GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team will open Frontier Conference play on Thursday with a home game against Rocky Mountain College. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.

"We're excited to get going," head coach Steve Keller said. "We've gotten better in the non-conference and I think we're ready to jump into conference."

The Argos enter the matchup with a 6-2 record. The coaching staff believes the team has improved immensely since the beginning of the season, especially on the defensive end.

"We've been working hard on the defensive end for two weeks now," Keller said. "We're anxious to see how we perform on that end against conference opponents. We're giving up 82 a game and that's too many. Hopefully that gets better. We made a lot of ground in that area."

Offensively the team shares the ball well with five players averaging double-figures. Marcus Stephens leads the team at 22.0 points per game, with Rashee Stocks right behind him at 16.0 ppg. Elijah Oliver is averaging 10.5 ppg off the bench, with Dawson Fowler and Emmett Linton III are both locked in at 10.2 ppg. Jake Olsen is currently averaging 8.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

"We've got five guys averaging double-figures and Jake is right there at eight and eight," Keller said. "We're very balanced. We hope that continues. We're averaging 91 points a game. Obviously we can score a little bit."

The coaching staff is expecting a close game when the team hosts the Battlin' Bears (4-3) on Thursday night. The two teams have two common opponents; both teams have defeated Yellowstone Christian twice and both teams have fallen at the hands of Corban.

"We know the guys they have back," Keller said. "Every game we play with Rocky is a battle. They're well-coached. They got some good inside players and they got some good guards. They're always going to guard you. It's going to be a great game."

The Argos will finish the weekend off with a road trip up to Havre, Mont. to take on MSU-Northern. The Lights (7-1) have had a successful non-conference season, and return nearly everyone back from last year's team. That game will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

"It's always hard to win at Northern," Keller said. "They got everybody back plus they added some new guys. They've only lost once. There is nobody in our league that's an easy game. Every game is going to be a battle."