MISSOULA, MONT. (AP) -- Montana moved into a first-place tie in the Big Sky Conference after defeating Northern Colorado 55-42 Saturday night.
The Grizzlies and Bears now have identical 10-3 conference records, and the two teams split their season series.
Brian Qvale led Montana (18-7) with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Derek Selvig added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Devon Beitzel accounted for more than half of Northern Colorado's scoring with his 22 points. The Bears (14-10) shot 23 percent from the field and made just 3 of 23 3-pointers. Beitzel was 8 of 17 from the field, while the rest of the Bears were a combined 6 for 43 (14 percent).
Northern Colorado missed its first nine shot attempts as Montana jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Grizzlies upped that margin to 21-4 after a layup by Qvale with 11:22 remaining in the first half.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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