BUTTE, Mont. - The No. 23 Argos (12-5, 3-3) held a nine-point advantage at the break but the Orediggers (13-4, 3-2) rallied in the final 20 minutes to outscore the Argos by 12 and take the win at the HPER Complex on Thursday night, 77-74.
 
Austin Starr led the Argos with a team-high 20 points, while Jaxen Hashley dominated the post with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He also blocked two shots. Brandon Cotton collected a game-high six assists, while also tallying nine points.
 
Troy Owens Jr. led all scorers in the contest with 22 points. Defensively, the Orediggers were paced by Dylan Pannabecker who grabbed eight boards, while teammate Taylor England grabbed seven rebounds, in addition to blocking three shots, earning two steals, and netting 16 points.
 
The Orediggers opened the game on a 5-0 run to take the early lead. The Argos responded with a 10-5 run of their own to tie up the game at 10 following a three from Jack Taylor. The Argos would continue their run to net six more points to hold a 16-10 advantage. Tech would cut the deficit in half, 18-15, but the Argos scored nine-straight points to push their lead to double-digits, 27-15, at the eight-minute mark. The Argos would maintain the advantage for the remaining eight minutes to take a nine-point lead into halftime, 41-32.
 
The Orediggers came out of the locker room with a plan. They outscored the Argos 14-5 to close the gap and tie things up at 46 only five minutes into the second half. The Argos would take the lead back at 51-49, but it was short lived as the Orediggers responded with a field goal to take the advantage back, 51-50. The Orediggers and Argos battled for 12 minutes until less than a minute left a free throw from Austin Starr and a clutch three from Jacob Wetzel with 16 seconds on the clock tied the game at 74. However, the Orediggers would net three free throws to take the 77-74 victory.
 
Up Next
The Argos will remain on the road as they head to Lewiston, Idaho to take on the Lewis-Clark Warriors on Thursday, January 17 at 8:30 p.m. MST.