Montana Defeats Long Beach State

Kirk Walker scored 15 points Saturday night in leading Montana to an 80-70 victory over Long Beach State.

The Grizzles (7-4) trailed for most of the first half, but took the lead on a three-pointer by Mat Seidensticker with 37 seconds remaining.

Long Beach State’s James Cotton tied the score with four seconds left on a three-pointer and it was 36-36 at the break.

Cotton, the nation’s third-leading scorer going in, had 20 points, down from his average of 25.8 points.

The Grizzlies fell behind, 29-16, but their depth started to take a toll on the 49ers.

“Early in the game, everybody just needs to get a feel,” Montana Coach Blaine Taylor said. “But as time goes by, then depth becomes a weapon.”

“Chris [Spoja] came out and set the example that we could play with those guys,” Taylor said. “I thought we were unsure how we compared with them the first 10 minutes. Once we rotated through and made a few plays, we started to believe.

“Mat Seidensticker came in and made some big plays off the bench and Kirk is fitting in so much better since J.R. [Camel] came back.”

Montana regained the lead with the second half’s first possession on a Brandon Dade free throw and never trailed again.

The Grizzlies’ largest margin was 15 points at the 12:45 mark on a jump shot by Bob Olson.

The 49ers closed to within five points on a shot by Cotton with one minute left, but Montana held on for the victory with a jumper by Camel and a series of successful free throws.

The loss dropped Long Beach State to 3-4.

Brian Yanklevitz and Brandon Titus each had 15 points for Long Beach, and Marcus Johnson added 10.