GREAT FALLS — Montana Western and Providence won their quarterfinal games Thursday at the Frontier Conference men's basketball tournament to advance to Friday’s semifinal games.
Western pulled away from MSU-Northern late in the second half, and Providence survived a near 13-point come back from Rocky Mountain College. Western will play top-seeded Montana Tech at 1 p.m. Friday, followed by Providence against second-seeded Carroll at 3 p.m.
Montana Western 63, MSU-Northern 45
Northern was in control most of the first half, building an eight-point lead with 11:43 to go. The Bulldogs fought their way back to make it an even game at 29 right before the half, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Dae’Kwon Watson put the Lights in front 32-29.
Western regained the lead for the first time since the opening minute after an and-one by Abi Adedo put the Bulldogs ahead 35-34 early in the second half. Up to that point the Bulldogs' largest lead had only been two, but the offense woke up with six minutes to play. After six straight points and an assist from Adedo, Western took a 57-45 lead.
The Bulldogs held Northern to zero made field goals in the final two minutes of the game as they ran away with it. Adedo led all scorers with 23 points, while Jalyn Stepney and Christian Pitcher added 14 each for the Bulldogs. Watson finished with a team-high 16 points and six assists for the Lights.
Providence 95, Rocky Mountain 87
The Argos got out to a 32-19 lead by the seven-minute mark in the first half, but Rocky’s Jesse Owens got hot from beyond the arc. With his third 3-pointer in the span of two minutes, he helped cut the deficit down to 36-33. By halftime the Argos' lead was 43-39. Owens scored 15 first-half points and Kael Robinson added another 14 for the Battlin’ Bears.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Providence's Davien Harris-Williams drilled a straightaway 3-pointer to match the Argos' largest lead at 57-44. But similar to the first half, the Bears erased the double-digit deficit and got within one at 86-85 with under four minutes remaining. Argo Jaylin Reed scored the next five points, which sparked a 9-2 run to close the game.
Harris-Williams scored a team-high 24 points for Providence, and Robinson finished with a game-high 30 points for the Battlin’ Bears.
