MISSOULA, Mont.—Andrew Strait, Ryan Staudacher and Cameron Rundles scored 16 points apiece to lead Montana past Northern Colorado 81-66 on Thursday night.
Strait grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, and Jordan Hasquet added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies (14-14, 8-7 Big Sky). The win secured a spot for Montana in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The Grizzlies took an early lead with the help of nine 3-pointers and went into halftime ahead 48-32. They built their lead to 26 points, 73-47, with 6:35 left.
But the Bears (12-16, 5-10) responded with a 17-0 run to cut the margin to 73-64. They had several opportunities to get even closer until Montana broke its scoring drought on a breakaway layin by Rundles. He was fouled and made the free throw to give the Grizzlies a 76-64 lead with 1:38 remaining.
Jabril Banks led Northern Colorado with 15 points and five rebounds. Devon Beitzel added 12 points.
