Griz men hold off Sac State; Cats down Portland State

MISSOULA — Money Williams scored 20 points and Montana saw a 16-point lead nearly evaporate for the Grizzlies held on for an 81-73 victory over Sacramento State Thursday in Big Sky Men’s basketball at Dahlberg Arena. 

Williams hit six late free throws to stymie the Hornets’ comeback in the schools’ final regular season meeting as Big Sky foes. 

Kenyon Aguino’s layup with 13 minutes left put Montana (15-14 overall, 9-7 in Big Sky games) ahead 57-41. 

Prophet Johnson hit a three that sparked the 9-19 overall Hornets (5-11 in conference). Johnson led the Hornets with 14 points. A layup from Mark Lavrenov plus an and-one from Taj Glover cut the lead to single digits. Glover finished with 12.  

Romar Robinson capped off the 14-4 run with a transition basket, but Tyler Isaak and Williams scored the final four points to secure the win for Montana. 

Brooklyn Hicks chipped in 15 points for Montana while Te’Jon Sawyer added 11 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. 

Montana State 84, Portland State 69 

BOZEMAN — Jed Miller scored 25 points and Montana State knocked off Big Sky leading Portland State Thursday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. 

Montana State opened with the first 11 points of the game and never trailed. 

Miller ballooned the lead to 41-27 with a transition three with four minutes left in the opening half. 

Terri Miller Jr, Scored the final five points of the half to give Portland State life with a 43-34 halftime deficit. Miller led all scorers with 28 points in the game. Jaylin Henderson added 19 for the Vikings 

A quick four points from the Vikings made it a 43-38 game early in the second half, but Christian King hit a pair of threes to quell any run. 

Seth Amunrud put a bow on the victory with a triple in the final three minutes to give Montana State its largest lead at 82-61. Amunrud finished with 22 points. 

The Bobcats welcome in Sacramento State Saturday as they look to take the No. 2 seed into the Big Sky Tournament in Boise. Montana State (16-13 overall) is currently tied for second with Eastern Washington at 10-6 in conference. Portland State (18-9, 12-4 in conference) has locked up a share of the regular season title and can clinch an outright championship with a win in either of its final two games (Saturday at Montana and Monday at home vs. Weber State).