The Warriors built a 10-4 lead on three-pointers by PJ Bolte, Darin Stewart and Donte Archie. The Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 run to go up 14-10 with 15:22 on the clock behind five points from Brandon Brown, two by Kyle Erickson and a three-pointer from Tyler Miller. L-C State regained the lead and another three by Stewart pushed the score to 25-19 with 8:56 left in the opening period. Six straight points by Brown tied the game for the third time at 25-all two minutes later. Brown picked up his third foul at the 4:55 mark and with Brown on the bench the Warriors outscored the Bulldogs 13-7 to end the half with a 42-34 lead.

L-C State maintained the lead the entire second half. The Bulldogs got to within six points on two occasions, the last time at 62-56 with 9:27 to play on a field goal by Miller. The Warriors outscored the Bulldogs 13-2 over the next six minutes to take a 17 point lead, 75-58, with 3:20 to play. A two-pointer by Jordan Overstreet and a three by JC Isakson of the Bulldogs closed out the scoring and accounted for the final 12 point margin.

Miller had a good shooting night (7-9 field goals, 3-4 on threes) and led the Bulldogs with 17 points and six rebounds. Brown had 17 points and three steals and Erickson finished with 11 points. Tyler Hurley was the assists leader with five. As a team Montana Western shot .490 (25-51) from the field, .375 (6-16) on three pointers and .500 (7-14) from the free throw line.

Five players scored in double figures for the Warriors. Bolte led the way with 13 points, Stewart scored 12, Archie had 11 and Nick Fromm and Danny Marshall each finished with 10. Bolte was the rebound leader with eight and Jeray Key had a team high four assists. L-C State was .438 (28-64) from the field, .440 (11-25) from beyond the three point line and .571 (8-14) on free throws.

Lewis-Clark State improved to 15-8 overall and 4-5 in the Frontier Conference. Montana Western fell to 18-7 overall and 6-3 in the conference. The Bulldogs next two games will be at home against Montana-State Northern (6-2, 20-4) on Feb. 10 and the University of Great Falls (4-4, 16-7) on Feb. 11. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - The Westminster College men's basketball team picked up a critical 70-61 win over Montana Tech in Frontier Conference play on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.

Westminster picked up its second win of the week and fourth in the last five games to improve to 17-8 overall and 5-4 in Frontier action. They have now climbed back within a game-and-a-half of first place MSU-Northern thanks help from around the league. They are now also just one-game back of second place Montana Western.

Things didn't start out to strong for the Griffins as they found themselves trailing 19-10 less than eight minutes into the evening. Thanks to a 13-4 run over the next six minutes, Westminster had evened the score at 23-23 before eventually taking the lad at 25-24 and again at 27-26. Tech (10-10, 2-7) would eventually carry a 31-27 lead into halftime.

The visitors would again push the advantage to eight at the 15:58 mark thanks to seven points from Daniel Simon. Tanner Gregory would then score six straight Westminster points during an 11-3 run that cut the deficit to 42-41 with 12:14 remaining. The Griffins would then use a 13-4 push to take the lead at 54-51 with 7:04 to play. Jake Orchard hit his only three of the game to put the Griffin in front 52-51 with 7:40 to play and the Griffins would not surrender the advantage for the rest of the night. They went 8-of-10 at the foul line over the final 1:42 to seal the victory.

The Griffins finished the night shooting a season-best 59.1% from the floor. That percentage was bolstered by the 68.2% they shot after intermission. They had 32 points in the paint and scored six second chance points. Westminster finished with a 30-23 rebounding advantage while recording 16 assists and seven blocked shots.

Jordan Hayter led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The 19 points match his career high that was set back in November. He also came up with four assists, three rebounds and one steal. AJ Reilly had his second straight solid performance off the Griffin bench finishing with 15 points, including 13 after halftime. Orchard finished the game with 10 points and three assists.

Simon led the Orediggers with 18 points with Tyree Haynie adding 17. Tech forced 17 Griffin turnovers and turned them into 26 points.

Westminster will now hit the road for the final time of the regular season with two games next weekend. They begin the trip on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. The game will be broadcast live on GOTW.tv.

 

L-C State scored the first 13 points of the game and extended the lead to 17-2 with 14:22 to play in the opening period. Montana Western answered with a 9-2 run to get to within eight, 19-11, but the Warriors responded with a 19-4 run to increase the lead to 23 points with 1:55 remaining. The Bulldogs scored the final two points and the first half ended with the Warriors on top 38-17. Jasmine Stohr (13) and Brittaney Niebergall (nine) led the Warriors scoring attack and Roxy Thurman had six points for the Bulldogs.

Still down by 20 points, the Bulldogs outscored the Warriors 8-1 to cut the lead to 51-38 (the closest they would get in the second half) with 9:51 to play. L-C State built the lead back to 22 points with 1:39 left and Montana Western scored the last seven points to account for the final score. The Bulldogs outscored the Warriors 45-39 in the second half. Kassi Kerbs scored all of her 13 points in the second period and Hayley Pettit added 10. Kirsi Voshell and Alyssa Fierro scored 10 and nine respectively for the Warriors.

Hayley Pettit led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Kerbs had13 points and Thurman finished with 11. Brittney Leibenguth and Alecia Wilson each had three assists. As a team Montana Western shot .365 (23-63) from the field, .063 (1-16) on three pointers and .625 (15-24) from the free throw line.

The Warriors had very balanced scoring. Voshell, Niebergall and Stohr scored 14 points each and Fierro added 13. Fierro was the rebound leader with seven and Stohr and Niebergall led the way with four assists each. L-C State was .397 (25-63) from the field, .100 (1-10) from beyond the three point line and .813 (26-32) on free throws.

