by Jon Allen | Special to MCLA.us

BISMARK, N.D. -- The Montana men's lacrosse team pulled out two convincing wins over the weekend against North Dakota State in Bismarck -- the first two wins against NDSU for the Grizzly program.

Saturday’s victory saw the Griz (6-1) pull away early and cruise to a 16-8 win aided by a pair of three-goal performances from junior Sean Anderson and freshman Peter Curran.

The Griz held NDSU (2-5) scoreless during the second quarter and used an 8-0 scoring run bridging the first and third quarters to take a nine goal lead.

NDSU was unable to mount a charge in the second half as Montana had a match for every goal the Bison added.

Sunday’s matchup stayed competitive for much longer, but a strong fourth quarter put Montana out in front for good as the Griz took the victory 12-7.

Montana again held NDSU scoreless for a whole quarter, this time the fourth, as the Griz scored seven straight goals after trailing by two late in the third quarter.

Three-goal performances by freshman Eric Frazer and junior Parker Swank -- on his birthday -- fueled the Griz to victory on a windy North Dakota morning.

The two victories are the first for the Griz Lacrosse program against NDSU. The two teams had last played in 2019 in Fargo.

Montana now moves on to its first and only scheduled home games of the season on April 23-24. April 23 will See Montana host both Air Force and UNLV and on April 24 Montana will play UNLV for a second time. All games will be played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.