MISSOULA — A back-and-forth affair turned into a runaway thanks to the hot shooting of Tyler Thompson as the Montana Grizzlies took down Big Sky Conference rival Weber State 81-65 at Dahlberg Arena on Thursday night.
The redshirt freshman was hot all game as Thompson scored a season-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting — all from beyond the arc — as he gave the Griz (11-9, 5-2 Big Sky) a much-needed spark. The Wildcats in turn fell to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in league play.
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The game was punch, counterpunch between the two old foes early in the first half, but the Wildcats blew it open to a 33-22 lead with 6:12 left in the first period. After a three-point play from Te'Jon Sawyer, Thompson followed that up with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Brooklyn Hicks tacked on a put-back slam to tie it up as the Griz got back into the game.
Weber State would lead 43-36 at halftime, but the second half was all Montana as UM's defense clamped down and held the Wildcats to just 22 second-half points. Weber State went just 5 for 21 from the field in the second half and had eight turnovers.
Thompson, meanwhile, stayed hot as he went a perfect 4 for 4 in the second frame and UM ran away down the stretch. Sawyer and Hicks each added 13 points while Money Williams scored seven points, dished six assists and added three steals. Williams also joined the 1,000-point club at Montana, becoming the sixth-fastest player to do so and 38th player in program history to achieve that milestone.
Kenyon Aguino also added eight points and five rebounds, tying him for the team-high with Thompson and Sawyer. The Griz as a team shot 62% from the field and were 11 for 21 from deep.
UM is back home on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Idaho State.