Lewis-Clark State improved to 21-3 overall and 7-2 in the Frontier Conference. Montana Western fell to 12-10 overall and 2-7 in the conference. The Bulldogs next two games will be at home against Montana-State Northern on Feb. 10 and the University of Great Falls on Feb. 11. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - The 19th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team won for the ninth time in the last 10 games with a 62-48 win over Montana Tech on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.

Westminster maintained a one-game lead in the Frontier Conference race as they improve to 8-1 in league and 15-7 overall. Montana Tech drops to 8-13 overall and 3-6 in Frontier action with the loss.

The Griffins shot the ball well much of the evening and finished the night at 47.1% from the floor. They made six triples on 15 attempts and were 8-of-9 at the foul line. The offense produced 16 assists on the 24 made baskets while scoring 32 points in the paint.

After finding themselves trailing 19-16 at the 9:23 mark of the first half, Westminster put together a 16-3 run to close out the period and take a 32-22 lead into intermission. The run was sparked by 15 consecutive points from the Griffins with Nicole Yazzie scoring six of those.

In the second half, the Griffins put an 11-2 run together to turn a 41-32 lead into the largest lead of the evening at 52-34 with 12:13 remaining. Cydney Tibbits scored nine of the Griffins 11 points during the 4-plus minutes stretch on her way to 15 points in the game. Tech would put together a 10-2 run over the next eight minutes to trail just 54-46 with 4:43 to play. However, Westminster got back-to-back hoops from Yazzie and then went 4-of-4 at the foul line to seal the win.

Shelby Ellsworth led the Griffins with 16 points off the bench. The freshman shot 6-of-10 from the field with two treys and seven rebounds. She also came away with two assists, three steals and one blocked shot. Tibbitts added four rebounds and one assists to her total with Yazzie also scoring 15. Dana Bates finished with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bryn Hasquet led Tech with 12 points while Danielle Devenny added 10 and five rebounds. The Orediggers forced 16 Griffin turnovers and had seven steals.

Westminster will now hit the road for the final time of the regular season with two games next weekend. They begin the trip on Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. game at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. The game will be broadcast live on GOTW.tv.

LEWISTON, Idaho - PJ Bolte scored seven of his game-high 17 points in overtime and Jeray Key added two key offensive putbacks to help the Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team defeat Montana Tech 73-69 at the LCSC Activity Center on Thursday night.

The overtime victory gave LCSC a season-sweep in the series and also helped the Warriors snap a three-game losing streak. The Warriors are now 14-8 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. Montana Tech falls to 10-9 and into last place in the conference standings at 2-6.

The Warriors race out to a 13-4 lead, but needed a deep 3-pointer by Spencer Drury at the buzzer for a 30-29 advantage at intermission. The contest was then back-and-forth in the second half with neither team leading by more than four points.
Late in the game, a pair of running floaters by guard Donte Archie gave LCSC a 61-59 lead. Key then hit one of two free throws with 52.7 seconds left to push the margin to 62-59.

Tech's Brian Cummings answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game and then got the ball back with 11 seconds left when LCSC was called for a five-second count while trying to run down the clock for the last shot. The Orediggers ran the clock down bit Tyree Haynie was unable to convert  on a drive to the basket and the contest went into overtime.

In the extra five minutes, Bolte hit a jumper and Key scored on an offensive rebounds to put LCSC ahead 66-64. Cummings, however, scored on a three-point play to give Tech its final lead at 67-66.
Bolte put the Warriors in front with a jumper and then added two free throws, a nemesis of LCSC on the night, for a 70-67 lead. After Tech countered with a pair of free throws, Key scored on his second offensive rebound with 1:58 remaining and a 72-69 lead.

After both teams missed shots, LCSC's Darin Stewart came up with a key steal with 58 seconds left, but then missed a 3-point attempt with 20 seconds remaining. Tech got the rebound and tried a 3-pointer to tie it, but missed, and Bolte was fouled after grabbing the rebounds. Bolte then made 1-of-2 free throws with seven seconds left for the final.

Along with his game-high total, Bolte also had seven rebounds and a steal. Archie added 16 points and three assists, while Key had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, and a steal.

"For all of his struggles on offense, Jeray certainly made up for it on the defensive end," LCSC coach Brandon Rinta said. "He did an excellent job defensively tonight. At times we had him even guarding their center."

Danny Marshall added seven points and a game-high nine rebounds for LCSC.
LCSC finished the game 25-of-59 from the field for 42.4 percent and 6-of-24 from the 3-point line for 25 percent.  The Warriors were 17-of-27 at the foul line, but only 4-of-9 in the first half.

Tech finished 23-of-55 from the field for 41.8 percent, and 3-of-13 at the 3-point line for 23.1 percent. The Orediggers did hit 20-of-24 free throws.
AJ Paine led Montana Tech with 14 points and five rebounds.

The Warriors return to action Saturday night when they play host to Montana Western, which is now in second place in the league standings after falling out of a first-place tie with a loss to Westminster in overtime on Thursday. Saturday's contest is at 7:30 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - It took an extra five minutes, but the Westminster College men' basketball team pulled off an 81-80 win over No. 19 Montana Western on Thursday night in the Behnken Field House.

Westminster needed the win to get back in the Frontier Conference race. The Griffins entered the night three games behind Western on MSU-Northern as the second half of league play began. With Thursday's win, Westminster is now 16-8 overall on the year and 4-4 in Frontier action. UMW drops to 18-6 and 6-2.

