BILLINGS -- The Montana Tech men's basketball team earned a two-game sweep of Rocky Mountain College in Billings over the weekend.
Montana Tech 81, Rocky Mountain College 63 (Saturday)
Five players scored in double figures as Montana Tech cruised to an 81-63 win over Rocky Mountain College in Frontier Conference men's basketball action on Saturday.
Sindou Diallo had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead a red-hot Oredigger squad. Tech made 32 of 56 field goal attempts in the game (57.1%) and drilled 10 of 22 3-point attempts (45.5%). Diallo and Nate Ward each made two 3s, while Markieth Brown Jr. lit it up from beyond the arc, making four of his even attempts. Brown had 16 points, followed by Taylor Englad with 13, Cody Baumstarck with 11 and Drew Huse with 10. England added 10 rebounds.
Tech jumped out to a 50-35 halftime lead thanks to a sizzling shooting performance in the first 20 minutes. The Orediggers made 20 of their 29 shot attempts in the first half, including a 7-of-11 mark from 3-point distance. They cooled off in the second half but pushed the lead to as many as 23 points en route to the lopsided win.
Rocky was led by Kevin Fassu, who had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Montana Tech 70, Rocky Mountain College 62 (Sunday)
Taylor England let four Montana Tech players in double-digit scoring as the Orediggers notched a 70-62 Frontier Conference men's basketball win at Rocky Mountain College on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep of the Battlin' Bears.
England scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and Sindou Diallo (13 points), Markieth Brown Jr. (11) and Derrius Collins (10) also finished in double figures. Cody Baumstarck added a game-high 11 rebounds for Tech, and Nate Ward dished out six assists.
Rocky got a big double-double from Maxim Stephans, who totaled 19 points and 14 rebounds, both game-highs. The Battlin' Bears made nine 3-pointers (compared to Tech's eight) and 11 free throw (compared to Tech's eight) and out-rebounded the Orediggers 45-30, but they turned the ball over 20 times, which allowed Montana Tech to leave Billings with the victory. The Orediggers had just seven turnovers in the win.
Tech led 30-28 at halftime before ballooning the lead to as many as 11 points late in the second half.
Tech (11-9 overall, 11-7 Frontier Conference) closes out its conference slate back at home against Montana State-Northern on Feb. 20 and 21, while Rocky (1-14, 1-13) next as a non-conference game at crosstown rival Montana State Billings. The Battlin' Bears host Providence on Feb. 20 and 21 to close out the Frontier Conference season.
The scheduled women's basketball games between the Tech and Rocky were canceled.
