GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A double-double for senior forward Steven Daho-Clark and a second half score that favored the Argos, wasn't enough as the University of Providence men's basketball team lost another close game, this time 61-55 to Rocky Mountain College. The loss is UP's fifth in a row with each one come by 10 or few points.
 
During most of that stretch, the second half has been the problem for UP, with the team's previous game against (10) Montana Western as the prime example. The Argos led by 10 points at halftime of that game, only to end up losing by the same margin.
 
Against Rocky, the Argos followed the opposite pattern only to end up with the same result.
 
UP's offense was simply ice cold throughout the entirety of the first half, going 5-22 from the field. Rocky didn't shoot particularly well either, but at 33 percent it was better than UP and enough to give the Battlin' Bears a 28-19 lead at the half.
 
The only two real sources of points for UP in that first twenty minutes was a pair of 3-point shots from senior guard Jared Schultz and 4 free throws from fellow senior guard Sergio Berkley. Both players ended the half with 6 points, which easily tied for the team lead.
 
It was a redoubled defensive effort that finally snapped the Argos out of the shooting funk. After Rocky missed shots of its first two possessions of the second half, UP then forced the team into 3 turnovers on the next four trips down the court.
 
That paired with senior guard DuShaun Rice finding a scoring touch and suddenly with 16:19 on the clock, the Argos were back within 2 points. A few minutes later, a layup from Rice brought the score to 33-32. At the time, the Argos seemed poised to take the lead at some point, but that 1 point margin was the closest the score would ever get.
 
UP continued to keep the game within reach, but 2 straight turnovers with just under three minutes remaining let Rocky's lead climb to 9 points which proved too big to overcome.
 
Rice and Daho-Clark were the drive forces behind a second half score that favored the Argos 36-33. UP finished the half making 48 percent from the field, a dramatic improvement 22 percent in the first.
 
Daho-Clark finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds with 11 of those points coming in the second half. It was his fifth double-double of the season and his first since January 13.
 
Rice also turned it on in the final 20 minutes, scoring 13 of his team leading 14 points in the second half. A lot of that success came from his 5-6 shooting from the charity stripe.
 
With the loss, UP's record goes to 10-15 (4-11), solidifying that the team will finish either sixth of seventh in the conference. The Argos currently hold a one game lead over Montana Tech for sixth. The next game for the Argos will come against (6) Carroll College on February 17 at 7:30 p.m. It will also be the team's Senior Night.