The entire game was played within an 18 point window with both teams holding leads of nine points during the game. There were 10 ties and 14 lead changes during the contest that was tied at the half and at the end of regulation.

Western came out of the gate on fire and quickly built a 19-10 lead with 13:33 remaining in the first half. The Griffins bounced back with a 9-1 run to cut the deficit to 20-19 at the 10:31 mark and they would take the lead at 27-26 with 4:16 remaining in the first stanza. The game would eventually head into intermission with the score level at 32-32.

Trailing 48-42 with 13:48 to play in regulation, Westminster put together a 19-4 run to open up a 61-52 lead with 4:07 to play. Refusing to go away, Western continued to battle and behind five quick points from Tyler Hurley it was back to a five point game with 2:37 remaining. Westminster would shoot 6-of-7 at the foul line in the final 2:06 only to watch Hurley make a three with 5.7 seconds to play that would send the game into overtime.

The visitors scored the first four points of the extra session to lead 73-69 with 4:08 to play. Jordan Hyater made a three for Westminster with 1:43 on the overtime clock to bring the game even for the eighth time of the evening. After the Grififns made 3-of-4 at the foul line, Western's Hurley was fouled on a three point attempt with 10.6 second to play. He stepped up and made all three to give the Bulldogs an 80-79 lead. AJ Reilly then drove the length of the floor and pulled up and hit a 14-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds left to win the game for the Griffins.

Reilly finished the game with 13 points and scored all of them after intermission. He was 4-of-6 shooting with two triples, three rebounds and three assists. Reilly had eight of his points during the second half run that helped the team build the nine-point advantage.

The Griffins shot 48.1% form the floor in the game, including 50% in the second half. They had 18 assists and only eight turnovers, with just four of those miscues coming after intermission. Westminster scored 38 points in the paint while getting 36 points form the bench. They held UMW to 41.9% shooting and turned 12 Western turnovers into 16 points.

Jake Orchard led Westminster with 14 points and also finished with a career-high five assists. Hayter scored 12 points with two makes from beyond the arc and Ben Walker scored 11 points with five blocked shots. Jordan Hamilton provided the Griffins with a nice spark off the bench scoring four points while collecting six rebounds and three blocks.

Hurley led the Bulldogs with 21 points and nine rebounds. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and 9-for-9 at the foul line. Brandon Brown and Kyle Erickson added 16 points apiece.

The Griffins will look to snap a three-game losing streak against Montana Tech when they welcome the Orediggers to Salt Lake City on Saturday. The action will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. from the Behnken Field House and also be available on Griffins TV.

LEWISTON, Idaho - With a win over Montana Tech on Thursday night, the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team has now won 20 or more games in 20 consecutive seasons. The Warriors, aided by 20 points from Jasmine Stohr, reached the milestone on Thursday by storming past the Orediggers 79-61.

The last time the Warriors failed to reach 20 wins was in the 1991-1992 season when the team went 16-10. The program has gone an incredible 499-142 over the 20 year span.
 
Stohr, who injured her MCL during a game on Jan. 12 and was originally expected to miss at least six weeks, surprised many Warrior fans when her name was listed on LCSC's starting lineup on Thursday. The 6-foot guard from Yakima, Wash., wore a knee brace throughout the game, but seemed to have little trouble returning to her high-scoring ways.
 
With 11 points from Stohr and 10 points from Kirsi Voshell in the first half the Warriors jumped to a commanding lead of 36-21 by the break. The team hit 53.3 percent of its shots in the first half, and continued its shooting touch throughout the second.
 
Overall, LCSC outshot Montana Tech 50.9 percent to 40.6 percent on the night. The high shooting mark, coupled with a 43-28 advantage in boards, made any possibility of an Oredigger comeback very unlikely.
 
The closest the Orediggers came in the second half was within 15 points, and the furthest away they fell was by 29 points with around five minutes left in regulation.
 
Five Warriors finished with double-digits in points. Voshell had 15 points and six blocks, Brittaney Niebergall had 13 points and six assists, Alyssa Fierro had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Tasha Bishop had 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
LCSC went 7-of-12 from 3-point territory for a season-high percentage of 58.3. Niebergall was 3-for-3 from the outside, Bishop was 3-for-5, and Stohr went 1-for-1.
 
Tech was led by 16 points from Laini Kalumbi and 15 points by Tabitha Tomlinson. Bryn Hasquet finished with 13 points, and Mandy Machinal had 11.
 
Stohr, who ended up missing just four games because of the injury, played 25 minutes in the game which is right around what she averaged prior to the injury. She is averaging 20 points per game, which is fifth best in the NAIA.
 
The No. 8-ranked Warriors are now 20-3 overall and 6-2 in league play. Tech slips to 8-12 and 3-5.
 
Saturday is billed as Dollar Day at the Activity Center as the Warriors take on Montana Western at 5:30 p.m. The game will feature $1 admission, and $1 hot dogs, soft drinks, and popcorn.

 

The Bulldogs scored the first five points of the game and extended the lead to 20-10 with 8:46 to play when Kassi Kerbs drilled her third three-pointer of the half. Montana Western upped the lead to 10 points again at 26-16 with 6:18 to play when Sami Bignell found Hayley Pettit for a jump shot. Westminster responded with a 13-2 run to take the lead for the first time at 29-28 with just under two minutes to play in the opening period. The Bulldogs got a basket by Alecia Wilson and two free throws from Roxy Thurman to regain the lead 32-29. Jenteal Jackson drove the length of the court for a layup as the buzzer sounded to pull the Griffins to within one, 32-31, as the half ended.

