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Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

Robinson vs MSUN
Gary Marshall
77
Montana State-Northern (MT) MONTANA 12-18, 11-11
79
Winner Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY MO 28-3, 20-2
Montana State-Northern (MT) MONTANA
12-18, 11-11
77
Final
79
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY MO
28-3, 20-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Montana State-Northern (MT) MONTANA 30 41 6 77
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY MO 39 32 8 79

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

Robinson’s 29-Points Lifts Rocky Men’s Basketball to a Frontier Conference Tournament Title

BUTTE, Mont.- Royce Robinson poured on a game-high 29 points, including five crucial points in overtime, leading the top-seeded Battlin' Bears to a Frontier Conference Tournament title. 

Rocky earned their eighth Frontier Conference tournament title in program history and the first since the Battlin' Bears went back-to-back in 2012-13 and 2013-14. 

How It Happened
Royce Robinson and Jacob Bilodeau combined for eight points early on, giving the Battlin' Bears an early 8-2 lead, but a Lights 6-0 response tied the game four minutes into the contest. Drew Bowman and Sherman Royal III sank a pair of threes to give the Battlin' Bears a seven-point lead, and Royce Robinson followed up by taking control of the contest, scoring seven points in a 90-second window to push the lead to double figures with nine minutes remaining. The Lights closed their deficit to seven points in the final minute of the half, but another Royce Robinson jumper to close the half gave Rocky a nine-point lead at halftime. 

MSU-Northern caught fire in the second half from deep, shooting seven-of-ten from three-point range to quickly erase their deficit. A three-pointer from Claysen Delp with 3:27 to play in the contest gave MSU-Northern a seven-point lead. Rocky quickly fired back, as a pair of three-pointers from Omari Nesbit and a jumper from Royce Robinson erased Rocky's late deficit and gave them a one-point lead with less than two minutes to play. The Lights found a layup to take the lead back, but a crucial Mekhi Jourdan three-pointer following a pair of offensive rebounds gave Rocky a two-point lead with 24 seconds left. MSU-Northern would draw a foul with five seconds to play, sinking two free throws to tie the contest at 71-71 and force the contest to overtime. 

Mekhi Jourdan and Royce Robinson each sank three-pointers to open the overtime period, and Robinson added a jumper with 2:23 to play to give the Battlin' Bears a four-point lead. The Battlin' Bear defense has been the focal point of their success this season, and it continued to lead them in the final minutes of the contest, holding the Lights without a field goal for the final 3:30 of the overtime, including stopping a final three-point heave at the buzzer to secure the Frontier Conference Tournament title, as well as their 18th consecutive victory. 

Notable Statistics
Royce Robinson led all scorers with 29 points, sinking 13-of-21 shots from the field, as well as eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Omari Nesbit added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Sherman Royal III tallied nine points, and Mekhi Jourdan and Jacob Bilodeau each scored eight. 

Rocky shot 43.5% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range. The Battlin' Bears outrebounded MSU-Northern 38-31 overall, including snagging 11 offensive rebounds. Both teams took care of the ball exceptionally well, totaling 13 turnovers overall.

Austin Ramos led five Lights in double-figures, scoring 19 points in the loss. 

Up Next
Rocky Men's Basketball (27-3, 20-2 conf.) will await the NAIA Selection Show on Thursday to see who joins them in the Fortin Education Center for the First and Second rounds in Billings. 
 
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