BUTTE, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team lost a closely-contested matchup to #14 Montana Tech 76-71 Saturday afternoon in Butte.
Tied at 68 with 1:29 left to play, Christian Jones hit a three-pointer on the next Oredigger possession to give the Orediggers (23-6, 12-2) a three-point lead. The Argos (11-16, 2-12) were called for a charge on the next play, resulting in an Oredigger layup on the other end. The Argos failed to convert on the offensive end, allowing the Orediggers to pull away with the win.
"They didn't make hardly any threes all game and then they make four out of their last five," head coach
Steve Keller said. "Give them credit. They had to score from the three-point line and they did when it mattered."
The Argos played the top team in the Frontier Conference closely the entire game. The game featured eight lead changes and six ties, and the Argos led a majority of the second-half. The team also played without two starters for a majority of the game after guard
Marcus Stephens left in the first-half with an injury.
"We played our butts off the whole game," Keller said. "I thought we probably deserved to win the game. We haven't deserved to win many games but we probably deserved to win that one. It was an amazing effort. Our guys came in and did a good job. I'm real proud of their effort."
Brendan Howard recorded a double-double in the game, notching 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Oliver added 12 points and five boards.
Rashee Stocks barely missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds and also adding six assists.
Caleb Bellach led the way for the Orediggers, finishing with 18 points and six boards. Sindou Diallo added 12 points.
The Argos will wrap up their season next week with a home game against Carroll College on Thursday. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.
"I tell them every night that we're close," Keller said. "We're so close to being really good. That's the best team in the conference. I thought defensively we were a lot better tonight. We're so close to putting it all together."