The second half saw three tie scores before a layup by Thurman put the Bulldogs on top 40-38. The Griffins went on a 17-0 run over a five minute span to go up 55-40 with 11:41 to play. The closest the Bulldogs would get the rest of the game was 11 points, 60-71, when Kerbs hit her fourth three-pointer of the game with 2:45 to play. Jackson, just as she did to end the first half, scored the final basket of the game.

Hayley Pettit led the Bulldogs with her 12th double-double on the season (19 points and 12 rebounds). Thurman finished with 15 points, Kerbs had 12 and Wilson 11. Jenna Banks and Kerbs each had three assists and Pettit had three steals and three blocked shots. As a team Montana Western shot .417 (25-60) from the field, .500 (6-12) on three pointers and .636 (7-11) from the free throw line.

Five players scored in double figures for the Griffins. Nicole Yazzie led the way with 20 points, Shelby Ellsworth scored 14, Jackson had 13, Cydney Tibbits added 12 and Dana Bates finished with 10. Tibbitts was the rebound leader with nine and Jackson had a team high six assists. Westminster was .429 (27-63) from the field, .438 (7-16) from beyond the three point line and .810 (17-21) on free throws.

Westminster (7-1, 14-7) hosts the Montana Tech Orediggers (3-5, 8-12) and Montana Western (2-6, 12-9) travels to Lewiston, Idaho to play the No. 8 ranked Lewis-Clark State Warriors (6-2, 20-3) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The Warriors defeated the Orediggers 79-61 Thursday night.

Frontier Conference Commissioner Kent Paulson released the 2011 academic all-conference men and women's cross country team today. To be eligible for the team, the student-athlete must beat least of sophomore standing, must have been enrolled at your school the previous two semesters and maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Click here for the men's team

Click here for the women's team

Butte, MT-Montana Tech head football coach Chuck Morrell announced another round of commitments Tuesday. The Orediggers signed 10 players this week. Seven of the players are from Montana, one from Idaho and Washington and a transfer from California.

"Our recruiting class is rounding out very well for us right now," commented Morrell. "We have placed importance on length and speed with this group of signees."

Zach Hulse, a Helena High product, from Helena, Mont., has committed to Montana Tech. Hulse, a 6-2, 202 pound linebacker and tight end, will play linebacker for the Orediggers.

Hulse is a multiple sport athlete playing basketball and football for the Bengals. As a junior, Hulse was named honorable mention as an outside linebacker. Last season, Hulse made second team all-conference and honorable mention all-state for that position. On special teams, Hulse was first team all-conference and first team all-state as a long snapper. On the court, Hulse was named to the all-conference basketball team last season.

Tyler Gavlak, a 6-1, 196 pound running back and linebacker from Stevensville, Mont., will play linebacker for Montana Tech.

Last year as a linebacker, Gavlak was named first team all-conference. Gavlak is an academic all-state selection and carries a 3.7 GPA. He has picked up a number of honors including the Daughters of the American Revolution Citizenship Award and a Wendy's Heisman nomination. For his major, Gavlak has selected applied health science.

A notable out of state commitment is Andre Frank from Puyallup, Wash. Frank, a 6-foot-3, 190 pound wide receiver and defensive back, will play outside linebacker for the Orediggers.

In 2010 as a junior, he was an honorable mention all-league for the 4A South Puget Sound League as a defensive back. That season, he averaged 6.5 tackles a game. Going into the 2011 season, Frank ranked as one of the top 50 High School College Football Prospects of 2012 in the state of Washington by Rivals Washington Prep. He was named to the top-50 Washington state prospects and one of the top defensive players to watch on the west coast by Scout.com. His 2011 season was cut short after an injury early in the year.

While at Emerald Ridge High School, Frank ran track along with playing football. During the 2011 track season, Frank qualified in three district track events, 4x400M relay, 4x100m relay and long jump.

"The addition of Andre Frank, Zach Hulse and Tyler Gavlak to our linebacker core gives us more rangy players that can close space," said Morrell.

From last year's AA state champion Helena Capital of Helena, Mont., Slaten Long will attend Montana Tech in the fall. Long, a 6'3" 220 pound tight end and punter will play tight end for the Orediggers.

"Slaten Long gives us some great versatility at the tight end position," Morrell stated.

This past season, long was name first team all-state as a tight end for the Bruins. Long has been first team all-conference punter the past two seasons and second team all-state in 2011. He carries a 3.66 GPA and was named academic all-state.

"We have also made key additions to the secondary in Ty Albert and Nick Beauchaine," Morrell noted.

Nick Beauchaine, a 6-foot-1, 170 pound wide receiver and cornerback from Bozeman, Mont., will play cornerback for the Orediggers.

While playing for the Hawks, Beauchaine played both ways and special teams. As a junior, Beauchanine was named first team all-conference and second team all-state as a wide receiver. This past season, he was name second team all-conference and honorable mention to the all-state team. Beauchaine plans on majoring in mining engineering.

Ty Albert, a 6-2,  200 pound quarterback and free safety from Hardin, Mont., will play free safety for the Orediggers.

This past season, Albert was named second team all-conference and honorable mention all-state as a quarterback. At safety, he was named to the all-state team. In addition to football, Albert is an accomplished tennis player. He took second place at the divisional meet last year and was named to the first team all-conference.

In school, Albert was named academic all-state for football and tennis. He carries a 3.91 GPA and is a national Honors Society member. Albert also participated in student council. While attending Montana Tech, he will major in mining engineering.

