THE GAMES: The University of Montana Grizzlies (6-4/2-0 BSC) return to action after almost two weeks off and resume their Big Sky Conference slate, hosting the Eastern Washington Eagles (3-9/1-1) on Thursday, Jan. 3, and the Portland State Vikings (3-6/1-1) on Saturday, Jan. 5. Both games start at 7:00 p.m. in UM’s Dahlberg Arena (7,321).
RADIO/STREAMING/TV: The “Voice of the Griz” Mick Holien, a 12-time “Montana Broadcaster of the Year” pick, calls the play-by-play on Missoula’s KGVO Radio (1290 AM and 101.5 FM) for his 20th season in a row. Streaming is available at www.gogriz.com and BigSkyTV.com. The games will not be televised. NOTE: The 2012-13 Griz Radio Network stations are listed on add 4-4-4).
GRIZ START LEAGUE SEASON WITH TWO ROAD WINS: The defending Big Sky champion Grizzlies opened league play with a pair of hard-fought road wins in December: 62-56 on Dec. 19th at Northern Arizona, and 61-60 at Sacramento State on Dec. 21st.
GRIZ RANKED IN TOP 25 IN 3-POINT% & FT%: Montana is ranked 11th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.7% , trailing Lehigh (44.8%). UM is 24th in free throw percentage at 75.6%, and Lehigh also leads the nation (80.5%) in that category.
SERIES/LAST YEAR: The Griz lead the series with the Eagles 44-17 since the 1983-84 season. Montana has won 10 of the last 12 and 16 of the last 19. Last year: at UM 79, EWU 71; UM 74, at EWU 60; UM 74, at EWU 66 (BSC tourney). (Last season’s UM-EWU box scores are attached to the weekly release).
CHERRY BACK: Senior guard Will Cherry returned to action on Dec. 15th against South Dakota State after missing the last two-and-a-half months due to a foot injury. He saw limited action in that game, but had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals in UM’s two recent league road wins at NAU and Sac State, and played 35 and 39 minutes in those games.
CHERRY MOVES UP SKY STEALS LISTS: He now has 229 career steals, which moves him up to fourth in Big Sky history. He needs 55 more to pass all-time leader DaShawn Freeman of Sac State, who had 283 steals from 2002-06.
See Game Notes for rosters, cumulative stats and more.
See the 2012-13 Media Guide.
Montana Sports Information — GoGriz.com