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Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

Robinson vs Montana St. '23
Brandon Stinson
70
Winner Rocky Mountain RM 2-0
62
Montana St. MSU 3-4,0-0 Big Sky
Winner
Rocky Mountain RM
2-0
70
Final
62
Montana St. MSU
3-4,0-0 Big Sky
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Rocky Mountain RM 38 32 70
Montana St. MSU 30 32 62

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

Rocky Men’s Basketball Pulls Off Historic Upset Over NCAA DI Montana State

BOZEMAN, Mont.- The Battlin' Bears earned their first victory in 100 years worth of matchups against Montana State, leading all but 16 seconds of their 70-62 exhibition victory over the Bobcats. 

The Battlin' Bears have one other win in the overall series due to a vacated Montana State win in 1993. 

Montana State's Brandon Walker got the scoring going with a post bucket on the Bobcats' first possession. Elliott Brooks responded immediately with a three-pointer and the Battlin' Bears never gave the lead back. A pair of Maxim Stephens free throws sparked a 7-0 run, capped by Elliott Brooks' third three-pointer of the first seven minutes of the game, which he hit from a few feet beyond the three-point line to give Rocky an 18-10 lead. 

A free throw line jumper from Jesse Owens gave Rocky their largest lead of the first half, 24-13 with 10:38 remaining in the first half. The Bobcats cut their deficit to four on multiple occasions, but Rocky never led by less than that margin. Jesse Owens scored his third field goal of the half with 45 seconds remaining in the half to give Rocky an eight-point halftime lead. The Battlin' Bears shot six-of-10 from three-point range and just under 50% from the field in the first half. Shooting just two-of-nine from three coming into this game, Maxim Stephens hit two-of-three from downtown in the first half, as his 10 points going into the break led the scoring for the Battlin' Bears. 

Just like the first half, Elliott Brooks opened up the second half with a three-pointer to put Rocky back up by double digits. The Bobcats switched things up defensively in hopes of gaining some ground, but Rocky continued to control the game, as Kael Robinson found holes in Montana State's zone defense multiple times to hold Rocky's lead. Montana State's John Olmsted hit his free throw after an and-one layup with 3:15 remaining in the game to cut Rocky's lead to six, but this was as close as they would get. Jesse Owens would respond on the following possession with a contested layup and Kael Robinson hit a contested midrange jumper with 32 seconds remaining to secure the upset victory. 

"I am so proud of the players and how hard they competed." Coach Bill Dreikosen said following the win. "They did a great job keeping their poise from start to finish. It was a great atmosphere and a special memory that this group will always remember. We have a lot of respect for the Montana State men's basketball program and their staff."

"We had an opportunity and the guys went out and left everything on the floor." 

The Battlin' Bears had four players score in double figures, as Kael Robinson had 18,  Maxim Stephens had 16, Elliott Brooks had 12, and Jesse Owens had 10. Owens and Robinson each grabbed eight rebounds, Stephens had seven, and Brooks grabbed six to lead Rocky to a +12 margin on the rebounds, as the Battlin' Bears outrebounded the Cats 43-31. Rocky grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and only allowed eight Bobcat offensive rebounds, two of which came on the final possession of the game after the victory was secured. 

The Battlin' Bears shot 50% (30-of-60) from the field and 42.1% (eight-of-19) from three-point range. They overcame 17 turnovers in their victory but held the Bobcats to just 38.5% (25-of-65) from the field and 22.6% (seven-of-31) from three-point land. 

The Battlin' Bears (5-1) will take on MSU Billings on Saturday, December 9th as they look for a Rimrock Rivalry sweep. 
 
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