UM freshman guard Will Cherry (5) scores on a layup against the Idaho State Bengals in Dahlberg Arena on Saturday. The Grizzlies won 91–68 while senior Anthony Johnson posted a season-high 30 points that earned him an eighth career Big Sky Conference Player of the Week award. (Ben Coulter/ Montana Kaimin)

Griz stamp exclamation point on banner weekend

by Matt McLeod | February 9, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

It didn’t take long for Idaho State head coach Joe O’Brien to decide he’d seen enough.

During the first half of Saturday’s 91–68 blowout loss at Montana, O’Brien’s team had been whistled for a handful of ticky-tacky fouls, while the Bengals, who were sorely missing the athleticism of injured guard Amorrow Morgan, were getting pushed around by the physical Grizzly backcourt.

On the third possession of the second half, Griz guard Anthony Johnson muscled a steal away from Idaho State guard Broderick Gilchrest five feet in front of O’Brien before charging up the court to calmly finish an uncontested layup.

The sequence proved to be the spark that ignited a very short fuse.

A livid O’Brien bellowed at the refs to call the fouls both ways before a colorful string of profanity earned him a pair of technicals and sent him packing.

“I’m having the season from hell and you go and do that to me,” O’Brien muttered through clenched teeth loudly enough for fans in the first ten rows to hear him. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.”

It was hard not to feel for the guy.

Coming off a dominant 14-point win over first place Weber the night before, Montana (8–4, 17–7) was in the midst of putting on another sparkling show at the Bengals’ expense. As a team, the Griz shot over 65 percent from field, manhandling Idaho State (3–8, 6–17) on the glass and marshalling the action from the opening tip to final whistle. Junior center Brian Qvale was perfect in the paint—hitting all eight shots he took, scoring 18 points and hauling in nine rebounds. Johnson was unconscious from the perimeter, drilling jumpers and slashing to the rim to finish with 30 points.

“I felt amazing out there,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you’re clicking—you feel like nothing can stop you. There was nothing they could throw at me tonight.”

While Johnson, who picked up his second consecutive Big Sky Player of the Week on Monday, was busy landing punches, it was another questionable call that knocked Idaho State out for good.

Midway through the second half, the Bengals had narrowed the Griz lead to 53–46 when Bengal forward Austin Kilpatrick was hit with a dubious flagrant foul after swatting a layup by Vassy Banny into the stands. The incredulous Kilpatrick, who appeared to have slapped nothing but ball, picked up a technical as he cursed the call.

Banny sank his free throws, Johnson added two more, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers, and suddenly the Bengals were down by 17. By the time the scoreboard showed eight minutes left to play, Griz were up 28 points and it was Johnson’s turn to sip Gatorade, untie his shoes and enjoy the carnage from the end of the bench.

On the tail end of an eye-popping weekend, the only question left to be answered was whether Montana backup quarterback Justin Roper, who joined the team over Christmas break, would see action in the waning moments.

He did, and delighted the crowd by promptly cutting underneath the hoop and smoothly finishing off the glass. It was a far better performance from Roper than the last time he suited up against the Bengals— a Nov. 7 football game in which he threw for 14 yards on 2–6 passing.

Griz coach Wayne Tinkle had to admit it was a rare night.

“You know things are going well when you’ve got quarterbacks scoring baskets,” Tinkle said.

The Montana win was its fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight games. It moves them to 8–4 in the league and keeps the Griz a game and a half behind Weber, half a game behind second place Northern Colorado.

The Griz hit the highway having swept their last road trip with wins at Northern Colorado Jan. 28 and Northern Arizona Jan. 30. Next up is a Friday matchup at Portland State and Sunday contest at Eastern Washington. This last win may never have been in doubt, but Tinkle said the Idaho State collapse is a valuable lesson for his club about how quickly things can turn south. He said they’ll do well to keep that in mind on the road.

“It’s mental battle as much as a physical battle,” Tinkle said. “You have to stay focused.”

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