BILLINGS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's basketball program cruised to an 80-56 victory over Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Sunday night.

The Argos (6-7) scored the first basket of the game off a layup from junior Ryan Chavez, and following a layup from the Trojans (5-4), a basket from senior Nikolajs Atanasovs put UP in front 4-2.

UP quickly extended their lead out to eight after a pair of jumpers from senior Mike Wright Jr. made it 13-5.

The Argos continued their momentum outscoring the Trojans 18-4 over the next 10 minutes to make it 33-14 with seven minutes remaining in the half.

UP slowly increased their lead the final seven minutes as the Argos took a 47-25 lead into the break. Wright Jr. led all scorers with 19 points in the first half on 8-13 shooting.

The Argos opened the second half with a three-pointer from Chavez and a layup from Atanasovs to put UP in front by 27, and the Trojans would not get within 20 the rest of the way as UP cruised to an 80-56 victory.

Mike Wright Jr. led the way for UP with 29 points while Antoine Boyd Jr. and Ryan Chavez added 10 apiece.

The Argos will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 4 for their Frontier Conference opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Helena, Mont. versus Carroll College.