Round one goes to the Grizzlies.
 
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team fell behind by as many as 18 in the first half and 29 in the second half and fell to Montana 90-63 Thursday (Jan. 9) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
The game was the anticipated match-up of the two Big Sky Conference favorites and the participants in the last two league tournament championship games. A crowd of 1,837 watched as the Grizzlies sank 54 percent of their shots compared to 38 percent for the Eagles, who lost for the first time in seven home games.
 
"It was a great environment and college basketball atmosphere," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "We just didn't handle our own business. We'll get there. We just laid an egg, didn't play well and didn't step up to the challenge. Next time out there I'll do a better job and our team will be prepared."
 
Eastern entered the game ranked second in NCAA Division I in scoring – up one position from earlier in the week -- averaging 85.9 per game. The point total for the Eagles versus the Griz was their second-fewest this season, ranking only behind the 60 they scored at Saint Louis on Nov. 13.
 
Junior Jacob Davison led the Eagles with 15 points, and senior Mason Peatling had 12 with nine rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Kim Aiken Jr. was held to a season-low eight points and had only six boards after entering the game averaging a double-double. Eastern was out-rebounded 37-29 by UM.
 
Eastern made seven of its first 13 shots and was down by just two, but the Eagles sank just 3-of-14 after that to fall behind at halftime 46-28. Montana, on the other hand, missed eight of its first 11 shots, but then hit 15-of-22 the rest of the half.
 
The Eagles, who had its second-lowest point total in a half this season, also had eight turnovers, was out-rebounded 19-15 and was out-shot 55 percent to 37 percent in the first 20 minutes.
 
Eastern looked better early in the second half, and a 3-pointer by Aiken cut the Montana lead to 13 at 50-37 four minutes in. But the Grizzlies responded with a 13-3 run over the next five minutes to open a 63-40 lead. The Grizzlies led by no less than 17 and by as many as 29 the rest of the way.
 
Six-foot-4 Montana freshman Derrick Carter-Hollinger entered the game averaging just 6.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocked shots per game, but responded with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Sayeed Pridgett had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
 
 
Records . . .
 
* Eastern is now 9-6 on the season and 2-2 in the league, including its best non-conference record (7-4) since beginning the 2015-16 season with an 8-2 mark and going 9-4 in the preseason. While the Eagles are now 6-1 at home thus far, Eastern is 3-5 on the road, having registered one of its biggest victories in school history, an 87-82 home win on Nov. 26 over mid-major power Belmont in the final game for both schools in the Gotham Classic.
 
* Montana is the two-time defending Big Sky Conference champion, and EWU has missed out on NCAA Tournament berths by falling to the Grizzlies in both the 2018 (82-65) and 2019 (68-62) championship games of the league tournament. Both EWU and UM are the preseason picks to win the league title in the 2019-20 season – Eastern by the coaches and Montana by the media.
 
* The Grizzlies sit atop the league standings with a 4-1 league mark. The Grizzlies opened the league season with home victories versus Northern Arizona (79-72) and Sacramento State (52-50), then edged Southern Utah (60-58) on the road before falling at Northern Colorado (74-66). Montana is now 8-8 overall.
 
* Senior guard Sayeed Pridgett for UM was last week's Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Ready Nutrition Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in UM's home sweep, including a double-double of 27 points and 10 boards against NAU. He followed that with 16 points at eight boards at SUU, and 15 points at UNC. For the season, he entered the EWU game leading UM with averages of 19.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Teammate Kendal Manuel entered averaging 14.3 points, and had 30 points, six rebounds and three steals at Northern Colorado.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* The Eagles have a full week between games, and will next play at Idaho on Thursday, Dec. 16 at approximately 7:30 p.m. at the Kibbie Dome. The EWU women's team take on the Vandals in the first game of the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. The Vandal men fell at home to Montana State 71-68 on Thursday (Jan. 9) to fall to 1-3 in the Big Sky Conference and 5-10 overall. Idaho is coached by former Eagle Zac Claus, who lettered for EWU in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons after transferring from Nebraska.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Eastern true freshmen Ellis Magnuson, Tyler Robertson and Jacob Groves were productive, with Magnuson finishing with four points and five assists, Robertson scoring five and Groves finishing with eight. Senior Tyler Kidd also had five points to go along with three assists, and junior Jack Perry scored five as well.
 
 
More Notes . . .
 
* Eastern is 23-54 against the Grizzlies since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in 1983-84, including a 10-28 record in Missoula, 13-22 in Cheney and 0-4 on neutral courts. Montana leads the overall series 70-44. The Eagles triumphed the previous two times they played the Griz in Cheney, and have still won three of the last five meetings in Missoula. Until winning 75-69 on Feb. 4, 2015, the Eagles had lost their last 12 meetings in Missoula, dating back to a 71-52 Eagle win on Feb. 7, 2004. The Eagles would also beat the Grizzlies on their home floor in the 2015 Big Sky Championship game, giving the Eagles a berth in the NCAA Tournament. EWU is 1-6 versus the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament. Besides the 2015 victory, Eastern has also lost to the Grizzlies in the 2018 (82-65) and 2019 (68-62) title games. The Eagles lost 74-66 to UM in the 2012 semifinals in Missoula; 73-71 in overtime in the 2006 semifinals in Flagstaff, Ariz.; 58-48 in the 2005 quarterfinals; and 70-66 in the 2002 championship in Bozeman.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Result: "That wasn't a way we should play – ever – especially in front of our home fans, family and friends. They kicked our butts and showed us what a championship-caliber team is. We aren't there yet. We like to think we are, and we love all the accolades, but we were out-classed, out-toughed and out-coached. I have to do a better job of getting our guys ready and prepared for these games."
 
On First Half Deficit: "The fight wasn't there right from the start, so we have to be better there. And you have to play smart basketball. Their physicality bothered us, and we didn't do a great job of handling that physical play. Teams are going to play like that against us – that's the second time we've been played that way in the league, and we lost both of those games. When teams come out and play us physical, we have to fight back and be tougher. We can't complain – we just have to play through it."
 
On Upcoming Week Off: "We have more games to come – 16 more before the Big Sky Championship. We have to get back in the gym. We don't have to re-invent the wheel – we have a really good ballclub. We just need to shore up some things and make sure our players understand what we are looking for. We have to do a better job from the toughness standpoint. We knew we had to rebound and slow Montana down but didn't do that. We'll get there, and we look forward to playing them again."