The Montana men’s basketball team took on rival Montana State on the road Saturday night, and junior Walter Wright was ready to go.
The former Wilby standout had 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 80-72 Grizzlies victory over the Bobcats in a game known as the Brawl of the Wild. As the story on the Griz website pointed out, it was Wright’s introduction to the rivalry. I would say he fared pretty well.
Wright, a junior college transfer, played 37 minutes, shot 12-of-13 from the foul line and dished out three assists. He was 6-of-15 from the floor for the game.
Montana improved to an impressive 8-1 in the Big Sky Conference, which leaves them in first place halfway through the league schedule. The Griz are 13-7 overall.
For the season, Wright has started all 20 games, averaging 32.4 minutes per contest (he’s played a team-leading 648 minutes). He’s shooting 41 percent from the field, 34.2 from three and 76.8 from the foul line. Wright leads the team in assists (86) and steals (26). He is second on the team at 12.7 points per game.