DILLON — The Montana Tech men's basketball team got the bounce-back game it needed.
Sindou Diallo scored a game-high 31 points and Markieth Brown Jr. had 19 as the Orediggers fended off Montana Western 86-81 on Wednesday evening at Straugh Gymnasium. The win came after Tech was swept by Carroll College last weekend.
It was the first of three planned games between Tech and Western over the next five days. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Tech in Butte on Saturday and Sunday.
The Orediggers (7-7 overall, 7-5 in the Frontier Conference) also got 10 points from Drew Huse and a near double-double from Taylor England with 9 points and 12 rebounds.
The game saw Tech and Western tie six times before a triple from Brown Jr. with 4:18 remaining put the Orediggers up for good.
Western (3-6, 2-6) was paced by 26 points from Jalen Hodges, 16 from Michael Haverfield, 15 from Tanner Haverfield and 10 from Max Clark. The Bulldogs were coming off an extended break after their scheduled doubleheader against Providence was canceled last weekend.
