DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Aanen Moody scored 34 points and Josh Vazquez made four late free throws as Montana outlasted Presbyterian 82-79 in overtime in the College Basketball Invitational on Sunday at the Ocean Center.
The Grizzlies improved to 24-11 and won the program's first postseason game (outside of Big Sky Conference tournament play) since defeating Nevada in the first round of the NCAA tourney in 2006.
Moody made 14 of 21 field goals and hit 6 of 9 3-point shots to pace the Grizzlies. Vazquez made four free throws in the final 20 seconds of overtime, but also hit a key 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining in the extra period to give Montana a 76-74 advantage.
It was a reprieve for Vazquez, who had a turnover on an inbound pass with five seconds left in regulation that led to a tying basket by Presbyterian's Samage Teel that forced overtime.
Vazquez finished with 15 points and hit three 3-pointers. Laolu Oke had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, while Moody added six rebounds and five assists to his stat line. Te'Jon Sawyer had 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting with eight rebounds.
Teel had with 28 points and five rebounds to lead Presbyterian. Jonah Pierce chipped in 11 points, and Kaleb Scott added nine points and six rebounds. Kobe Stewart also finished with nine points.
Montana, the No. 5 seed in the CBI, advanced to play No. 4 seed Arkansas State on Monday at noon Mountain time. Arkansas State (19-16) defeated Bethune-Cookman 86-85 in its first round matchup on Saturday.
