MISSOULA, Mont.--Senior forward Jordan Hasquet scored 22 points and junior guard Ryan Staudacher chipped in 20 as The University of Montana Grizzlies defeated the visiting University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 83-63 Tuesday evening in front of 3,036 fans in UM's Dahlberg Arena.
The game was close for the 10 minutes or so of the first half, as there were four ties and North Dakota took an early 5-2 lead in the opening minute. But, with the game tied 11-11 Montana scored nine unanswered points, and took a 20-11 lead with 9:30 to go until halftime on a jump shot by Griz junior guard Anthony Johnson and never relinquished the lead.
On its next possession, North Dakota (4-2) cut the Montana margin to six points (20-14) on a three-pointer by redshirt freshman guard Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa), but that was the closest the Fighting Sioux got for the remainder of the contest. The Grizzlies led 45-31 at halftime.
The Grizzlies kept their double-digit lead the entire second half, and their biggest advantage was 23 points with 9:26 to go when Staudacher drilled one of his six 3-pointers, giving UM a 67-44 bulge.
Hasquet made 8-of-12 shots, while Staudacher was 7-of-8 from the field and nailed 6-of-7 three-pointers. Also in double figure for Montana was Johnson with 14 points. UM sophomore center Brian Qvale, from Williston, N.D., had eight rebounds, while senior forward Kyle Sharp also hauled down eight boards.
UND was led by senior guard Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.) with 16 points, while junior guard Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) added 11 points, and sophomore center Derek Benter (Crosby, N.D.) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
"They were a lot more physical than us," said UND head coach Brian Jones after his Sioux were outrebounded 40-33, including 22-9 in the first half.
"We executed well, we got some wide-open looks, we just didn't make shots. Against a team like that, whey they're so much bigger than us, we have to do the little things well."
UND shot a season-low 37.7 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent (6-for-18) from three-point range. The Grizzlies shot 49.1 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Sioux committed eight turnovers while Montana had only five.
The Fighting Sioux, now 4-2 overall, will end a four-game road swing on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Northern Iowa. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
