DES MOINES, Iowa — Montana’s men’s basketball season came to an end on Thursday night. It also signaled the end of the career for four Griz seniors.
That includes Jamar Akoh, who unfortunately missed the last month of the season with an injury but did lead the Griz in scoring in the 15 games he played this season. There was Bobby Moorehead, who morphed from a shooter his freshman year to a defensive stopper by his senior season. And last, but certainly not least, Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie, who led the team in so many ways and will leave the program ranked sixth and seventh all-time in scoring at Montana.
“Just knowing that I gave the best effort I could give every game,” said Rorie when asked about what he is most proud of from his time at UM. “I came here, I was kind of complacent. I really didn’t have good study habits, good basketball habits. (UM head coach Travis DeCuire), you know, all I can do is thank him, honestly.”
“Try to tell them that this game didn’t make their legacy,” added junior forward Sayeed Pridgett. “Those guys did a ton for us. So just trying to let those guys know that just because we lost by so many points, they’re one of the greatest senior classes that we’ve ever had at Montana.”
“I think more important than this game, I’m just proud of my team,” said DeCuire. “Our seniors led us through tons of adversity this year. The way they helped me build this program to what it is now, the level of expectation is a lot different than what it was five years ago.”
There was a touching moment at the hotel after the Grizzlies came back following the loss to Michigan Thursday night, as all of the fans lined up and cheered as if the Grizzlies had won. And really, if you look at this entire season, it was a victory — 26 wins on the season, another Big Sky regular season and tournament championship, and they ended the season where every team hopes to make it at the end of the year, in the NCAA Tournament.
