BILLINGS, Mont. – The University of Great Falls men's basketball team missed 11 free throws in a 14-point game, losing to Rocky Mountain College 83-69. For the fourth straight game, UGF's opponent made at least half of its shots with the Battlin' Bears shooting exactly 50 percent from the field.
 
The Argos held the lead for much of the first half. With balanced scoring from starters and bench players alike, UGF battled back and forth with Rocky in a first half that saw 6 ties and 11 lead changes.
 
Almost half of the Argo's 27 first half points came off the bench, including 7 from freshman guard Quesly-Marie Noresias. Noresias's seventh point of the half came on a layup with 2:11 left on the first half clock.
 
That bucket gave UGF a 27-24 lead with hope of ending the first 20 minutes of play with positive momentum. That momentum vanished over the final two minutes. Rocky scored the last eight points before halftime and the Argos entered the locker room down 33-27.
 
UGF's free throw problem started in the first half, but the team didn't go to the line quite enough for a large impact to be felt just yet. At 5-10, the Argo's first half shooting was below the team's season average of 67.8.
 
That trend continued in the second half and it was more to UGF's detriment in the final 20 minutes. The Argos missed eight more shots from the charity stripe during the period, shots that could have dramatically changed the tone of the game.
 
What also changed the tone of the game, was a Battlin' Bear's offense that went from making 41 percent of its shots in the first half to 59 percent in the second half. UGF's percentages went from 33 up to 41, but that jump wasn't enough to stick with Rocky.
 
As the shooting disparity worked its effect, the RMC lead ballooned as high as 22 points before the Argos chipped away to bring it to 14 before the final buzzer sounded.
 
Three Argos finished the game with 10 or more points, combining for 34 of the team's points. The leading scorer for UGF was junior forward Tymarieh Dixon with 13 points followed by 10 points from senior forward Isaac Howard.
 
The third was Noresias who quieted down after his 7 first half points to finish with 11. Noresias and Dixon also tied for the team lead in rebounds with 5 each.
 
The loss is the ninth straight for the Argos and brings the team's record to 10-13 (2-10). UGF still sits one game ahead of Montana Tech for the sixth and final spot in the Frontier Conference playoffs. That spot will be on the line in UGF's next game, a road contest against the Orediggers on February 9 at 7:30 p.m.