BOISE, Idaho -- Isaiah Brickner had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and Brody Rowbury scored 12 points to help seventh-seeded Idaho beat No. 4 seed Montana 77-66 on Wednesday night to win the Big Sky Conference tournament and clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in nearly 40 years.
BOISE, Idaho -- Kai Johnson scored six of his 23 points late to help No. 2 seed Montana pull away and beat top-seeded Northern Colorado 91-83 in the Big Sky Championship title game on Wednesday night.
Montana lead by as many as 14 points early in the second half, but Northern Colorado later used an 18-9 surge to pull within 74-73 with 3:35 remaining. Johnson answered with a three-point play and a 3-pointer to stretch the Grizzlies' lead to 80-73 with 2:24 left. The Bears got within five points twice but didn't get closer.
Montana (25-9), which has won 14 of its last 15 games, collected its first NCAA tournament bid since 2019 and its 12th overall to extend its conference record. The Grizzlies also won their 51st Big Sky Tournament game, surpassing Weber State for the most in league history.
Brandon Whitney added 18 points for Montana, which shot 65% (30-of-46) overall and 24-of-28 (86%) from the free throw line. Joe Pridgen chipped in with 17 points and Malik Moore had 15.
Jaron Rillie scored 24 points and had six assists to lead Northern Colorado (25-9). Langston Reynolds added 18 points, Brock Wisne had 15 and Isaiah Hawthorne had 14.
Montana took the lead for good midway through the first half and led 48-39 at the break. Moore scored seven points during an 11-6 spurt to give the Grizzlies a 59-45 advantage with 16:22 to play.
Northern Colorado's last NCAA tournament appearance was in 2011.
BOISE, Idaho — Montana State is goin' dancing. Again.
The Bobcats, a No. 5 seed, used a big second-half run to push past archrival and No. 3 Montana 85-70 Wednesday night to win the Big Sky Conference tournament championship and earn a berth in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
It is the third consecutive Big Sky title and the third straight NCAA tourney trip for the Bobcats and the first under coach Matt Logie, who was hired at MSU last April.
In its fourth straight trip to the championship game, Montana State trailed by 11 points, 49-38, early in the second half but clawed back and eventually took the lead at 51-50 on a 3-pointer by Tyler Patterson with 12:23 remaining.
After that the Bobcats went on a 14-0 burst, and when Patterson hit another 3 with 8:28 left the Cats led 62-53. A turnaround shot by Robert Ford III with 6:29 to go gave MSU a 14-point lead at 67-53.
During that stretch, the Grizzlies shot 0 for 8 from the floor. Montana State's lead grew to as much as 21 points with 2:13 left after a Brandon Walker putback.
It was just the second matchup between Montana and Montana State in the championship game of the Big Sky tournament and the first since 1986, which was also won by MSU.
It was the 12th all-time tourney matchup between the rivals and the first since 2009. Each team has now won six times in those meetings.
The Bobcats, now at .500 with a 17-17 overall record, will learn their seeding and opponent for the upcoming NCAA tournament on Sunday. The tournament begins March 19-20 with the First Four. The first round is March 21-22.
The Grizzlies, at 23-10, are expected to continue their season with a postseason berth, possibly in the College Basketball Invitational, which begins March 23-24.
BOISE, Idaho -- — RaeQuan Battle scored 25 points and Montana State beat Northern Arizona 85-78 Wednesday night to clinch its second consecutive Big Sky Conference title and an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Darius Brown II added 11 of his 15 points in the second half and Jubrile Belo scored 14 points for No. 2 seed Montana State (25-9), which has won eight consecutive games and 13 of its last 14. Caleb Fuller made 4 of 6 from the field and finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Bobcats, who lost 97-62 to Texas Tech in the first round last year, are 0-4 all time in the NCAA Tournament.
Jalen Cone converted a three-point play to cap a 12-6 spurt and pull the Lumberjacks within five points — as close as they had been since late in the first half — 70-65 with 4:50 to play but Battle was fouled as he hit a 3-pointer from the right corner 24 seconds later, made the and-1 free throw and Northern Arizona got no closer.
For the first time in 26 years, Montana State came away with top honors in the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Saturday night.
The Bobcats whipped Northern Colorado, 87-66, in a game that aired on national television and was played in front of a large crowd at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. Montana State will take a 27-7 record into the NCAA tournament, which starts on Tuesday with the First Four games.
The Bobcats built a 40-28 halftime lead, hitting 15 of 30 shots from the floor, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. Eight team members scored in the half, led by Nick Gazelas and Tyler Patterson, each with eight points.
Montana State, who finished first in the Big Sky standings, poured it on down the stretch. The Cats led by 25 points with 7 minutes left and coasted to victory.
Xavier Bishop led Montana State in scoring with 19 points. Amin Adamu added 16 points, Gazelas 15 and Patterson 14.
The Cats shot 52 percent from the floor (27 for 52). The Bears shot 30 percent against Montana State's feisty defense (19 for 63).
Northern Colorado, who split with MSU in the regular season, fell to 20-15 with the loss.
BOISE, Idaho -- — Jacob Groves had 15 points, Tanner Groves added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eastern Washington earned its third NCAA Tournament bid in program history and first since 2015 with a 65-55 win over Montana State on Saturday night in the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship game.
The No. 2 seed Eagles (16-7) opened the game with a 20-3 lead, making eight of their first 12 shots while the No. 5 seed Bobcats (13-10) made one of their first nine shots.
Eastern Washington had its largest lead at 29-9 and led 35-17 before Montana State closed the deficit to 14 by halftime.
Montana State missed its first 12 3-point attempts. Nick Gazelas broke the ice with a 3 that cut the deficit to 51-41 with 9:19 remaining and, at 60-51 with 4:41 left, Montana State got within single digits for the first time since the first five minutes of the game.
But the Eagles immediately pushed the lead back into double digits and effectively stretched out their possessions while getting the stops they needed to hold on.
Michael Meadows scored 12 and Kim Aiken Jr. added nine points and 10 rebounds for Eastern Washington.
Abdul Mohamed had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jubrile Belo had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Montana State.
Eagles coach Shantay Legans earned his first trip to the NCAA Tournament in his fourth season. Eastern Washington lost to Montana in the Big Sky championship game in 2018 and 2019.
It has been 25 years since Montana State's last trip to the NCAA Tournament when Bobcats coach Danny Sprinkle was a freshman for Montana State and scored 30 points in the 1996 Big Sky championship game.
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