BOISE, Idaho – Robert Ford III scored 22 points and No. 5 seed Montana State beat third-seeded Montana 85-70 on Wednesday night to win the Big Sky Conference tournament championship and an automatic berth to the Big Sky Conference tournament. the NCAA.
Montana State (17-17) advances to the Big Dance for the third consecutive season and sixth time overall. Montana (23-11) was aiming for its 12th appearance after sweeping the Bobcats during the regular season.
Ford made 8 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws for Montana State. He added nine rebounds, five steals and four assists. John Olmsted had 16 points and five rebounds off the bench. Eddie Turner III scored 15 points, Brandon Walker 14 and Tyler Patterson 12.
Josh Vázquez scored 20 points to lead the Grizzlies. Aanen Moody and Laolu Oke scored 14 each. Brandon Whitney contributed 13 points and six rebounds.
Moody was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws, Vazquez followed with a 3-pointer and Montana closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 38-32 lead at halftime.
Montana took an 11-point lead three times in the first three minutes of the second half, the last at 49-38 on a Moody layup.
Montana State trailed by seven when Turner scored in the paint and Ford and Patterson hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Bobcats up 51-50 with 12:25 left. Patterson made two free throws and hit a 3-pointer to help the Bobcats pull away from a 53-all tie and take a 62-53 lead with 8:30 left.
The run grew to 14-0 and Montana State led 67-53 before Moody's layup for the Grizzlies ended the streak. First-year coach Matt Logie's Bobcats weren't threatened from there.
Weber State is the only other team to win three consecutive Big Sky tournament titles, from 1978 to 1980.
