Cherry carries Griz past Northern Colorado

Posted: Jan 19, 2012 10:39 PM by Q2 Sports

MISSOULA, MT - Junior guard Will Cherry scored a game-high 27 points to lead The University of Montana Grizzlies to a 76-58 Big Sky Conference victory over the visiting Northern Colorado Bears Thursday evening in UM's Dahlberg Arena.

Montana (5-1 league/12-6 overall) has now won seven of its last eight games.

The Bears (3-3/6-11) got off to a quick start and took a 12-point lead over the Grizzlies with 9:28 to go in the first half on a tip-in by senior forward Mike Proctor.

But, after Proctor's go-ahead bucket Montana went on a run of its own, out-scoring Northern Colorado 18-8 the rest of the half, and took a 37-36 lead with one second remaining on a lay-up by Cherry, thanks to a steal by UM senior guard Jordan Wood.

In the Grizzlies' comeback effort in those final nine-plus minutes they forced 10 Bear turnover which led to UM's 37-36 lead at intermission. Cherry scored 17 of his points in the first half.

"We were lifeless to start the game," said UM head coach Wayne Tinkle. "They were very aggressive coming out of the gate and they have some talented young guys, they are going to be a very, very good team. I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to put that game away because it was a very important one for us.
"We had fought back, and the fact that we got the lead at the horn really helped our energy and focus," Tinkle said. "We made a much better effort of getting the ball inside to start the second half and I thought that set the tone."
Montana maintained its lead for the rest of the game, and opened up a double-digit (48-38) advantage with 15:40 left to play on a lay-up by sophomore guard Kareem Jamar. The Griz then out-scored the Bears 19-3 over the next eight minutes or so, and took a commanding 26-point lead at 67-41 with 7:27 left when junior forward Mathias Ward canned a three-pointer.

Montana led by at least 16 points in the final seven-plus minutes, in the turnover-marred second half. The Bears had 28 turnovers in the game - 17 in the second half. The Griz had 13 turnovers in the contest.

Cherry, who was 10-of-19 from the floor, 3-of-8 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the line, just missed his career-high of 28 points, which he scored at North Dakota earlier this season. It was his fifth 20-plus point game so far this season.

Cherry also had 6 assists and 4 steals. He now has 182 career steals, which moves him up to 12th all-time in Big Sky history.

Also in double figures for Montana were Jamar, Ward, and senior forward Derek Selvig, all with 11 points each. Ward had a team-high 6 rebounds. Jamar had 4 assists and 4 steals, while Selvig added 5 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

The Bears were led by Proctor'‘s 14 points and game-high 9 rebounds. Freshman guard Tevin Svihovec added 12 points for NC.

Montana made 26-of-57 (45.6%) field goal tries, and its 9-of-24 tied its season-high for treys made, while its 24 attempts are the most they have tried all season. UM was 15-of-21 (71.4%) from the line. The Griz also had a season-high 15 steals.

Northern Colorado was 19-of-40 (47.5%) from the floor, made 5-of-13 treys (38.5%), and shot 75.5% (15-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Bears, the top rebounding team in the Big Sky, had a 33-22 advantage on the boards. Montana's 22 rebounds were a season low.

The Grizzlies host the Sacramento State Hornets Saturday, Jan. 21, at 7:05 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. The Hornets dropped a 72- 65 contest to Montana State in Bozeman on Thursday evening.