'Once we got rhythm, we were fine': Griz overcome shaky first half, coast to exhibition win

MISSOULA The Montana Grizzlies basketball team hit the hardwood for the first time this fall Tuesday night, welcoming the Saint Martin's Saints to Dahlberg Arena for an exhibition game.

The Griz return just one starter from last spring: fifth-year guard Brandon Whitney.

The 6-foot-1-inch floor general is tasked with helping gel together a new-look starting five.

"It's just (about) being more vocal, trying to lead the guys," Whitney said.

"Telling them where to be offensively and defensively." The matchup against the division-two visitors was not perfect, as the Griz trailed for moments in the first half, but a firm response and a dominant second-half performance was enough for Montana to coast to a 82-54 win Tuesday.

Whitney's presence, 11th-year head coach Travis DeCuire said, is ultra important.

"The biggest thing for him is his leadership in terms of setting examples," DeCuire said.

"How he handles himself in timeouts, how he handles himself in substitutions, te preparation for the game.

He can reiterate the things that we say because he's been there." Whitney was accompanied by four transfers in the starting five, including Kai Johnson (Western Washington), Malik Moore (Pepperdine), Joe Pridgen (Northeastern) and Jensen Bradtke (Saint Mary's).

In the opening minutes of the game, Montana looked like a team replacing four starters.

The offense took multiple possessions to find the basket, and a sloppy first 10 minutes saw the Grizzlies tied with the Saints at 17 at the halfway mark of the first half.

A few moments later, Saint Martin's led 22-17.

Montana responded, rattling off a 17-2 run that gave the Griz a double-digit lead.

At halftime, UM led by nine.

DeCuire said his team was, "tight" early on, missing open shots it usually makes.

"Just getting loose, breaking a sweat, getting comfortable," DeCuire cited as the driving factors in the improved play.

"Maybe some nerves, a couple of those guys hadn't played in a division one game before." "When you've been playing against each other, your sense of urgency against another opponent isn't as high as it should be, especially against a non-division one opponent.

It took us a while to get going, and once we got rhythm we were fine." Unsurprisingly, Montana's offense looked exponentially smoother with Whitney on the court.

The Mission Hills, California, native played 27 minutes and 55 seconds, over three more minutes than the next highest-used Grizzly.

Whitney totaled just six points, but his five rebounds and five assists help show the all-around presence the veteran provided.

"We were very stagnant in the first half" Whitney said.

"Just moving the ball (helped), taking better shots." Montana flexed its muscles in the second half, allowing just six points through the first 15 minutes of the period.

Despite some garbage-time scoring, a 43-24 Montana half put the game far out of reach.

Jackson, a 6-foot-4-inch guard, helped build the Grizzlies' lead with his shot making at the rim and off the dribble.

He finished the game with a team-leading 13 points.

"It's been a lot of new guys, and I think the guys that have stayed here have done a great job of bringing guys in and showing us what makes Griz basketball, Griz basketball," Johnson said.

"Everyone's adapted." "We've put a lot of hours in, in the weight room, in the gym, getting shots up.

When we're in practice, or when we're even in a game, we have the ability to communicate through problems." One notable player Montana missed Tuesday night was Money Williams, who is in Oakland after his mother's passing.

DeCuire emphasized giving Williams time in his grieving process and does not know when he will return.

"We're looking forward to having him back, 'when' is the question," DeCuire said.

"When he jumps on that plane, we'll be ultra-excited." Montana opens its regular season Nov.

4 at 7 p.m.

in Dahlberg Arena against Hawaii Hilo.

As the team continues to find its roles and determine its rotations, game reps are as valuable as ever.

"When you don't really know someone very well, when you haven't been to war with them, you just know what their talent is," DeCuire said.

"You know what the stat sheet says they can do.

But how they get to it, when they're not playing well how to snap them out of it, we gotta learn that through battle." Carson Cashion is a sports writer for 406 MT Sports, primarily covering the Bitterroot Valley.

Follow him on X @CarsonCashion or contact him at .

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