BILLINGS, Mont.- Rocky Men's and Women's Basketball are back at home and will host Montana Tech on Thursday evening, presented by Office 360 Solutions and televised by SWX, and will host MSU-Northern on Saturday afternoon as Battlin' Bears Athletics celebrates 50 years of Title IX.
Battlin' Bears Recap: Rocky women's basketball (13-5, 5-1 conf.) lost their first Frontier Conference game against No. 12 Montana Western last Thursday in Dillon. The Battlin' Bears bounced back nicely however, taking care of business against University of Providence in Great Falls on Saturday. Ky Buell returned to the starting lineup against the Argos and dished a season high eight assists in the victory to go along with five points and six rebounds. Buell's eight assists are the most in a single game by a Battlin' Bear this season. The Battlin' Bears women have previously defeated Montana Tech and MSU-Northern on the road this season and will look to preserve their 5-0 record at home this season.
The Rocky men (10-8, 2-4 conf.) dropped both of their matchups on the road last weekend to Montana Western and University of Providence. Beau Santistevan had his best game since early in the season in Great Falls, finishing with 16 points on 6-7 shooting from the field and 2-3 from three point range, coming off of the bench. The Battlin' Bears men previously defeated MSU-Northern in Havre, but will look to avenge an ugly loss to No. 12 ranked Montana Tech in their first conference matchup of the season.
Thursday, January 19th vs Montana Tech
WBB @ 5:00pm
MBB @ 7:00pm
Scouting the Orediggers: The Montana Tech Orediggers (6-10, 2-4 conf.) went 1-1 last weekend, defeating MSU-Northern at home 64-57, then falling to No. 12 Montana Western 78-71 on the road in a game that they held a lead going into halftime.
The Orediggers have begun to put the pieces together since the Battlin' Bears last met them on December 1st in Butte, led by reigning Frontier Conference Player of the Week Tavia Rooney, who is averaging 14.1 points per game (3rd in the Frontier), 8.1 rebounds per game (1st in the Frontier), and 1.4 blocks per game (1st in the Frontier) this season. Rooney needs only one point in Thursday's contest to reach 1,000 points in her career as a junior. Redshirt freshman Aubrie Rademacher is the only other Oredigger averaging double figures, as she sits at 10.3 points per game, while also pulling in 4.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward and Frontier Conference Preseason All-Conference member Dani Urick currently averages 8.4 points per game and 1.9 steals per game. Urick also dished eight assists in last week's win over MSU-Northern, which was the most in a single game by an Oredigger since Urick accomplished the same eight assists against MSU-Northern in February 2021.
The Orediggers are coached by head coach Jeff Graham in his first season.
The Montana Tech men (17-2, 5-1 conf.) won both their conference matchups last weekend and sit as the only Top-25 men's team in the Frontier Conference, ranked at No. 12 in the most recent NAIA Coaches Poll. Since their December 1st meeting with the Battlin' Bears in which they won 82-59 in Butte, the Orediggers dropped their only conference loss of the season against Montana Western the following game, but have rattled off eight straight victories since then.
Frontier Conference Preseason Player of Year Caleb Bellach has been as good as advertised, leading the Frontier Conference in scoring as he averages 17.7 points per game on 46% shooting from the field and 32% from three point land. Bellach has scored at least 20 points in four of the last seven games and has been held under 10 points only once all season. Including Bellach, the Orediggers have three players averaging double figures, including sophomore forward Michael Ure (12.8 ppg) and junior forward Asa Williams (11.9 ppg) for an offense that averages 84.0 points per game, which is the most in the Frontier Conference and 24th in the country.
The Orediggers are coached by head coach Adam Hiatt in his seventh season.
Saturday, January 21st vs MSU-Northern
WBB @ 2:00pm
MBB @ 4:00pm
Scouting the Skylights/Lights: The Montana State University-Northern Skylights (7-12, 0-6 conf.) have dropped their last four straight games heading into their matchup with University of Providence on Thursday and will be hungry to turn their fortunes around on Saturday in the Fortin Education Center.
Junior guard Briaunna McCullough is making a case for being the Frontier Conference's Newcomer of the Year, as the transfer from Lackawanna College is currently averaging 13.6 points per game (4th in the Frontier), 6.6 rebounds per game (5th in the Frontier), and 2.4 steals per game (1st in the Frontier). Two other Skylights currently average double digits, including senior forward Ryley Kehr (11.1 ppg) and sophomore forward Shyan Krass (10.6 ppg) for an offense that averages 63 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Frontier Conference.
The Skylights are coached by Chris Mouat in his 18th season.
The MSU-Northern Lights (13-6, 2-4 conf.) split their road trip last weekend, taking No. 12 Montana Tech to double-overtime, yet falling short in Butte, and taking a victory in Helena over Carroll College. Three of the Lights' four conference losses have occurred in overtime or double overtime, including their January 5th loss to the Battlin' Bears in Havre.
Senior forward Jesse Keltner continues to be one of the conference's most dominant big men, averaging 13.0 points per game (4th in the Frontier) on 63.8% shooting from the field (1st in the Frontier), while grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game (2nd in the Frontier) and blocking 2.6 shots per game (1st in the Frontier, 5th in the NAIA). Senior guard CJ Nelson, who is the only other Light player averaging double digits averaging 10.3 points per game, was a catalyst in Northern's victory over Carroll College last Saturday, scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
The Lights are coached by Shawn Huse in his 21st season.
Social Media: Follow @BattlinBears on Twitter for live updates as the game goes on.
