GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team looks to gain some consistency in the Bill Himmelberg Memorial Classic this weekend.

The Argos will take on Dickinson State on Friday evening before playing Northwest on Saturday night. Both games will take place at 6 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.

The Argos are coming off a road trip with two exhibition games against NCAA Division II teams. On Friday night, the Argos defeated Dixie State, who is receiving votes in the DII top 25 poll. On Saturday, they lost to Westminster by three.

"I thought we played pretty well," head coach Steve Keller said. "Both those teams are bigger, more physical than us. We spent a lot of energy on Friday night against Dixie State. Dixie State is a very good basketball team and we got a great win there. The next night, I didn't feel like we didn't play very well versus Westminster but we had the ball with 16 seconds down 1 with a chance to win."

Brandon Cotton received the Frontier Conference Player of the Week award this week. The senior guard averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds against Dixie State and Westminster. Cotton was 14 of 37 from the field, including 7 of 15 from beyond the arc. Cotton is the second Argo to be named Player of the Week. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly was named Player of the Week on Oct. 28.

As the Argos look ahead to this weekend's tournament, they'll have to be prepared to play another back to back. Keller believed the quick turnaround was partly to blame for his team's performance on Saturday.

"We didn't play well the second night because I thought we were tired," he said. "It was the first time all year we've been in a back to back on the road. It was a little different for us. I thought we were a little bit tired and didn't have as much energy as we had on Friday night. This will be the first time we've played back to back weekends now. I've learned that rest is more important than practice. We're starting to get a routine though."

The games last weekend were also the first games the team had played in two weeks. From this point forward, the Argos will have games every week minus the break from the holidays.

"I want to get into where we're playing every weekend," Keller said. "I think it's hard to keep a focus if there is a couple weeks off. We're getting a little bit more healthy now. We're going to have pretty much everybody this weekend so I'm excited about that."

The Argos will face off against Dickinson State who is 1-4 on the year. They've already played Montana State-Northern this year, losing by 16. They are led by Donte Walker and Kenny Jackson, who both average 11.8 points per game.

 "Dickinson State has always got athletes," Keller said. "They've struggled a little bit this year. They're well-coached and always have athletes. They're capable of beating anybody."

On Saturday night, the Argos will take on Northwest. They've amassed a 4-1 record and have one similar opponent: Salish Kootenai, whom they defeated 127-65. They are led by Hussayn Ford, a 6-6 forward who is averaging 17.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.

"We don't know a lot about Northwest other than we played them last year in Seattle and we beat them there," Keller said. "They got some talent."

The Bill Himmelberg Memorial Classic will feature eight games over the two-day period. The women's matches will play at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. while the men's matches will take place at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Montana State – Northern will be the other team in the Classic.

"It should be a good weekend of basketball," Keller said. "We just have to play. We talked about it after the game on Saturday night. We have to bring the energy and do what it takes to do to win the back to back game."