Big Sky Quarterfinal Recap
by Nicholas Lozito
Sacramento State upsets Montana
The No. 6 seed Sac State Hornets used 24 points from senior forward Derek Lambeth in a 88-75 win over the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday in Missoula. With the victory, the Hornets advance to the semi-final round of the Big Sky Tournament, where they will face No. 1 seed Weber State.
Sac State used superb outside shooting to disrupt a Montana zone defense which had given the Hornets fits in the teams’ two February match-ups — both Montana wins. The Hornets connected on 7-of-17 shots from 3-point range on the night, including 3-of-6 from Lambeth, who also grabbed six boards and dished out five assists.
Freshman backup point guard DaShawn Freeman scored a career-high 18 points for the Hornets. Brandon Guyton (13 points) and Jimmy White (10) also scored in double figures for Sac Sate. Kevin Criswell led the Grizzly attack with 22 points, while fellow backcourt stud David Bell could only muster 12.
If the Hornets wish to advance to the Big Sky title game, they will have to knock off another team who has already defeated them twice in Weber. “We’re not afraid of Weber,” Jenkins said. “We’re looking forward to keep shocking the world. It’s time for them to lose.”
Prediction: Weber State 87, Sac State 70
Idaho State handles Lumberjacks
David Schroeder scored 20 on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in leading the No. 4 seed Bengals to a 85-74 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. Idaho State point guards Marquis Poole contributed 19 points with eight assists. Poole has led the resergence of a ISU program which was predicted to finish near the bottom of the conference. Lumberjack power forward Ryan McDade scored 22 points with 16 rebounds.
The win sends the Bengals to the semi-final round of the Big Sky Tournament, where they will take on No. 2 seed Eastern Washington on Tuesday. The Bengals knocked-off Eastern Washington in both of the teams’ regular season games, edging them by two points each time.
Prediction: Idaho State 78, Eastern Washington 77
