montana
Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:00 PM EDT

UMBC
49
Vermt
66
F
Penn
58
Harv
66
F
Wisc
55
MSU
67
F
NCC
50
Norf
47
F
Hou
61
Mem
58
F
TxSt
46
GASt
59
F
TXSo
86
PVAM
92
F
Seton
72
Vill
74
F
BGSU
73
Buff
87
F
E WA
62
Mont
68
F
W Ky
56
ODU
62
F
GrCan
57
NMSt
89
F
Oreg
68
Wash
48
F
CS-Ful
64
UCIrv
92
F
Princ
77
Yale
83
F
Tenn
82
KY
78
F
StLou
67
David
44
F
WichSt
63
Cin
66
F
SDSU
57
UtSt
64
F
GaSo
58
TexAr
67
F
NOrl
60
AbCh
77
F
Minn
49
Mich
76
F
IaSt
78
Kansas
66
F
FSU
63
Duke
73
F
URI
51
StBon
68
F
Fla
62
Aub
65
F

Mar 16, 2019, 8:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

T

(3) Eastern Washington

31

31

62

(1) Montana

26

42

68

Montana beats E Washington for 2nd straight Big Sky title
Sat Mar 16, 2019 11:51 PM

BOISE, Idaho (AP) After going scoreless in the first half of the Big Sky Tournament championship game, Montana's Ahmaad Rorie didn't have much to say in the locker room at halftime.

"I had my head down," Rorie said. "I felt like we all wanted it so bad, but we just weren't playing well."

In the second half, Rorie did all his talking on the court, sparking Montana to a 68-62 comeback victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday night for its second straight title.

Rorie, who hit several key shots late to finish with 11 points, played gritty defense down the stretch and earned tourney MVP honors. He scored a season-high 28 points in the semifinals against Weber State and 17 against Sacramento State in the quarterfinals.

Montana coach Travis DeCuire was disappointed last week that Rorie didn't win the conference's player of the year award, but told the senior to shrug it off.

"The conversation in the airport on the way here was a little bit about how this (award) would mean more," DeCuire said. "And he made it happen."

Montana (26-8), which lost to Michigan 61-47 in last year's NCAA Tournament, was led offensively by Sayeed Pridgett with 18 points. Donaven Dorsey and Michael Oguine each scored 12 points for the Grizzlies.

Eastern Washington (16-18) entered the tourney as the third seed and seemed poised to steal the victory when the Eagles took a 12-point lead late in the first half. But Montana, utilizing a smaller five-guard lineup, started to chip away before halftime, eventually taking its first lead of the game midway through the second half.

"We wanted to keep them under 70 points, and if we did that, I thought we'd win," Eastern Washington coach Shantay Legans said. "But a couple of calls changed the style we wanted to play. But we need to battle through that a little bit better and have guys step up and make plays."

The Eagles have now lost in the Big Sky final to Montana twice after holding a halftime lead.

Jesse Hunt led Eastern Washington with 17 points, and Kim Aiken Jr. had 14.

LONGTIME TEAMMATES

After the game, DeCuire assigned seniors Rorie and Dorsey to speak with the media where the two longtime teammates basked in the moment together, recalling their days of playing AAU basketball together in middle school.

"We've been the best of friends forever," Rorie said. "We only lived thirty minutes apart growing up and have never lost touch."

After they quit playing for the same AAU team in California, Rorie and Dorsey played against each other in high school as well as in their early college career when they were at Washington and Oregon, respectively.

BIG PICTURE

Montana: Montana could be facing the departure of coach Travis DeCuire, who has already been linked to coaching vacancies at major programs.

Eastern Washington: Coach Shantay Legans will have to deal with the loss of Hunt, the senior who lead the team in scoring and was the Big Sky's top rebounder.

UP NEXT

Montana awaits its seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

Leaders

Eastern Washington PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
J. Hunt 17 0 1 7 0 0
K. Aiken 14 0 1 11 2 4
Montana PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
S. Pridgett 18 0 3 2 0 0
D. Dorsey 12 0 1 4 1 2

Team Comparison

E WA Mont
Points For 62 68
Field Goals 24/57-42% 27/53-51%
Three Pointers 5/20-25% 9/20-45%
Free Throws 9/13-69% 5/9-56%
Offensive Rebounds 10 4
Defensive Rebounds 24 26
Rebounds 34 33
Blocks 4 5
Steals 7 5
Turnovers 15 14
Personal Fouls 15 17
Technical Fouls 1 1
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Mont Leads Series 2-1

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Thu Jan 10 Mont 71 @ E WA 78 M. Oguine 18 M. Peatling 17
Sat Feb 9 E WA 74 @ Mont 75 J. Davison 23 S. Pridgett 19
Sat Mar 16 E WA 62 @ Mont 68 J. Hunt 17 S. Pridgett 18

Game Information

Stadium: CenturyLink Arena, Boise, Idaho
Attendance: 3,737
Game Time: