Jason Walker, University of Providence Sports Information
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - "It was the perfect birthday present." Those were the words after the game of University of Providence head coach Steve Keller after his Argos defeated MSU-Northern 72-70 Monday night in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Championships in Great Falls.
After an emotional tribute to the veteran coach who announced his retirement at season's end two weeks ago, the Argos and Lights went to work on each other for the fourth time this year. Providence built a 27-12 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, but MSU-Northern battled back thanks in large part to Zackry Martinez who scored 10 points over the remainder of the of the half to cut the Northern deficit to five at the half.
Providence built the lead back to double digits three minutes into the second half as Marcus Stephens knocked down two three-pointers and Kenny Curtis added another to make the score 46-34 with 16:59 left in the game. The lead would grow again to 15 after a Sam Vining triple.
The final half of the stanza would see Martinez and Jesse Keltner keep the game close for the Lights and a three-pointer from Martinez, his fifth of the night, tied the game at 68-68 at the 3:14 mark. The Argos regained the lead less than a minute later when Jake Olsen got loose underneath for a layup putting Providence up 70-68. Keltner answered back with a thunderous dunk just 17 seconds later to tie the game at 70. For the next two minutes and 12 seconds, neither team scored, setting up a thrilling finish.
Stephens missed the front end of a one and one with Keltner grabbing the rebound for Northern. A Lights timeout gave coach Shawn Huse a chance to draw up a game plan to tie or take the lead, but a travel on the inbounds pass turned the ball over to the Argos. Curtis would get free in the corner and when Olsen's defender went to help, the sophomore found Olsen for the go-ahead layup and the Argos would hold on for the victory.
"We know now that we are one win away, if we can somehow knock Tech off, that we get to go the national tournament," said Keller after the game. "That's what we are fighting for. We kind of struggled the last bit of the year but give our guys credit. We worked hard."
The Lights (19-11 overall) finished the game shooting 29-64 (45.3%), 6 of 19 from distance and 6-8 at the free throw line. Martinez led all scorers with 31 points on 12 of 19 from the field and 5-9 from the three-point line. Keltner added 14 points with seven rebounds.
Stephens scored 17 for the Argos with eight rebounds and five assists. Olsen also scored 17 while grabbing five boards. Vining added 10 points for Providence which shot 30-56 (53.6%) from the floor, 7-20 from deep and five of 8 at the line.
The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Argos and Keller now has at least one more night on the sidelines. Providence (14-15) will next face top-seeded Montana Tech in the Frontier Conference championship game Tuesday night at Four Seasons Arena. The No. 10-ranked Orediggers defeated Rocky Mountain College 77-76 in the first semifinal Monday. Tech won the three regular-season matchups against the Argos. The game will tip at 7:30 p.m. and can be watched on the SWX network. Live stream and stats will be available as well at www.upargos.com.
