DILLON, Mont. – A ferocious second-half comeback attempt came up short for the University of Providence men's basketball team as they fell to Montana Western 68-62 in the opening round of the Frontier Conference men's basketball postseason tournament. 

The Bulldogs (19-12, 7-8) were on fire in the first-half, hitting ten three-pointers to gain a 39-22 halftime lead. The Argos (11-18, 2-13) slowly but surely chipped away at the lead in the second-half, cutting the lead to 65-62 off a corner three-pointer from Rasheed Butler with 2:50 left. After getting a stop on the defensive end, the Argos were blocked on a three-point attempt with 1:03 remaining. Ky Kouba hit a floater on the ensuing possession to make it 67-62, sealing the game.  

"We were down big and we didn't lay down," head coach Steve Keller said. "We had a chance to tie it up. That's what it's all about. We didn't lay down. They competed in the last ten minutes when we were down and out. They shot the heck out of it in the first half. They're a good team and our guys battled."

Brendan Howard led the Argos with 20 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Rashee Stocks added nine points and four assists while Dawson Fowler added eight points and a team-high seven assists.

Four Bulldogs scored in double-digits, led by 18 points from Max Clark. Jamal Stephenson netted 13 points while Tanner Haverfield added 12. Ku Kouba scored 10 points off the bench.

The loss marks the end of the season for the Argos. The squad started the season with a non-conference record of 7-5, but struggled in the conference season with inconsistent lineups due to injuries and illnesses. Still though, the coaching staff was impressed with how the team kept competing despite the losses.

"I thanked them for competing this year and not laying down because it would have been easy to do that," Keller said. "It's not easy to stand up, compete and fight a little bit. Give them credit they did do that. I'm proud of the effort. We went through a lot of adversity this year. I was proud of them for fighting back."