12th-seeded Grizzlies end Wolf Pack's 14-game win streak

Twelfth-seeded Montana jumped out to an early lead and held off a determined Nevada squad Thursday afternoon at the Huntsman Center to advance to the NCAA second round against Boston College.

The Grizzlies outhustled, outshot and surprisingly outplayed the WAC champion Wolf Pack in cruising to a comfortable 87-79 victory. Every time Nevada made a run at the Grizzlies, Montana found a way to shut off the Wolf Pack attack.

"We got behind and couldn't get back in sync," Nevada coach Mark Fox said afterward. "We just couldn't find the right matchup combination that worked for us, and that cost us the game."

The Wolf Pack shot just 41 percent, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, in the first half, as Montana ran out to a 40-33 lead. Andrew Strait had 14 points and Virgil Matthews added 11 for the Grizzlies as they built their lead and hung on.

In the second half, Nevada made several runs and cut the lead to three a couple of times. Trailing 52-49 with about 12 minutes left in the contest, Nevada center Nick Fazekas drove into the lane and into several Grizzly players, falling to the floor. His shot banked in but the referees called him for traveling and waved off the shot, which drew a heated response from Fox.

Strait then made two free throws at the other end and after a Nevada miss, Montana reserve Kyle Sharp made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 56-49. After an exchange of baskets, the Nevada bench was whistled for a technical foul and Montana's Matt Martin made both free-throws to push the lead to 60-51. From that point on, Montana held onto the ball down the stretch and made 13 of 16 foul shots in the final 2 minutes to seal the victory.

With 36.9 seconds left in the contest and the Grizzlies up 87-70, the Montana cheering section chanted, "The streak stops here." Nevada had won 14 straight coming into the tournament.

"I thought our guys showed a lot of poise down the stretch," Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We had four guys step up at the end; we shared the ball well and got the ball to the open man."

Montana's Strait finished with 22 points, Matthews had 20 and Kevin Criswell had 18 and Jordan Hasquet had 16.

For Nevada, Marcelus Kemp had 34 points, including three 3-pointers all in the second half, followed by Fazekas with 24. No one else for the Wolf Pack (27-7) was in double figures.

"We're still the underdogs," Krystkowiak said about his Saturday matchup with BC. Added Criswell in the locker room, "Maybe they'll know who Montana is now."

After its double overtime scare against Pacific, you can bet the Eagles won't take Montana (24-6) lightly.

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