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Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

McCoy vs MSUB '25
Bailee Walls
81
Rocky Mountain (MT) RMC 10-3, 5-2 Frontier
84
Winner Hope International HIU 10-2, 2-0 GSAC
Rocky Mountain (MT) RMC
10-3, 5-2 Frontier
81
Final
84
Hope International HIU
10-2, 2-0 GSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Rocky Mountain (MT) RMC 35 35 11 81
Hope International HIU 32 38 14 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

(RV) Rocky Men’s Basketball Falls in Overtime to #13 Hope International 84-81

CHANDLER, Ariz.- The Battlin' Bears concluded their non-conference schedule with a nail-biting defeat to No. 13-ranked Hope International. 

Playing in their sixth game in eight days, the Rocky men showed no quit, losing the first of their four games against ranked opponents this season in overtime. 

How It Happened
The Battlin' Bears were clicking on both ends in the first half, forcing nine turnovers while shooting over 50% from the field and from three-point range. Omari Nesbit scored the game's first five points as Rocky hit on six of their first seven shots from the field to jump to a 13-7 early lead. The offenses would trade blows for the remainder of the half, leading the way for a three-point Battlin' Bear lead at halftime. 

After Hope International scored the opening basket of the second half, Rocky would seize momentum, rattling off a 15-4 run to take a double-digit lead with 13:30 to play in the second half. With Rocky taking a six-point lead with 5:33 to go, the Royals would rattle off a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the half with just over three minutes to play. With a minute to go, Carter McCoy would float in a jumper through a foul to tie the game, before Royce Robinson would snag the offensive rebound from the missed free throw and turn it into the go-ahead jumper to give the Battlin' Bears a two-point lead. Hope International would draw a loose-ball foul with under 30 seconds to go for the game-tying free throws, forcing overtime in the Cactus Classic. 

Free throws would be the story of the overtime period, as Hope International would score 10 of its 14 points in the period from the charity stripe. Down five points with 20 seconds to go, Royce Robinson would drill a three-pointer to cut the Battlin' Bear deficit to two points. Following a missed free throw on the other end, Rocky would have one last opportunity as time expired, but would come up short, halting a three-game win streak. 

Notable Statistics
All five starters for the Battlin' Bears finished in double figures, led by 17 points from Omari Nesbit. Sherman Royal III added 16, Royce Robinson added 13, Carter McCoy totaled 12, and Mekhi Jourdan tallied 11. Robinson added six rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks, while McCoy totaled a team high of seven rebounds. 

The Rocky men shot 48.5% from the field and 36% from three-point range. The Battlin' Bears were narrowly outrebounded 34-30, with both teams snagging 13 offensive rebounds. 

Hope International earned 34 trips to the free throw line in Saturday's win, converting 28 of them. Aman Haynes totaled a game-high 24 points off the bench to lead the Royals. 

Up Next
Rocky Men's Basketball (10-3, 5-2 conf.) will return to Frontier Conference action on Friday, January 2nd, against (RV) Bellevue University in the Fortin Education Center. 
 
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