Carlos Martinez, a 5-foot-7, 160 pound running back and kick returner, will join the Orediggers from a major football program in Idaho. He played for Coeur d'Alene High School Vikings of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, winners of back-to-back 5A State Football Championships the past two seasons. This past year, Martinez was named first team all-league and second-team all-state. He will major in applied health science.

Kevin Moss of Pittsburg, Calif., a 5'7" 165 pound wide receiver and punt returner, transfers from Diablo Valley Community College (DVCC).

While at DVCC last season, Moss lead the team with 40 receptions for 409 yards. He was fourth in the state with 375 punt return yard and named first team all-conference.

"With Carlos Martinez and Kevin Moss," Morrell added, "they will have an instant impact on our offense and special teams with their ability to run in the open field."

Cy Williams, a 6-0, 175 pound quarterback and outside linebacker from White Sulphur Springs, Mont., will play offense for Montana Tech.

Playing both football and basketball, Williams brings a number of accomplishments from athletics and the classroom to Tech. On both sides of the ball, Williams was an all-conference selection from 2009-11. This past season, he was named to the all-state team and was selected to play in the East West Shrine game. In basketball, Williams was named all-conference three times.

In the classroom, Williams carries a 3.93 GPA and is a National Honors Society member. Williams participated as a Boys State delegate and has competed for four years in Business Professionals of America at the state and national levels.

Ty Tousignant, a 5-foot-9, 170 pound fullback and outside linebacker from Wibaux, Mont., will play defense for the Orediggers.    

Tousignant brings a 3.9 GPA to Montana Tech and is a member of the National Honor Society. He was named academic all-state as well. As both a fullback and linebacker, Tousignant was named first team all-conference, first team all-state and selected to play in the Treasure State All-Star game. He plans on majoring in general engineering.

"While it is great to have guys that have exceled on the field from the Class C to Class AA levels in our program, it is just as important the fact that these young men represent great students in the classroom," Morrell noted. "Several of them have outstanding academic honors and goals to pursue the best degrees offered at Tech."

The Montana Tech football season starts up at home. The Orediggers host the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers at Alumni Coliseum Sept. 1.

Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY - The Westminster College men's basketball team begins the second half of the Frontier Conference season by playing host to two games this weekend. Westminster will play No. 19 Montana Western on Thursday before hosting Montana Tech on Saturday. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House and are part of the Westminster Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster heads into the weekend's games at 15-8 overall this season. They have a 3-4 record in Frontier Conference action and sit in a four-way tie for third in the conference standings. The Griffins split two road games last weekend, winning at Great Falls before dropping a game at MSU-Northern. They have gone 6-2 at home this season and won the first five games played at home this year.

The Griffins rank fourth in the Frontier in scoring at 73.5 points per game. They have scored 1,691 points this year which is third-most in the league and 23rd in the NAIA. They lead the Frontier in field goal percentage (50.2%) and free throw percentage (74.6%).

Defensively, Westminster holds the opposition to 66.8 points per outing while holding them to 44.3% shooting from the floor. The Griffins grab 32 rebounds per game while also blocking 2.7 shots per contest. They average 7.7 steals with a positive 2.00 turnover margin. The team averages 14.7 assists per game with a 1.14 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Jake Orchard is third in the league in scoring at 16.2 points per game and is 21st in the NAIA with 372 total points. He ranks second in the Frontier by shooting 53.8% from the field and is second by shooting 83.7% at the charity stripe. Ben Walker ranks ninth in the conference by scoring 12.5 points per game and tops the conference with a 55.9% field goal percentage.

Walker grabs 5.5 rebounds per game to lead the team and ranks eighth in the Frontier. Alex Drecksel ranks seventh in the conference by grabbing 1.9 offensive rebounds per game. Jordan Hayter averages a team-best 2.78 assists per outing while Orchard records 1.39 steals per contest. Walker blocks 1.44 shots per game and ranks third in the Frontier and 29th nationally.

Game Coverage
Both games this weekend will be carried live on Griffins TV. The pregame coverage begins at 7:20 p.m. with Mike Lageschulte handling the play-by-play and Lance Barton providing the color commentary. Head coach Adam Hiatt stops by to chat with the guys during the postgame show. Live Stats will also be available for the two games. Links for Griffins TV and the Live Stats are available at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY - The 19th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will begin the second half of the Frontier Conference season with two home games this weekend. Westminster will welcome Montana Western to town on Thursday before a Saturday contest against Montana Tech. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House and are part of the Westminster Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend.

Griffin Notebook
The Griffins enter the weekend with a 13-7 overall record and winners in eight of their last nine contests. They hold a one-game lead over No. 9 Lewis-Clark State and Rocky Mountain in the Frontier standings with a 6-1 record. Westminster is coming off a 2-0 trip to Montana last weekend that saw them collect wins over Great Falls at MSU-Northern. The Griffins have gone 7-2 at home this season and are riding a five-game home winning streak.

Westminster is scoring 67.9 points per game to rank fourth in the Frontier and 46th in the NAIA. They shoot 40.9% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc. The Griffins lead the league with 159 threes and an average of 7.95 made per outing. They also lead the Frontier by shooting 76.8% at the foul line and with a 1.05 assist-to-turnover ratio.

On the defensive end, Westminster holds the opposition to 57.3 points per game and rank third in the league in that category. Griffin opponents are shooting 38.2% from the field and 31.2% from beyond the arc. Westminster grabs 38 rebounds a night while also averaging 14.1 assists. They grab 7.5 steals while also averaging two blocks per game.

