GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball team lost to Rocky Mountain College Thursday night, falling 76-61 in the McLaughlin Center.

The Argos (11-13, 2-9), who were playing without their two leading scorers Brendan Howard and Marcus Stephens due to injury, played great in the first half to take a 35-27 lead into the break. The Battlin' Bears (11-12, 4-7) came out firing in the second half however, outscoring the Argos 49-26 in the final 20 minutes to come away with a 76-61 victory.

"We played really well the first half," head coach Steve Keller said. "Defensively we had some breakdowns the second half. Our guys competed. We can't play without our full team. We're not healthy right now. We have to get healthy."

As a team, the Argos shot 42.3% from the field, but could only muster three three-pointers off of 18 attempts. The team also committed 17 turnovers on the night.

The squad had three players in double-figures, led by 15 points from Elijah Oliver. Jake Olsen added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Rashee Stocks added 12 points and five boards for the squad.

The Battlin' Bears had five guys in double-figures, with Kael Robinson leading the way with 20 points. Nick Hart recorded a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 boards while Abdul Bah added 13 points for the team. Beau Santistevan added 11 points while Jesse Owens notched 10.

"I'm proud of this team because we competed," Keller said. "It's hard to play without your two leading scorers. We competed. We maybe got tired in the second half a little bit, but we had our chances to win the game."

The team will be back in action on Saturday with a home game against MSU-Northern. The game, which will feature as Star Wars Day, will tip-off at 4:00 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.