MISSOULA -- Sayeed Pridgett almost made history on Saturday evening as the Grizzly senior fell one assist shy of a triple-double as UM defeated Idaho State 78-63 in front of 4,657 fans at Dahlberg Arena.
Pridgett finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Pridgett was 10 for 14 from the field.
Kendal Manuel scored 16 points, Jared Samuelson had 12 while Josh Vazquez added 11.
Montana shot 55.9 percent from the field in the game including 37.5 percent from three. Defensively, the Grizzlies held the Bengals to 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) shooting from the field and 29.4 percent (5 for 17) from 3-point range. The Griz also forced 15 turnovers.
Montana led by double-digits in the first half but Idaho State raced all the way back to make it 49-44 just three minutes into the second half. However, six straight points from Pridgett put the Griz back up by 11 and a 12-2 run later in the half made it 69-51 with 7:07 to go to ice the game away.
Late in the first half there was a scary scene as Timmy Falls drove to the basket for a layup. As he went down an ISU defender landed awkwardly on his right ankle and Falls needed help getting off the court. The junior went to UM's locker room and returned with crutches and ice around his ankle. He did not return to the game.
Samuelson also went down briefly and indicated his left knee was hurting in the second half. He got up under his own power and went to the locker room but returned to Montana's bench shortly after before re-entering the game with 2:31 left to play.
The win was Montana's fifth in a row as the Griz improved to 16-10 overall and 12-3 in Big Sky Conference play to hang on to first place. The Griz head to Bozeman next Saturday to take on the Bobcats in their second meeting of the year.
