MISSOULA, Mont. – Lamar University overcame a tough opening half offensively, and rallied from a late deficit to defeat Montana, 68-63, Sunday afternoon to win the first game of the Blaine Taylor Classic. The Cardinals improved to 3-1 (.750) on the season and ended a 10-game home win streak for the Grizzlies in Dahlberg Arena.
 
After converting less than 29 percent of its attempts in the opening half, the Cardinals found their rhythm in the second knocking down 19-of-38 (.500) from the field and 4-of-7 (.571) from three-point range. It was a similar story for Montana who also shot less than 30 percent from the field in the opening half to finish the game with a 10-of-22 (.455) effort in the second, including a 4-of-8 (.500) mark on three-pointers.
 
Lamar outrebounding Montana, 47-41, including a 17-11 advantage on the offensive end, which led to a 22-5 gap in second chance points.
 
Senior Andrew Holifield led three Cardinals in double figures with 18 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds. It marks the first time this season Lamar has not had a player score at least 20 points in a game. Holifield was joined by sophomore Braden East who recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while senior Cody Pennebaker added 11 – including seven of those coming during a key stretch late in the game.
 
Lamar scored the first five points and then went into a slump that lasted nearly five minutes, and Montana responded with a 13-0 run before the game turned into a defensive battle. The Cardinals managed to pull even six minutes later but neither team could find any consistency in the opening half as Lamar was 10-of-35 (. 286) while the Grizzlies were 8-of-30 (.267).
 
The intensity on the offensive end of the court picked up early in the second half. The Cardinals knocked down six of their first 12, including a 3-of-4 start from long range, while Montana started the half 5-of-10 with a couple of threes. Lamar took two early five-point leads in the half, one on a Holifield three and the three minutes later on a Braden East basket but Montana answered to reclaim an one-point advantage less than a minute later.
 
The back-and-forth slugfest continued when Rob Lee, Jr. nailed a 15-footer to give Lamar its biggest lead of the game (48-42) only to see the Grizz come right back down the court and hit a three-pointer. That triple sparked a 15-4 Montana run as Lamar missed its next four attempts and the Grizz surged out to a five-point lead, 57-52, with 4:33 remaining.
 
Trailing by four, Lamar again turned up the defense holding Montana scoreless over a four-minute stretch and the Cardinals took advantage going on a 9-2 run, sparked by two big Cody Pennebaker offensive rebounds, to give the Cardinals a late advantage. Montana would get a late look on a corner three but it was well short and Big Red got the rebound to put the game on ice.
 
The Cardinals return to action Monday to face Oakland. The game against the Golden Grizzlies will tip off at 3 p.m. Central from Dahlberg Arena. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.