BOISE — Montana dismantled Idaho in Tuesday's night's semifinal to earn a berth in the Big Sky Conference men's basketball championship game on Wednesday evening.
The Grizzlies assisted on 19 of their 28 made fields and won their 13th game in 14 tries, as they've been playing one of the most beautiful brands of basketball in the entire country.
"My teammates were just sharing the ball," Montana guard Austin Patterson said late Tuesday evening after scoring a season-high 20 points. "We're a pretty dangerous team. We've got seven guys that can score 20 a night. I think we're pretty dangerous. We just share the ball a lot."
Montana has clamped down on the defensive end, too, allowing just 60 points per game through the first two games of the tournament. DeCuire's explanation why is pretty simple.
"I think it just matters more. I think it's March," DeCuire said. "I think the guys feel where we're at, the time of year it is and feel the madness. When it means more you do better."
A win on Wednesday night over Northern Colorado would put the Griz in the Big Dance for the first time since 2019. The two teams split their regular-season meetings, winning on each other's home floor.
"It's amazing for me. This is the reason why I came here. I wanted to win games and eventually make it to the March Madness tournament," guard Kai Johnson said. "We've got one more to go. It's good to be on the doorstep, but we've got one more to go and that's all we're focused on right now. I'll be happy if we win that game."
"I expect them to show up with a lot of confidence and mojo, as we've used as a term here lately. But I think the most important thing for us is to remember that the best defensive team is going to win that game (Wednesday)," Decuire said.
Tip is slated for 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
