GREAT FALLS, Mont. – There wasn't much history to suggest this would happen. Heading into the University of Providence's home game against (8) Lewis-Clark State College, the Argos had yet to beat a ranked team on the year, had lost by 31 points the night before, and hadn't beaten the Warriors since January of 2015, going 0-10 in that stretch.
 
That all changed with an outstanding all-around effort, including a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line in a 70-67 upset of LC State.
 
"We needed that one," Head Coach Anthony Owens stated simply.
 
The first few minutes of the game painted as gloomy of an outlook for the Argos as did prior history. It took UP almost four minutes to score its first points (which, appropriately were free throws), and almost seven minutes to score its first field goal.
 
After five minutes, LC State held a 12-2 advantage and looked poised to try and run the Argos out of the gym, but that 10 point margin would be the biggest lead by either team for the rest of the game.
 
A three from senior guard Jared Schultz gave the Argos its first real spark and then another from senior guard Matthew Brooks-McGregor with no time left of the shot clock, the early comeback was on. Brooks-McGregor's three pulled UP within 3 points and for the next 5 minutes or so LCSC's lead fluctuated between 3 and 8 points.
 
With four minutes left in the half, a layup from senior forward Steven Daho-Clark gave the Argos their first lead of the game. A late rally from the Warriors, including a buzzer-beating three, had UP  trailing  by 5 at the half.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Owens made a switch in the lineup, taking Brooks-McGregor off the bench and starting him for the second half. The decision paid off as the senior assisted on the first 2 scores of the half, helping UP score the first 7 points to take back the lead.
 
"Tonight was just Matt's night defensively and offensively. He gets the basketball moving for us," Owens said. "We just needed someone to get us  in  the flow. In the beginning, we didn't have any kind of flow and Matt was what we needed tonight."
 
After taking a 38-36 lead with 18 minutes left, the Argos would only trail three times, each time by only 1 point and only for a total of two minutes.
 
With seven minutes left on the clock, LC State tied the game at 59 on a three that could have killed UP's momentum. Even worse, was that UP's offense suddenly stalled, failing to score for the next 130 seconds.
 
Fortunately, the team's defense was up to the challenge, shutting down the Warrior's efforts to take the lead until Brooks-McGregor hit his third three of the game. That was UP's last field goal, as the rest of the game came down to free-throw shooting.
 
That was where senior guards Sergio Berkley and DuShaun Rice were at their best. Berkley went 6-6 from the line in the final four minutes, while Rice added another 2-2.
 
"Yeah, free throws were a big thing. That's something we didn't do a very good job of last night, but we came back and went perfect," "Serge shoots 80-something percent from there so we expect that from him. We needed him down the stretch. He and Rice both are very good free throw shooters."
 
UP's defense held an LC State team that averages 84 points per game to just 67 points and limited an offense that ranks fourth in the NAIA in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.469) to 15 assists and 14 turnovers.
 
Rice led the Argos with 16 points and 4 assists, while Berkley was right behind with 14 points, and 3 assists. 
 
Despite not starting, Brooks-McGregor played 33 minutes and finished a perfect 3-3 from the 3-point line and led the Argos with 4 assists and 2 steals.
 
Balancing out the play of the guards were senior forwards Daho-Clark and Trayvon Bashir. The combined for 21 points, and 11 boards. Bashir was also a beast on the defensive end with 2 blocks and 2 steals, while spending most of the night guard LCSC's leading scorer Race Martin.
 
The win brings UP back to 500 on the year and with a record of 10-10 (4-6). A tough road trip will be next for the Argos, starting with a trip to Carroll College on February 1 at 7 p.m.