BILLINGS, Mont., December 26, 2019 – Rocky Mountain College will wrap up 2019 with the Hampton Inn Green & Gold Classic on Dec. 27-28 at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark. The Battlin' Bears will host six basketball games over the course of the two-day event.
Participating schools will include Rocky Mountain College, University of Providence, Mount Royal University, Bethesda University, and Portland Bible College.
Both of Rocky Mountain College's basketball teams will be looking to return to form at home after returning from tournaments in Chandler, Ariz., earlier in December.
The No. 20 ranked Battlin' Bears women's basketball team split a pair of games during the 2019 Phoenix Frontier Classic on Dec. 19-20. The team will face Bethesda University at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Mount Royal University at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Rocky will look to
Markaela Francis who leads the team in both scoring and rebounds. She averages 16.6 points per game which ranks No. 28 nationally among the NAIA's Division 1 teams while her 7.3 defensive rebounds per game ranks seventh nationally. The senior from Great Falls, Mont., is nearing the millennium scoring mark with 965 career points. She will be only the second women's basketball player to pass 1000 points for the Battlin' Bears since 2003 according to available school records.
Fresh off a 76-55 win against San Diego Christian in which she scored 20 points,
Izzy Spruit ranks No. 34 nationally for three pointers made per game with an average of 2.3.
Rocky Mountain College's men's basketball team will try to stop a three game losing streak with a single game against Portland Bible College on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
"The Hampton Inn Green & Gold Classic has been a great tournament for many years and I always look forward to some excellent holiday competition," said Rocky's head men's basketball coach,
Bill Dreikosen. "This year we are excited to get our team back in Billings to play again before Frontier Conference games begin in early January."
The team has found success from beyond the arc this season. Rocky averages 12.667 three pointers made per game which ranks as second most among the NAIA's Division 1 teams. Senior
Clayton Ladine averages a team-high 14.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. His 6.2 assists per game ranks as fifth nationally.
Kelson Eiselein is shooting 48.6 percent from deep, nine games into the season, which ranks as No. 22 nationally.
On Friday, the Hampton Inn Green & Gold Classic will begin with the No. 7 ranked University of Providence's men's basketball team taking on Portland Bible College at 3:30 p.m. The Argos' women's team will face Mount Royal University at 5:30 p.m. The evening will conclude with a match-up between No. 20 ranked Rocky Mountain College's women's basketball team and Bethesda University.
On Saturday, the Argos women's basketball team will tip off against Bethesda at 1:30 p.m. Rocky's women's basketball team will take on Mount Royal University at 5:30 followed by Rocky's men's game against Portland Bible College at 7:30 p.m.
