GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball will look to get back on track with a pair of Frontier Conference games this week. The Argos (9-7, 1-3) will host #6 Carroll College on Thursday before traveling to Billings to take on Rocky Mountain College on Saturday.

"It's two tough games for us but we have to try to find a way to get a win," head coach Steve Keller said.

The Argos have been hampered by illness since the return from the holiday break. After a successful showing at the Cactus Classic, the team was forced to play short-handed against Dickinson State. In the new year, the team had to forfeit against Montana Western before returning to the court, again short-handed, against Montana Tech. Since the team reconvened after the holidays, the team has only had three practices with over ten players.

Prior to the holiday break, the team had shown a lot of promising positives. The team ended the Cactus Classic with a 9-4 record with plenty of bright spots. The squad currently has two players ranked in the Top 5 in scoring in the league; Marcus Stephens leads the conference at 20.7 points per game while Rashee Stocks is 5^th at 16.3. Division I transfer Brenden Howard will also give the team a rejuvenated look for the remaining conference season. 

"We're still missing some guys but it's been good to get up and down and get some conditioning in these last few days," Keller said. "Marcus Stephens has had a great year for us. Rashee has had an added load this year. Dawson has been his steady self. Jake has been doing great for us. We got some other guys on the team too who have been playing well. Adding Brendan, hopefully everybody comes together at the right time for us."

The team will be presented with their biggest challenge of the year on Thursday when they face the #6 Fighting Saints (15-3, 3-1), who are led by All-Americans Jovan Sljivancanin and Shamrock Campbell. Sljivancanin is averaging 19.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game while Campbell is averaging 13.4 points per game.

"We have to make Jovan earn all his points and same with Shamrock," Keller said. "Those guys are two good players. At the end of the game you have to have a cushion against them because they make plays. They've been in a ton of close games this year and they've won most of them. You just have to be solid. They're not going to beat themselves."

The team will then travel to Billings on Saturday for a road game against Rocky Mountain, who defeated Carroll in Helena last Saturday with only three of their normal starters playing.

"Rocky is up and coming," Keller said. "They're getting healthy and they're athletic. They're always good at home no matter how good of a team they have. It's a tough week. It would be a huge confidence booster if we can get these two."
The game against Carroll will tip off at 7:00 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.

The University of Providence is requiring all guests to wear a mask in all indoor areas from Jan. 5 - Jan. 18. The University continues to support the recommendations of public health officials that the best ways to mitigate risk include getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and testing as appropriate.