MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies are the sole possessor of first place in the Big Sky Conference after beating rival Weber State 65-58 in front of 3,318 fans at Dahlberg Arena on Saturday evening.
The Griz were tied with Northern Colorado heading into the day, but the Bears fell on the road at Portland State 82-71, leaving UM in control of its own destiny needing the win over the Wildcats.
The win was Montana's eighth in a row as the Grizzlies improved to 19-8 overall and 12-2 in league play. Head coach Travis DeCuire also won his 220th game, and needs one more to tie the program's all-time wins record at 221 held by George Dahlberg.
UM trailed Weber State 33-32 at halftime as the Wildcats withstood an early onslaught from the Griz. But Montana rebounded as Jalen Foy tied it 43-43 with 13:12 to play, and a pair of free throws after that from Money Williams gave Montana the lead and the Grizzlies never trailed again.
Malik Moore led Montana with 22 points as he knocked down six 3-pointers, while Te'Jon Sawyer added 17 while Kai Johnson chipped in nine. The Griz shot 50% from the field and went 8 for 22 from deep and Montana also forced 14 turnovers and dished 17 assists as a team.
Sawyer, Johnson, Brandon Whitney, Austin Patterson and Adam Shoff were honored before the game for Senior Night for Montana.
Blaise Threatt led Weber State with 24 points as the Wildcats fell to 9-18 and 3-10.
As DeCuire aims to tie the program wins record, Montana is next on the road at rival Montana State on Saturday in Bozeman.
