Criswell's basket with 7:15 left capped a 20-5 run that saw the Grizzlies (20-5, 9-3 Big Sky) rally from 38-37 down to take a 57-43 lead against the Eagles (12-14, 7-5).

With the victory, Montana clinched at least second place in the Big Sky, earning the Grizzlies a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Criswell, who also had five steals, started the Grizzlies on their second-half run, hitting a basket inside and a 3-pointer as Montana bounced back from a 26-20 halftime deficit.

Montana had threatened to put the game away early, jumping to a 14-7 lead on two foul shots by Matt Dlouhy before EWU rallied to take a 15-14 lead on Rodney Stuckey's basket inside with a little more than nine minutes left. The lead was never more than seven points before Montana finally pulled away.

Andrew Strait added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Montana while Virgil Matthews chipped in nine points for the winners.

Stuckey, a freshman guard, led Eastern Washington in scoring for the 23rd straight game, but managed just 14 points, matching his season-low. Paul Butorac added 11.