GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team denied a late surge from Rocky Mountain College to defeat the Battlin' Bears 83-71.

Up 46-36, the Argos came out at halftime with a renewed defensive energy, holding the battlin' Bears to 54 with roughly 40 minutes left. The Battlin' Bears scored 17 in the final minutes to make it close, but they couldn't overtake the Argos.

"I thought in the second half we really came out and defended," head coach Steve Keller said. "We let them back in it towards the end, but we did what we needed to do to get the lead in the first place."

The Argos had seven players score seven or more. They were led by freshman Dawson Fowler, who scored 15 points, had seven rebounds and an assist. Joel Thabize had 14 points off the bench while Jake Wetzel scored 11 points, including three from six from beyond the arc. Brandon Cotton and Rashee Stocks both contributed 9 points, while Zaccheus Darko-Kelly and Jaxen Hashley both scored 7. Darko-Kelly also pulled down 11 rebounds and had seven assists.

"We just had a lot of guys step up tonight," Keller said. "It was a total team effort. 21 assists is really good. We're hard to guard when we move it like that because we have so many weapons."

The Argos will next play at Montana Western on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"It's the next game," Keller said. "We'll practice a little bit tomorrow to prepare for them. It's another conference game. We have to go get a big one on the road. It's going to be much different than playing at home. We'll be ready to go."