Montana Tech sweeps Rocky in doubleheader to open Frontier

It started with the women’s game as Tech took down No. 12 Rocky with a one-point victory to pick up its tenth win of the season.

The men’s game followed it up with another thriller as No. 7 Tech and No. 15 Rocky needed overtime to decide the winner. Ultimately, the Orediggers outlasted the Battlin’ Bears in front of their home crowd.

It was an electric opening day of league play in Butte, with two games being decided by razor-thin margins.

For the two teams in the Frontier that are ranked nationally, 40 minutes just wasn’t enough to separate them.

But the Diggers have found a way to win overtime games – going 5-0 during the 2022-23 season – and did it again on Saturday.

“The crazy part is that’s one area where we’re actually comfortable, when we get to overtime,” Tech head coach Adam Hiatt said.

“Once we get to overtime, our guys feels like we just got a new lease on life, five more minutes to prove that we’re worthy to win this game. That’s what we did tonight.”

Tech nearly didn’t make it to overtime after Rocky went on a 14-0 scoring run to take a 70-67 lead.

The Diggers hadn’t scored a point since the 6:37 mark, but with 21 seconds left junior guard Keeley Bake came up clutch.

Senior Chrishon Dixon found Bake in the corner, who nailed the game-tying three-pointer that sent it to overtime.

For Rocky, it came up just short in what was a winnable game, despite a below-average shooting night.

The Bears managed to hold a one-point halftime lead while shooting 26.5%.

A 28-19 edge in rebounding played a role in that as Rocky got to the free throw line off of second chance opportunities, making 13 shots from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes.

Rocky’s physicality led to some adjustments from Tech to keep them out of the paint.

“We really challenged our guys that we had to stiffen up. We had to be a lot better with second chance points and keeping them out of the paint, and we did a better job in the second half,” Hiatt said.

Tech’s Michael Ure led all scorers with 22 points as he shot 10-15 from the field. Asa Williams added 21 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Rocky had four players score 13 or more points, led by A.J. Wilson’s 21.

Maxim Stephens was vital for the Bears – and fouled out just prior to overtime – scoring 15 points and hauling in 16 rebounds.

With the loss, the Bears drop to 9-5 on the season.

Tech improves to 11-3 overall and opens Frontier play on a high note.

To survive in a tight game and come away with the victory, the Diggers are feeling good.

“I honestly believe that this is huge for us,” Hiatt said.

“We just needed one gutsy, gritty, blue-collar win like this to get us over the hump. So, I’m really optimistic, I’m excited for what’s coming up.”

Tech is back in action on Thursday to take on MSU-Northern on the road at 7 p.m.

Rocky plays host to Providence on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Trailing by seven points entering the fourth quarter, the Tech women’s basketball team was facing an uphill battle against Rocky.

But just as it has all season, Tech leaned on its defense in the final 10 minutes and it paid off on the way to a 51-50 victory at the HPER Complex.

The Bears were held to just five points in the final quarter.

“I’m really proud of our defense in that fourth quarter. We never gave up, we handled their runs and never let it get away,” Tech head coach Jeff Graham said.

Tech’s Challis Westwater knocked in the game-winning free throw with 59 seconds remaining.

Defense was key for the Orediggers throughout the contest, as they held Rocky to 28 points less than its season average (78.1).

Tech has been locking down opponents all season, as it entered the contest allowing 50.2 points per game, ranking third nationally.

“Defense carries, you can always play great defense. Some days the shots don’t go in, but everyone on our floor defends. If you can play defense, you’ll always be playing,” Graham said.

Brooklynn Hankwitz led all scorers with 13 points, knocking down three shots from long range for the Diggers. Liv Wangerin added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Tech.

Gracee Lekvold led Rocky with 12 points to go along with five rebounds. Ky Oliver finished with 11 points and three assists for the Bears.

It is just the second loss of the season for Rocky as they drop to 11-2.

With the win, the Diggers broke an eight-game losing streak against the Bears that dated back to Jan. 9, 2021.

Tech improved to 10-4 and picked up its first win over a ranked opponent in Graham’s tenure.

It was an exciting way to open the Frontier season for Tech, and now it will look to capture this momentum and carry into the next 14 games.

“Just the guts we’ve had all year,” Graham said. “For us to get an early one at home and build their confidence is huge.”

Tech takes on MSU-Northern on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Havre. Rocky hosts Providence on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.