Four Griffins are averaging double figures in scoring this season. Nicole Yazzie leads the team at 13 points per game which ranks seventh in the league. Dana Bates is 11th in the Frontier in scoring at 11.9 while Shelby Ellsworth is 18th at 10.5 points per contest. Cydney Tibbitts averages 11.6 per game, but hasn't played enough games to qualify in the conference rankings.

Yazzie leads team with 39 made threes and is shooting 92.9% at the foul line to lead the Frontier. Jenteal Jackson is shooting 40.2% from beyond the arc to rank third in the Frontier and 19th in the nation. Jackson has a team-best 71 assists and leads the Frontier with a 1.92 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ellsworth and Bates have each grabbed 128 rebounds during the year and rank ninth in the league at 6.4 per game.

Game Coverage
Both games this weekend will be carried live on Griffins TV. The pregame coverage begins at 5:20 p.m. with Mike Lageschulte handling the play-by-play and Lance Barton providing the color commentary. Head coach Shelley Jarrard stops by to chat with the guys during the postgame show. Live Stats will also be available for the two games. Links for Griffins TV and the Live Stats are available at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Montana State-Northern and Montana Western went 2-0 this past weekend and finished the first half of the conference season with identical 6-1 records. In the latest NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25, both schools moved up in the rankings.
Northern took the biggest jump of the two teams. The Lights moved into the Top 10, moving up three spots from last week. Montana Western moved up just one position and is now ranked No. 19.

Westminster College was the only other conference team receiving votes in the coaches' poll, but not enough to move into the Top 25.

Three wins last week secured Shorter (Ga.)'s hold at No. 1, the NAIA announced Monday. The Hawks captured 312 total points and all 12 first-place votes for the second-straight week. Since earning the No. 1 ranking three weeks ago, Shorter has won four games by an average of over 20 points.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conference/independent/unaffiliated groups. The next Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll will be announced on Feb. 6.

Lewis-Clark State went 1-1 on the trip through the Montana highline and the one loss dropped the Warriors from No. 6 to No. 8 in the latest edition of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. 

Westminster College took that same road trip and finished 2-0 for the weekend. The Griffins moved up one position and are now ranked No. 19.

Rocky Mountain College and Montana State-Northern also picked up votes in the poll, but not enough to move into the Top 25.

Oklahoma City received every first-place vote to top the poll, the national office announced Monday. The No. 1 ranking is the fourth this season for the Stars, but the first since Jan. 9. Oklahoma City, who collected 312 points, finished the week 2-0 following victories against Oklahoma Christian, 103-44, on Jan. 26 and at Northwestern Oklahoma State, 70-69, on Jan. 28.

Eleven of the 12 Division I women's basketball conferences and independents are represented throughout the Top 25. The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The next regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Feb. 6.

   

The basket, which started a rally against Rocky in a key Frontier Conference matchup, gave Brown 1,500 points scored in his Bulldog career. Brown would go on to score six more points as Montana Western (6-1, 18-5) rallied to defeat the Battlin' Bears 74-66 and remain tied for first place in the conference. Brown led the Bulldogs with 24 points and added to the 29 he scored the night before in a victory over Carroll College, giving him 1,506 total points at Montana Western.

"It has been an honor and a pleasure to coach Brandon these past three years," head coach Steve Keller said. "Brandon is arguably the best player to ever put on a Montana Western uniform."

In Brown's tenure at Montana Western to date, the team has posted a 65-25 overall record and 25-10 in the Frontier Conference. The Bulldogs have played in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Mo. the last two years, going 1-1 in Brown's sophomore year while reaching the sweet sixteen and losing to No. 1 ranked Robert Morris by one point, 76-77, in the opening round last year. Brown scored 32 points against Robert Morris, tying him for the best individual scoring performance in the tournament. In three games at the national tournament Brown has scored 18, 21 and 32 points for an average of 23.7 points per game.

Last season Brown was honored as the Frontier Conference player of the year and was selected as a first team NAIA All-American. He averaged 20.2 points and 4.8 assists per game last year to lead the conference in both categories. He was 10th in scoring in the NAIA and 24th in assists.

This season Brown is averaging 22.7 points per game (first in the conference and seventh in the NAIA), 4.0 assists (second in the conference) and 2.5 steals (first in the conference and 21st in the NAIA). The Bulldogs are currently ranked 20th in the latest NAIA national poll.

For his Bulldog career to date Brown has posted the following numbers: 1,506 points (16.9 avg.), 296 rebounds (3.3 avg.), 366 assists (4.1 avg.), 166 steals (1.9 avg.), a .494 (536-1086) field goal percentage, a .334 (127-380) three point percentage and a .711 (307-432) free throw percentage.

"Brandon deserves all the credit as his leadership and work ethic is second to none," Keller added. "Not only has he led us in scoring, but also in assists and steals. Brandon makes everyone around him a better basketball player."

Brown has been a leader on and off the court for the Bulldogs for the last three years. In addition to being a great teammate and excelling on the basketball court, Brown has excelled in the classroom. Majoring in business administration, Brown is carrying a cumulative 3.48 grade point average into his final semester at Montana Western. He is also a positive influence and a role model who is looked up to and respected by both youth and adults in the Dillon community.

"As good as Brandon is as a basketball player, he is even a better person and student," Keller said. "I am proud to say I was Brandon's coach for these three great years of Bulldog basketball."

The University of Montana Western Bulldogs men's basketball team defeated the Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears 74-66 in front of another large crowd Saturday night in the Straugh Gymnasium.

