Montana 88, Montana St. 76

2/10/2008 12:07 AM

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - Andrew Strait scored 20 points and five other Montana players reached double figures in an 88-76 victory over cross-state rival Montana State on Saturday night.

Kyle Sharp finished with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds, while Matt Martin came off the bench to score 16 for the Grizzlies (11-12, 5-5 Big Sky). Jordan Hasquet and Ryan Staudacher added 12 points apiece and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor scored 10.

The Bobcats (13-10, 5-5) went into halftime down only 35-33. But the Grizzlies came out shooting in the second half, hitting 72 percent from the field. They opened the half with a mini-burst, highlighted by a slam dunk by Sharp to build a 42-35 lead.

Montana State couldn't get any closer than five points the rest of the way, as the Grizzlies repeatedly answered every challenge. Montana secured the win with strong free-throw shooting, including 6-of-6 by Elgin-Taylor in the final two minutes.

Mecklen Davis went 8-of-11 from the field to come off the bench and lead Montana State with 19 points.

Carlos Taylor, who scored a career-high 34 points in the Big Sky Conference opener against Montana, added 17 points. The Bobcats won that game 74-58.

Casey Durham finished with 14 points in Saturday night's game, and Adrian Zamora grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.