Montana hangs on to beat Pepperdine 71-70

Dec 22, 2016, 11:19 pm

MISSOULA, Mont. -- Ahmaad Rorie scored 20 points and dished out eight assists as Montana held on down the stretch to beat Pepperdine 71-70 on Thursday night.

Brandon Gfeller hit five 3s and scored 17 points for Montana (5-8), which was outshot by the Waves by nearly 10 percent (52-43.4). But the Grizzlies drilled seven more 3-pointers (13-6) and forced 19 Pepperdine turnovers.

Montana led 37-29 at the half but two Nate Gehring free throws gave Pepperdine a 62-60 lead with 5:08 to go. The Grizzlies fought back, regaining a 70-65 edge after a Rorie 3 and a Bobby Morehead 3-point play.

Rorie added a final free throw with three seconds left, giving Montana a 71-67 lead, and preventing Elijah Lee's 3-pointer at the buzzer for Pepperdine from sending the game to overtime.

Lamond Murray Jr. led the Waves (4-8) with 14 points. Chris Reyes added 12.