Before the game, Montana Western honored the first responders of Dillon and Beaverhead County. It was also military appreciation night and all coaches in both the women's and men's games wore tennis shoes to show their support for coaches against cancer.

The first half was a physical battle as the score remained close. John Bayo hit a three point shot to give Rocky the lead for the first time, 15-14, nine minutes into the game. Tyler Miller followed by sinking two free throws to put the Bulldogs back in the lead before Anthony Carter connected on another three to put the Bears back on top 18-16. Sergio Troch scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to give Rocky their largest lead of the half, 22-16. Rocky maintained the lead until Brandon Brown lobbed the ball by the rim and Kyle Perry put it in with two seconds remaining to tie the game 34-34 as the first half ended.

Matt Fogarty scored to open the second half and give Rocky the lead before Tyler Hurley scored twice to put the Bulldogs back on top 38-36. Rocky answered with a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the game (48-40) at the 13:20 mark. The Bulldogs responded with nine points, five by Kyle Erickson and four by Brown, to tie things up 50-50 with ten minutes to play. Kurtis Parsons made a three-pointer to put the Bears ahead and Bridger Chambers answered with a three to tie the game for the seventh time 53-53.

With Rocky up by four points, Erickson scored seven straight points and Jake Owsley added two more to complete a 9-0 Bulldog run and put Montana Western ahead 62-57 with 4:58 to play. The Bears followed with a two by Trocha and a three by Fogarty to knot things up 62-62 (the eighth tie of the game) with 3:58 remaining.

Miller scored to put the Bulldogs back on top as Montana Western outscored Rocky 12-4 down the stretch for the victory. Miller, Brown, Hurley and Chambers all scored in the final run.

Brown led the Bulldogs in scoring with 24 points and had three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Erickson had another excellent all-around game with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, five blocked shots and three steals. Hurley had nine points and led the team with eight rebounds. Miller scored eight points and had seven rebounds. Chambers scored seven points and Perry had six blocked shots. As a team Montana Western shot .458 (27-59) from the field, .200 (3-15) on three pointers and .739 (17-23) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs interior defense was again outstanding recording 13 blocked shots.

Fogarty was the Bears scoring leader with 15 points and Trocha and Carter each scored 10. Point guard Doundrekyc Parham had a double-double (10 assists and 10 rebounds). Trocha just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Rocky was .361 (26-72) from the field, .292 (7-24) from beyond the three point line and .875 (7-8) on free throws.

Montana Western (6-1, 18-5) remains tied for first place in the Frontier Conference with Montana State-Northern (6-1, 20-3). Rocky (3-4, 10-12) is in a four-way tie for third in the conference with the University of Great Falls, Westminster and Carroll.

The Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears defeated the University of Montana Western Bulldogs women's basketball team 82-62 Saturday night in the Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon.

The first ten minutes of the contest was a back-and-forth battle and was tied 17-all with 10:10 to play on a Bulldog basket by Brittney Leibenguth. The game featured three ties and five lead changes in the first ten minutes. From that point the Battlin' Bears outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 over the last ten minutes of the first half to take control of the game. Amie Jensen came off the bench to score 12 points to put her team on top 35-23 at the break. The Bulldogs were never able to get the lead to less than ten points in the second half and Rocky finished the game on an 11-3 run to push the final margin of victory to 20 points.

Hayley Pettit scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the second straight night. It marked the eleventh time Pettit has recorded a double-double in points and rebounds on the season. Nicole Tams finished with 16 points and Roxy Thurman added 12. Alecia Wilson scored eight points, pulled down six rebounds and let the team with seven assists. As a team Montana Western shot .282 (20-71) from the field, .143 (2-14) on three pointers and .769 (20-26) from the free throw line.

The Battlin' Bears got balanced scoring with four players finishing in double figures. Jensen led the way with 16 points, Austin Hanser scored 15, and Alli Blake and Jillian Stanek each finished the night with 14 points. Jensen was the rebound leader with nine and Blake led in assists with five. Rocky was .483 (28-58) from the field, .167 (2-12) from beyond the three point line and .727 (24-33) on free throws. Rocky also had 13 steals on the night and blocked 10 shots (four by Stanek).

Montana Western (2-5, 12-8) fell to seventh place in the Frontier Conference. Rocky Mountain (5-2, 16-6) moved into a second place tie in the conference with Lewis-Clark State (5-2, 19-3).

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team controlled Friday night's home game with LC State from tip to finish. On Saturday night, the always-tough Westminster Griffins wouldn't let the Lights have that same control. But, the No. 13 Lights erased a seven-point second half deficit and hung on to beat the Griffins 53-50 in front of a raucous crowd at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse.

The Lights led 31-30 at halftime after both teams traded shots throughout the first 20 minutes. But the Griffins stormed out of the gats, going on a 9-2 run to start the second, and it looked as though the Lights, who were again stymied at the 3-point line were in a bit of trouble. But two straight baskets by Big Sandy freshman Corbin Pearson and a much-needed triple by Shaun Tatarka brought he Lights roaring back to tie the game at 46-46 with 7:41 to go.

Northern then started to finally get some stops on defense and an old-fashioned 3-point play by senior Sean Kelly gave MSU-N a 49-46 lead with 4:30 left. The Griffins trailed by 51-46 after Northern finished a 10-0 run, but they didn't go away and cut the lead to 51-50 with :04 left. Tatarka calmly sank two free throws to put the Lights back up by three and Northern survived a good look at a triple by Jordan Hayter, which would have tied the game.

