GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The offense never really got going for Argo basketball in a 71-57 loss to Rocky Mountain College (10-8, 2-3). UGF shot 34 percent from the field and which was good enough to stay close to the Battlin' Bears in the first half, but not in the second.
 
Neither offense was particularly good in the first 20 minutes. It took almost two and half minutes for either team to score a point after the tipoff. It was UGF's center, Andrej Slavik, who mercifully ended the scoreless streak at the 17:37 mark. From there, the teamed traded twos until Argo sophomore Jarred Burr hit a three six minutes later to give UGF an 11-6 lead.
 
A third made field goal from Slavik brought UGF's lead up to seven, but things would only go downhill from there for the Argos. RMC would hit one more three than UGF and make two more free throws in the first half, accounting for the Battlin' Bear's 23-19 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field in the first half and both teams turned it over at least eight times.
 
The difference in the game was that Rocky shook off the scoring blues during the halftime break, while the Argos never really did.
 
The first started with RMC forward Zach Hinton and UGF guard Jared Schultz trading buckets on the first six possession of the game. After Schultz's third field goal made the score 29-25 Rocky, senior guard Sigman Farmer III stole the ball on Rocky's possession and earned an easy transition layup. That brought UGF within 2 points of the Battlin' Bears, the closest the score would get for the rest of the game.
 
With the point margin still in the single digits, Hinton moved from the post to the wing and made his first 3-point field goal of the night at the 13:36 mark to make the score 40-30 Rocky. That sparked a habit of timely made baskets from behind the arc for Rocky including three more from Hinton.
 
Schultz was UGF's only real answer for Rocky's seven second half threes. The junior led the Argos in scoring and set a new career high with 16 points, all of which came in the second half. The problem was that when Schultz would score a drive or a mid-range jumper, the Battlin' Bears would answer on the other end, often with a three.
 
UGF's only other double-digit scorer was junior Sergio Berkley with 10 points off 4-10 shooting. Farmer III also reached double-digits but in rebounds, not points. The senior was a bright spot in an otherwise poor rebounding night for UGF. His 13 rebounds accounted for over a third of UGF's 36 total boards. Farmer also finished with 8 points and 2 assists.
 
The loss drops the Argo's season record to 10-7 (2-4). Next for UGF will a home game against Lewis-Clark State College on January 20 at 7:30 p.m.