GREAT FALL, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team was in the middle of mounting an epic comeback against (16) University of Montana Western, but a flagrant foul and a subsequent technical foul called on the Argos, changed everything as the Bulldogs would go on to beat UP 91-60.
 
Minutes into the second half, UP trailed Western by 17 points, and after the shot under 40 percent in the first half, the feeling in the gym was that a route might be on. Over the next five minutes, however, that all changed. 
 
Senior guard DuShaun Rice started the run with 5 straight points, and that combined with a few defensive stops to give the Argos belief that they could come back. Back-to-back threes from Rice and junior guard Jacob Wetzel along with a layup from senior Sergio Berkley brought the score all the way down to a 4 point margin. 
 
On Western's next possession, Wetzel fouled a Bulldog in the paint with too much gusto and drew a flagrant foul for his efforts. As the fouled Bulldog got back to the floor to confront the UP guard, senior forward Trayvon Bashir stepped in but also did so with more enthusiasm than necessary and drew a technical. 
 
The ensuing free throws and possession for Western only cost the Argos 3 points, but it killed the momentum and team's enthusiasm. Two minutes later that gap was back to 12 points. 
 
Things unraveled from there, despite the best efforts of junior D'shea Williams. William's effort off the bench helped stem the tide for a while, but with five minutes left in the game, the Argos seemed to lose their spirit and Western worked the lead to 30 by the end of the game. 
 
The ready the second half comeback attempt was necessary mainly because of a poor start to the game UP. UP came out ice cold offensively, with the team taking over five minutes to score its first points. Western wasn't troubled with a lid on their basket and led 11-0 before UP got its first points.
 
Western grew the lead to as much as 21 points before senior forward Steven Daho-Clark scored 6 straight points for UP to bring the margin back down to 12. A 16 point lead for the Bulldogs was cut down by 3 points on a buzzer-beater from three by senior guard Sergio Berkley that ended the first half.
 
Williams came off the bench to be UP's best source of offense, shooting 6-9 from the floor to lead the team with 13 points. Rice was next on the score list with 12 points, followed by Berkley with 11. Daho-Clark came close to a double-double with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
 
UP's record goes to 9-10 (3-6) on the year with the loss and things won't get any easier with (8) Lewis-Clark State College coming to town on January 27 at 7:30 p.m.