Montana's Anthony Johnson scored 19 points to lead the Grizzlies to a semifinal win over Northern Colorado on Tuesday.
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OGDEN, Utah - The fourth-seeded Montana Grizzlies are back in the championship game. Montana beat No. 2 seed Northern Colorado in the first semifinal of the 2010 America First Credit Union Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship 68-63 on Tuesday night.
Montana freshman Will Cherry hit a .jumpt shot in the lane with 24 seconds to play to give the Grizzlies a 66-63 lead. Northern Colorado stormed back from a 14-point second-half deficit to take a lead 63-62 lead on a Yohosh Bonner 3-pointer with 1:47 to play.
Montana (21-9) advanced to the championship game for the 13th time in school history. Montana last won the title in 2006. The Grizzlies will face either Weber State or Portland State, who are playing in the second semifinal game.
Wednesday's championship is at 7 p.m. Mountain and will be televised live on ESPN2.
Senior Anthony Johnson scored 19 points with three assists and three steals to lead Montana. Cherry and senior Ryan Staudacher each scored 10 points.
Montana shot 47.2 percent from the floor, and held a 36-25 advantage on the boards. UM scored 20 second-chance points.
Senior Will Figures scored 23 points to lead the Bears (24-7).