(Editor's note: MCC Athletics release)
MILES CITY - The MCC Pioneer Men's Basketball team took the lead at the 19:00 mark of the first half Sunday and held on in an 85-72 win over Bismarck State at the MCC Centra. The Pioneers won their first MonDak Conference game since the calendar hit 2022 and moved to 3-10 in MonDak Conference play and 6-16 overall.
Eli Habighorst (Las Vegas, NV) had the hot hand for the Pioneers dropping in 25 points (6-8 FG, 3-4 3's, 10-11 FT) to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals to lead the way to the win. The Pioneers also had 3 other double figure scorers as Blessing Adesipe (Houston, TX) had 17 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3's, 6-6 FT) and a team high 13 rebounds while Ray Daniels (Las Vegas, NV) added 16 points (4-12 FG, 0-1 3's, 8-8 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 5 steals.
The only Mystic that hit for double figures was reserve Jacob Prudhomme (Fargo, ND) with 13 points (6-7 FG, 1-3 FT) and a team high 6 rebounds. 11 Mystics found the scoring column in the game and 12 different Mystics also collected at least one rebound. The Mystics fell to 5-8 in conference play and 10-10 overall.
The Pioneers will host Lake Region State College on Thursday night at 7:30 PM in the MCC Centra.
Bismarck State's women used speed and pace to pull away from Miles CC 76-62.
The Pioneers held tight in the first quarter and trailed the 2nd place Mystics only 19-16. The Mystics used a solid 2nd quarter effort to extend the lead to 37-26 at the half. That lead was cut to single digits a couple different times in the 2nd half before BSC pulled away 22-18 in the 4th quarter to hang on.
The Mystics took 30 more shots in the game than the Pioneers and had 4 players in double figures. Jaiden Baker (Bismarck, ND) led the way with 18 points (8-16 FG, 0-2 3's, 2-3 FT) and 8 rebounds. Ashton Kinnebrew (Bismarck, ND) added 16 points (6-11 FG, 2-6 3's, 2-2 FT), Katy Hove (Trenton, ND) had 14 (6-12 FG, 0-3 3's, 2-2 FT), and Reile Paye (Fargo, ND) had a double-double with 13 points (5-11 FG, 3-8 3's) and 12 rebounds.
The Pioneers pushed 3 players in double figures led by Ella Paleea-Cook (Melbourne, Australia) with 15 points (5-6 FG, 3-3 3's, 2-4 FT) and a team high 7 rebounds. Molly Cockburn (Christchurch, NZ) hit for 10 points (4-11 FG, 0-2 3's, 2-4 FT) as did Aylin Ramirez (Phoenix, AZ) (4-6 FG, 0-1 3's, 2-4 FT).
The Pioneers are 1-12 in MonDak Conference play and 3-19 overall. They will host Lake Region State College on Thursday night at 5:30. The Mystics stay in 2nd place in MonDak play at 9-3 and are 16-3 overall.