Tatarka led another low-scoring night for the Lights, with 12 points. Joe Simpson added 11 points and seven rebounds, while LaVon Myers scored eight. The Lights went just 4-of-11 from three and in a weekend sweep, they only made five triples total. The Griffins (3-4, 15-8) were led by Jake Orchard's 12 points.

Northern improved to 6-1 in the Frontier and is still tied with UM-Western atop the league standings. The win over the Griffins got the Lights (20-3) to the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in Shawn Huse's career at Northern. MSU_N starts a crucial three-game road stretch next Saturday at rival UGF.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. ­ - The Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team got off to a hot start against the University of Great Falls during their Frontier Conference matchup on Saturday night.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, hot turned to cold.

After racing out to a seven point lead on two occasions in the first half, LCSC's shooting touch cooled off while Great Falls heated up as the Argos gradually pulled away in the second half for a 79-56 triumph.

Compounding LCSC's problem were 19 turnovers, most of which led to fastbreak opportunities and points for the Argos.

"In the second half we had too many turnovers and missed too many shots," LCSC coach Brandon Rinta said. "They (the Argos) are a very long and athletic team. The problem was our turnovers and missed shots were leading to transition buckets that we were not able to defend."

The loss was the third straight for the Warriors, who finish the first half of conference play at 2-5. Overall LCSC is 13-8. UGF improves to 3-4 in league and 15-7 overall.

The Warriors led 15-8 and then 26-19 with 8:40 left in the first half. But after needing only 11 minutes and 20 seconds to get 26 points, the Warriors spent the final 28:40 scoring just 30.

"I thought we played all right in the first half," Rinta said. "We came out of the gate playing well. We broke their pressure and attacked it, which helped us get off to a decent start. But we had way too many turnovers that led to easy baskets for them."

The key stretch was the final 8:40 on the first half when UGF turned the seven-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Argos used a 17-4 run for a 36-30 halftime advantage.

The Argos then used a 12-5 run to start the second half for a 48-35 advantage. The Warriors did get it down to eight at 52-44 with less than 10 minutes remaining and trailed by 10, 59-49 with 7:48 left, but UGF outscored LCSC 20-7 the rest of the way.

Because they were playing from behind the second half, the Warriors attempted a season-high 30 3-pointers in the game, but hit only five for 16.7 percent accuracy.

"That number is a little inflated because shot a lot of 3s at the end of the game," Rinta said.

Overall, the Warriors finished 23-of-61 from the field for 37.7 percent. LCSC shot just 10-of-34 (29.4 percent) in the second half, including 2-of-18 at the 3-point line.

Great Falls was 26-of-53 from the field for 49 percent despite going 2-of-15 from the 3-point arc. Despite losing to Montana State-Northern on Friday night, LCSC's defense held its two weekend opponents to just 3-of-30 shooting (10 percent) from the 3-point line.

"We are doing some good things defensively," Rinta said. "We had a decent defensive effort tonight. They were pretty athletic at the No. 4 spot and we eventually had to go to a four-guard lineup to defend them at that position. My only complaint is our transition defense and that goes back to too many turnovers."

Senior Darin Stewart, who was held to one point on Friday, led the Warriors with 17 on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. He also had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. PJ Bolte added 16 points on 7-of14 shooting and eight rebounds, while Donte Archie added 11 points and five boards.

Marcel Towns had a game-high 21 points for UGF.

"It was a tough road trip playing two really good teams on back-to-back nights," Rinta said. "I thought our guys competed, we just had some mental mistakes with the turnovers."

LCSC will play four of its final seven games at home, starting next week when it entertains Montana Tech on Thursday and Montana Western on Saturday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.

HAVRE, Mont. - The Westminster College men's basketball team saw its upset bid fall short in a 53-50 loss against No. 13 Montana State-Northern on Saturday night in Frontier Conference action. (Box Score)
 Westminster now sits at 15-7 overall and in a four-way tie for third at the halfway points of the Frontier Conference slate with a 3-4 record.  Northern maintains its tie for the conference lead at 6-1 while also improving to 20-3 overall.
 
The Griffins looked poised to take the upset after shooting 54.5% from the floor in the first half and trailing just 30-29 at the intermission. After scoring he first seven points of the second half, Westminster led 36-30 at the 16:34 mark.  They would continue to lead and with 10:14 remaining the Griffins led by seven, their biggest margin of the night.
 
That is when things changed in favor of the home squad.  The Lights scored the game's next 11 points to take a five-point lead with 4:05 remaining.  That lead would never be relinquished and when Jordan Hayter missed a three as time expired, the Griffins had come up short.  They went just 2-for-6 from the field down the stretch with five turnovers.
 
Westminster shot just 40.9% in the second half and finished the game at 47.7%.  They were just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc and missed both long range attempts after halftime.  Westminster turned it over 17 times with only six assists while grabbing 30 rebounds.  They limited MSUN to 39.6% shooting and forced 11 turnovers.
 
Jake Orchard led all Griffins with 12 points on a 5-of-12 shooting night.  He also collected a team-best seven rebounds with one assist and one steal.  Ben Walker added 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.  Alex Drecksel and AJ Reilly combined for 17 points coming off the bench.
 
Shaun Tatarka led Northern with 12 points and three steals.  Joe Simpson added 11 points and seven rebounds.  MSUN shot 11-of-13 at the foul line and had four triples.
 
Westminster will begin the second half of league play on Thursday when they welcome nationally ranked Montana Western to the Behnken Field House.  The game kicks off Hall of Fame Weekend and begins at 7:30 p.m. and will also be available live on Griffins TV.