BILLINGS, Mont.- Rocky Men's and Women's Basketball host their final home game of the regular season as they celebrate Senior Night on Thursday against MSU-Northern, before traveling to Helena to take on Carroll College on Saturday. The Battlin' Bears enter the final three games of the regular season, all of which will have significant seeding implications for the Frontier Conference Tournament.Â
Battlin' Bears Recap: Rocky women's basketball (17-7, 9-3 conf.) took care of business last weekend, defeating both University of Providence and Montana Tech. Gracee Lekvold had a stellar weekend, scoring a career high 19 points against the Argos on Thursday. Lekvold averaged 15.5 points, seven rebounds, and two steals while shooting 41% from three point range.Â
The Rocky men (12-12, 4-8 conf.) split their matchups last weekend, defeating University of Providence at home on Thursday, then falling to No. 12 Montana Tech. Nick Hart earned his first career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week award, after averaging 18 points, 12.5 rebounds, three steals, and 2.5 assists, highlighted by a career high in points (24) and rebounds (17) in the loss against Montana Tech.Â
Frontier Conference Standings: As the regular season winds down, Frontier Conference Tournament seeding implications are at stake heading into the weekend. Below are the current standings headed into Thursday's matchups.Â
Women's Standings (Conference Records)
No. 11 Carroll College (11-1)
No. 15 Montana Western (9-3)
No. 22 Rocky Mountain College (9-3) (NOTE: Montana Western holds tiebreaker over the Battlin' Bears)
University of Providence (4-8)
Montana Tech (3-9)
MSU-Northern (0-12)
Men's Standings (Conference Records)
No. 11 Montana Tech (9-3)
RV MSU-Northern (7-5)
University of Providence (7-5) (NOTE: University of Providence holds tiebreaker over the Lights)
Carroll College (5-7)
Rocky Mountain College (4-8) (NOTE: Tiebreaker with Montana Western would be decided in February 18th matchup in Dillon)
Montana Western (4-8)
Battlin' Bears Seeding Possibilities:Â
Rocky Women:
The Battlin' Bears can clinch the No. 2 seed if they win their final three games. Montana Western holds the tiebreaker over the Battlin' Bears, but Rocky can jump the Bulldogs with a better record. Rocky will stay in the No. 3 seed if Montana Western can hold a better conference record than the Battlin' Bears heading into the final matchup of the season. Rocky cannot go lower than the third seed under any circumstance.Â
Rocky Men:
The Battlin' Bears still have an outside chance to clinch the No. 3 seed if they win out, yet also have the potential to land anywhere between the third and sixth seed depending on the outcomes of their final matchups. The Battlin' Bears hold the tiebreaker over the University of Providence. The Rocky men have split the season series with MSU-Northern and Montana Western, therefore tiebreakers will be decided by the outcome of their final matchups. Carroll College holds the tiebreaker over the Battlin' Bears regardless of the outcome of Saturday's matchup.Â
The Battlin' Bears final seeding position will heavily depend on the outcomes of their final three games, as well as the other results around the Frontier Conference with five of the six teams in the conference within three games of each other.Â
Thursday, February 9th vs MSU-Northern (Senior Night)
WBB @ 5:00pm
MBB @ 7:00pm
Scouting the Skylights/Lights: The MSU-Northern women (7-18, 0-12 conf.) comes to Billings for the second time this season, still looking for their first Frontier Conference victory. The Battlin' Bears have defeated the Skylights by an average margin of 25.5 points per game this season and have won the last five straight matchups. Guard Briaunna McCullough remains top five in the conference in scoring (13.0), assists (2.5), and steals (2.0) per game. MSU-Northern ranks last in the conference in team scoring, averaging 50.8 points per game in conference play this season, while averaging 15.8 turnovers per game.Â
The Skylights are coached by Chris Mouat in his 18th season.
The MSU-Northern men (18-7, 7-5 conf.) are coming into Thursday's matchup as one of the hottest teams in the country, as they've rattled off five straight wins, including defeating No. 12 Montana Tech at home. Their latest stretch granted them votes in the most recent NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll. The last time the Lights faced off with the Battlin' Bears was one of the tightest games of the season, resulting in a triple overtime victory for the Lights. The senior duo of Jesse Keltner and CJ Nelson have been the driving force of the run that's propelled MSU-Northern into second place in the Frontier Conference, as Keltner is averaging 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks per game in conference play, while Nelson is averaging 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and one steal per game this season in conference play.
The Lights are coached by Shawn Huse in his 21st season.Â
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Saturday, February 11th at Carroll College
WBB @ 2:00pm
MBB @ 4:00pmÂ
Scouting the Fighting Saints: The Carroll College women (20-5, 11-1 conf.) head into the final stretch of the season on an eight game win streak and are in the driver's seat to take the No. 1 seed in the Frontier Conference tournament, as Carroll only needs a Rocky loss, or two wins in their last three games to clinch the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Saints, along with Rocky and Montana Western, did not move in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll, staying put at No. 11. Senior Jamie Pickens continues to be a force, averaging 22 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in her last four games.Â
The Saints are coached by Rachelle Sayers in her 12th season.
The Carroll College men (11-12, 5-7 conf.) come into Thursday's matchup with Montana Tech on a three game losing streak. Sophomore Andrew Cook continues to be one of the conference's top players, as he averages 19.3 points per game in conference play this season, while senior Brendan Temple nearly averages a double double in conference play with 15.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The Fighting Saints have the opportunity to shake their cold streak and climb the conference standings before the end of the season with games against No. 11 Montana Tech, Rocky, and University of Providence.Â
The Saints are coached by Kurt Paulson in his fifth season.Â
Social Media: Follow @BattlinBears on Twitter for live updates as the game goes on.
