Johnson carries Montana past Weber State for Big Sky title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Ogden, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Johnson set a tournament record with 42 points and knocked down the game-winning jumper with 10.4 seconds left to cap a furious second-half comeback, as Montana upended Weber State, 66-65, to claim the Big Sky Conference tourney crown and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson poured in 34 of those points in the second half to help erase a 20- point halftime deficit and give Montana (22-9) its seventh tourney title and eighth NCAA Tournament appearance. The senior was 13-of-22 from the field and made all 14 of his foul shots.

Derek Selvig chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Big Sky Player of the Year Damian Lillard had 16 points and five rebounds, but was just 5-of-13 from the field. Franklin Session added 10 points for top- seeded and tournament host Weber State (20-10), which was vying for its ninth Big Sky Tournament crown.

The Grizzlies shot just 28 percent in the first half with its seven field goals leading to a measly 20 points and a 40-20 deficit after 20 minutes.

However, thanks to Johnson, Montana sank a startling 69.6 percent of its shots in the second half.

Weber State was still up 19 nearing five minutes into the second half after Nick Hansen dropped in a layup, but Johnson hit from beyond the arc on the other end to start the improbable comeback with the first points of a 13-3 run.

Selvig and Ryan Staudacher also struck from three-point range during the stretch, which sliced the deficit to nine with 12 1/2 minutes remaining.

Lillard drained a three for the Wildcats to stem the tide, but Johnson was at the head of another Montana run pouring in eight points during a 10-0 surge that brought the lead down to 51-49 with close to nine minutes left.

A layup by Session and Trevor Morris' basket with 6 1/2 minutes to play gave the Wildcats some breathing room at 60-52.

Johnson simply took over from there, scoring the final 14 Montana points. He scored six straight to make it a one-possession game and hit a jumper to get with 61-60 near four minutes remaining.

His jumper with 1:04 to go gave the Grizzlies their first lead at 64-63, but Lillard answered with two free throws.

Montana had a chance to go back in front but Lillard came up with a huge steal of Selvig that led to a trip to the line by Session with 28.1 seconds on the clock.

Session, though, missed both attempts and Johnson pulled up for a short jumper on the ensuing possession to put the Grizzlies up 66-65. Will Cherry then tied up Lillard on a loose ball to force a possession change back to Montana to seemingly end things with 2.6 seconds left.

Selvig missed a pair of free throws, though, to give Weber State life. But a last-second heave fell well short.

Game Notes

The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with each winning on their home floor. Weber State remains ahead in the all-time series with a 58-48 mark...The Wildcats shot 28 percent in the second half and 37.3 for the game...The hosts got eight points each from Hansen, Lindsey Hughey and Darin Mahoney.

Wsouthwest NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Evans' triple-double leads Kings over Raptors
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans logged his first career triple- double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and as many assists, as Sacramento cruised to a 113-90 win over a struggling Toronto Raptors club. Beno Udrih led all scorers

<< Report: Bengals ink WR Bryant to four-year contract
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly signed free agent wide receiver Antonio Bryant to a four-year, $28 million contract. The Cincinnati Enquirer definitively reported late Wednesday that the

<< Pacific-10 Conference Tournament Recaps
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tajuan Porter exploded for 32 points to power the eighth-seeded Oregon Ducks to an 82-80 overtime victory over the ninth-seeded Washington State Cougars in the first round of the Pac-10 Confere

<< Coyotes nip Canucks in shootout
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout, as Phoenix edged the homeward-bound Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, at Jobing.com Arena. Aucoin ripped a shot u

<< Ex-Spurs player Alvin Robertson returns to jail
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Former NBA All-Star Alvin Robertson, facing sexual assault of a child and sex trafficking charges, is back in jail in San Antonio after a judge increased his bond.Prosecutors say they had asked that Robertson's bail be doubled to $

Noh among four British Open qualifiers >>
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than a week after winning his first European Tour event, Seung-yul Noh was one of four qualifiers at the International Final Qualifying for the British Open, which will be contested at St.

Redskins sign free-agent tight end Sean Ryan >>
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -Free-agent tight end Sean Ryan has signed with the Washington Redskins.Ryan caught 14 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns for the Kansas City Chiefs last season.He has 26 catches for 240 yards and those two TDs in six NFL seas

Redskins add TE Ryan >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins agreed to terms with tight end Sean Ryan on Thursday. Details of the contract were not disclosed. Ryan appeared in 10 games, making eight starts, for Kansas City last season and ha

Cowboys tangle with Wildcats in Big 12 quarterfinals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterfinal action of the Big 12 Conference Tournament pits the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats against the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys. Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a

No. 1 Kansas begins Big 12 Tournament play against Texas Tech >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they are slated to do battle with the ninth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders this afternoon in the quarterfinal round.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.