Big Sky men's semifinals Griz overtake EWU in final minutes

MISSOULA, Mont. - Montana overcame an 11-point lead by Eastern Washington and pulled away in the final 1:45 for a 74-66 victory Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament before 5,563 at Dahlberg Arena.

Montana (24-6) advances to face Weber State in the championship game tonight (6 p.m., ESPN2) for the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. EWU finished 15-17.

"We came into an extremely tough venue and gave them all they could handle," first-year Eastern coach Jim Hayford said. "It was a great basketball game and I was very proud of the way our team played. We did a fantastic job to hold them to 40 percent shooting, including 23 percent from 3. We just fouled a little too much. We played a complete game and I'm really, really proud."

The game featured four ties and 13 lead changes in just over a 12-minute span in the second half before the Grizzlies pulled away in the final 1:45 to overcome a 62-61 EWU lead. Montana went on an 11-0 run as Eastern missed four shots and had a turnover in that stretch.

Senior point guard Cliff Colimon scored a game-high 27 points, including 16 in the first half when EWU used a 19-3 run to turn a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead.

Senior forward Cliff Colimon added 16 points for EWU, and senior forward Laron Griffin had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Mathias Ward scored 18 points, and Kareem Jamar added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Montana, which won its 13th straight game.

Eastern made 47 percent of its shots in the game and was out-rebounded by just three. The difference in the game was 10 second-half turnovers, as Montana turned 13 EWU turnovers in the game into 19 points.

"We had only three turnovers in the first half and 10 in the second half," said Hayford. "I was disappointed in that."

Eastern Washington led 62-61 when Cherry's three-point play with 1:45 left began the 11-point surge. Ward followed with a dunk and Jamar a three-point play, making the score 69-62 with 35 seconds remaining.

Montana added three free throws before Colimon scored on a layup for the Eagles with 13 seconds to go. That ended the drought, but the Grizzlies' victory celebration was well underway.

In the other semifinal, Damian Lillard had 22 points and Weber State (24-5) outscored Portland State (17-14) 11-1 in the last 4:59 for a 69-63 victory.

Former North Idaho College standout Renado Parker scored six points for Portland State.

E. WASHINGTON (15-17)

Griffin 5-10 5-7 15, Chiverton 0-5 0-0 0, Ederaine 8-11 0-0 16, Colimon 10-20 5-5 27, Forbes 2-5 1-1 5, Kelly 1-2 0-0 3, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Winford 0-1 0-0 0, Hickert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 11-13 66.

MONTANA (24-6)

Steward 1-3 4-5 6, Ward 3-10 12-12 19, Selvig 4-8 3-4 12, Cherry 7-13 2-3 16, Jamar 6-15 6-8 18, DeShields 0-2 0-0 0, Stockton 1-3 0-0 3, Weisner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 27-32 74.

Halftime_E. Washington 35-30. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 3-15 (Colimon 2-7, Kelly 1-1, Hickert 0-1, Forbes 0-2, Ederaine 0-2, Chiverton 0-2), Montana 3-13 (Ward 1-1, Stockton 1-2, Selvig 1-2, DeShields 0-1, Cherry 0-2, Jamar 0-5). Fouled Out_Kelly. Rebounds_E. Washington 31 (Griffin 14), Montana 35 (Jamar 13). Assists_E. Washington 5 (Colimon, Ederaine 2), Montana 8 (Selvig 3). Total Fouls_E. Washington 23, Montana 14. A_5,563.