Anthony Johnson (6'3''-G-86) put Montana on his back Wednesday night, rallying the Grizzlies from a 20-point half-time deficit in 66-65 victory over top-seeded Weber State in the title game of the Big Sky men's basketball championship. Johnson, a senior guard, set the Big Sky single-game tournament scoring record with 42 points, including 34 in the second half. Johnson scored Montana's final 21 points, including the game-winning shot with 11 seconds to play. Johnson's 42 points were a career-high, a Montana school record, and a Dee Events Center record. The previous tournament single-game record was 39 points by Cal State's Northridge Mike O'Quinn in a 1998 quarterfinal game. The previous championship game record was 34 set by Idaho's Ken Green against Weber State in 1983. Montana shot 28 percent in the first half, and didn't score its 10th point of the game until 6:17 remained before halftime. 'We sent the bus back to hotel at halftime and went and got our real team,'' said Montana coach Wayne Tinkle . 'We got some imposters there in the first half. We were down 20 and it was pretty emotional at halftime. There wasn't much fight on either end. ' Johnson made 13-of-22 shots from the floor, and was 14-of-14 from the free-throw line. The 14 free-throws were also a single-game tournament record. Johnson was named the tournament MVP. Sophomore Derek Selvig (7'0''-F), who scored 12 points with seven rebounds, was also named to the All-Tournament team. Weber State's Damian Lillard (6'2''-G-90) , Franklin Session (6'2''-F/G), Portland State's Julius Thomas (6'5''-F-88) and Northern Colorado's Will Figures (5'9''-G-87) were also named to the All-Tournament team. Montana (22-9) earns the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The pairings will be announced on Sunday at 4 p.m. Mountain on CBS. Weber State, the Big Sky regular-season champion, earns an automatic bid to the NIT for the second straight season. The NIT pairings will be announced on Sunday on ESPNU at 7 p.m. Mountain. The Grizzlies have won seven Big Sky Championships, and will be making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance. Weber State (20-10) raced out to a 40-20 halftime lead, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, and forcing 16 turnovers. In the second half, the Wildcats shot 28 percent from the floor, made just 1-of-7 3-pointers. Weber State made 22-of-33 free throws. Lillard scored 16 points. Franklin Session added 10. Montana's Brian Qvale (6'11''-C-88) tied the championship-game record with six blocks. He also pulled down 14 rebounds. Courtesy of Big Sky Big Sky 2009-10 Summary Big Sky Conf. Tournament Final: Montana - Weber St. 66-65 Big Sky Conf. Tournament Semifinals: Montana - Northern Colorado 68-63 Weber St. - Portland State 69-60 Big Sky Conf. All-Tournament MVP: Anthony Johnson of Montana Big Sky Conf. All-Tournament Team Anthony Johnson of Montana Derek Selvig of Montana Franklin Session of Weber State Damian Lillard of Weber State Julius Thomas of Portland State Will Figures of Northern Colorado
All-Big Sky Conf. 1st Team Will Figures of Northern Colorado Bobby Howard (6'7''-F-88) of Montana State Anthony Johnson of Montana Cameron Jones (6'4''-G-89) of Northern Arizona Jamie Jones (6'7''-F-87) of Portland State Damian Lillard of Weber State All-Big Sky Conf. 2nd Team Devon Beitzel (6'0''-G-88) of Northern Colorado Amorrow Morgan (6'5''-G-87) of Idaho State Steve Panos (6'8''-C-88) of Weber State Franklin Session of Weber State Dominic Waters (6'1''-G-86) of Portland State All-Big Sky Conf. Honorable Mention Will Cherry (6'1''-G) of Northern Colorado Glen Dean (5'10''-G-89) of Eastern Washington Justin Eller (6'8''-C-87) of Sacramento State Broderick Gilchrest (6'0''-G-89) of Idaho State Marquis Navarre (5'11''-G) of Montana State Ryan Staudacher (6'4''-G-87) of Montana All-Big Sky Conf. Player of the Year: Damian Lillard of Weber State All-Big Sky Conf. Defensive Player of the Year: Yahosh Bonner (6'1''-G) of Northern Colorado All-Big Sky Conf. Freshman of the Year: Glen Dean of Eastern Washington All-Big Sky Conf. Newcomer of the Year: Franklin Session of Weber State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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