Patterson sparks Montana early in 78-55 win over Idaho in Big Sky Conference tourney semifinal

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Reserve Austin Patterson scored 20 points shooting 5 for 10 from 3-point range and Montana beat Idaho 78-55 in a Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinal game on Tuesday night.

The second-seeded Grizzlies will play top-seeded Northern Colorado on Wednesday for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Money Williams, also a backup, and Kai Johnson each scored 13 points for Montana (24-9).

Jack Payne scored 18 points and Kolton Mitchell 12 for Idaho (14-19) who entered the tournament as the sixth seed.

Patterson's 3-pointer with 15:43 left in the first half broke a tie at 7 and Montana led for the remainder. Williams made a layup and 3 within 30 seconds and Montana extended the lead to 27-11 at the midway point of the first half.

The Grizzlies led 39-28 at intermission and stayed ahead by double figures for all the second half.

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