Long Beach State Falls at Montana

Kirk Walker scored 15 points Saturday night in leading Montana to an 80-70 victory over Long Beach State in front of 4,347.

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

Long Beach State guard James Cotton tied the game with four seconds left on his own three-pointer to make the score 36-36 at the break.

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

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

The Grizzlies’ widest 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 to the win, scoring on a jump shot by J.R. Camel and a series of successful free throws.

The loss dropped Long Beach State’s record to 3-4.

Chris Spoja scored 13 points and Camel and Seidensticker each contributed 12 points for the Grizzlies.

For the 49ers, Brian Yanklevitz and Brandon Titus each had 15 points, and Marcus Johnson scored 10.