BILLINGS, Mont.- The Fortin Education Center will host eight basketball games in two days as Rocky hosts the Green and Gold Classic: Presented by Hampton Inn, on Saturday and Sunday. 

Four men's and four women's games will be played over the weekend. The Battlin' Bears will play two a piece, capping off both days with the Rocky women playing at 5:00 pm and the Rocky men playing at 7:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. 

Below is the full schedule of games for the weekend - 

Saturday, December 28th

Dickinson State vs Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (WBB) - 1:00 pm 

University of Providence vs Dickinson State (MBB) - 3:00 pm 

(RV) Rocky Mountain College vs #24 University of Jamestown (WBB) - 5:00 pm 

(RV) Rocky Mountain College vs Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (MBB) - 7:00 pm

Sunday, December 29th

#24 University of Jamestown vs Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (WBB) - 1:00 pm

University of Providence vs Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (MBB) - 3:00 pm 

(RV) Rocky Mountain College vs Dickinson State University (WBB) - 5:00 pm 

(RV) Rocky Mountain College vs Dickinson State University (MBB) - 7:00 pm

Last Time Out - Rocky WBB

---

The Battlin' Bear women dominated their competition in Arizona. They faced off against a pair of teams that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament a season ago, defeating Loyola University and Embry-Riddle by a combined score of 152-90. Their wins in the Cactus Classic were the two highest margins of victory this season, beating Loyola by 29 points and Embry-Riddle by 33. 

Sydney Dethman was the key contributor on offense, scoring an efficient 18.5 points per game. In Rocky's win over Embry-Riddle, sophomore Angie Cavanaugh set a new career high in scoring, making all six three-point shots she attempted to rally for 18 points off the bench. 

While the Battlin' Bear offense was excellent in their victories, including setting season highs in points scored (85), field goal percentage (51.5%), and three-point percentage (52.4%), their defense was equally impressive. The Rocky women held both teams to under 30% shooting from the field while forcing 18.0 turnovers per game. 

Last Time Out - Rocky MBB

---

The Rocky men earned three victories in the Cactus Classic, their first sweep in the Arizona-based tournament since 2016. These wins came in various forms, including a game in which they shot their season-low field goal percentage (35.8%) against Park-University Gilbert before shooting their season-high 63.6% in a victory over Embry-Riddle. 

Junior Jaylon Lee earned national attention following his eye-popping triple-double in the overtime victory over OUAZ, finishing with a stat line of ten points, 16 rebounds, ten blocks, and flirting with a quadruple-double after adding seven assists. His ten blocks were the most by a Battlin' Bear in a single game in program history, and he's the first Rocky player since Clayton Ladine in 2020 to record a triple-double. With this game, along with a pair of other strong performances, Lee averaged 16.3 points, 16 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, and 4.0 assists per game to earn NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week honors, becoming the first Battlin' Bear to earn Men's Basketball National Player of the Week honors since the NAIA has awards archived beginning in 2011. 

Other Battlin' Bears were impressive over the week as well, including Omari Nesbit's 21-point performance on 9-10 shooting from the field and 3-3 from three-point range against Embry-Riddle, Colton Spencer's 21 points off the bench against OUAZ, featuring 11-of-11 from the free throw line, and Jesse Owens' pair of 20+ point performances in the wins over OUAZ and Park-University-Gilbert. 

Preview - Green and Gold Classic Competition (WBB)

---

Scouting #24 University of Jamestown
The Jimmies enter the weekend with an overall record of 9-1. Their lone loss came to the fifth-ranked University of Providence on November 8th in Great Falls. Jamestown ranked No.24 in the most recent NAIA Coaches Poll and has wins over Frontier Conference opponents Montana Tech, Montana Western (twice), and MSU-Northern. Jamestown has won convincingly in nine of its nine games this season, and its six-point win over Montana Tech is the only game it has won by less than 12 points this year. 

Junior guard Kate Cordes has been the leading scorer for the Jimmies, averaging 19.7 points per game this season, and has scored double-figures in every game but one, including surpassing 25 points or more four times in 2024. 

Scouting Dickinson State
The Lady Blue Hawks will look to snap a six-game losing streak entering the weekend in Billings. Dickinson State has only played two games since meeting up with the Battlin' Bears over Thanksgiving, falling to MSU-Northern by three points and Jamestown by 15 in their conference opener on December 13th. 

Post-player Samantha Oase is Dickinson's leading scorer, ranking fifth in the NSAA, scoring 14.2 points per game and the third-best field goal percentage in the conference at 55.7%. 

Scouting SAIT
The Trojans of Southern Alberta Institute of Technology play part of the Alberta College Athletic Conference in Canada and have impressed this season with a record of 8-1 overall. Guard Brook Baker is the leading scorer for the Trojans, averaging 16.0 points per game this season, along with 5.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game. 

Preview - Green and Gold Classic Competition (MBB)

---

Scouting University of Providence
The Argos will wrap up their non-conference schedule, looking for a pair of victories. They enter the tournament with an overall record of 4-7 after dropping all three games in Arizona at the Cactus Classic. A new-look Argos group features just one player who started a game in 2023-24 returning to the roster: Jamil Bowles. Bowles is Providence's leading scorer this season, averaging 15.8 points per game. 

Scouting SAIT
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans enters the weekend with a 5-4 overall record. Guard Marcus Masters has been excellent this season, scoring 22.0 points per game while shooting 47.7% from three-point range. The Trojans average an impressive 80.3 points per game, with four players averaging double-figures in points per game. 

Scouting Dickinson State
The Blue Hawks have not lost since their defeat to the Battlin' Bears on November 29th, riding a four-game win streak into the Green and Gold Classic. Senior guard Trey Stevens is tied for third in points per game in the North Star, averaging 14.8 points per game thanks to 3.5 made three-pointers per game on just under 40% from long range. Dickinson has a strong inside-out offensive attack, making 9.2 three-pointers per game and averaging 17.1 free throw attempts per game this season.