by BILLINGS, Mont. – An 18-point performance from Brandon The Boy (Gros Ventre) helped Rocky Mountain College defeat regional rival Dickinson State 71-65 Friday night.
Rocky entered the half up by just a single point at 33-31 and the two teams stayed hot on each other’s heels well into the second period. The Battlin’ Bears managed to build 65-55 lead late in the second period off of a 12-3 run and kept ahead of the Blue Hawks the rest of the way.
“Dickinson is a dangerous team. They had five players score in the double digits tonight,” said Rocky’s men’s basketball coach, Bill Dreikosen. “We didn’t shoot exceptionally well tonight, so it was nice for the team to find another way to win against a good opponent.”
Hitting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, Brandon The Boy’s 18-point performance ended just one point of his season-high. The trio of Kelson Eiselein, Maxim Stephens, and Sam Vining each posted 10-point performances. Grant Wallace had seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Dickinson State’s Malcohm Hill posted the game’s only double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Kenny Jackson had 11 points while Shawn Stoltz, Montel Carlow, and Ajdin Toskic each scored 10 points.
The Battlin’ Bears shot 37.7 percent from the field while landing 11-of-35 from deep. Dickinson State shot 34.7 percent while hitting 29 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Hawks held a 15-8 edge in offensive boards and a 50-44 edge in rebounds overall.
“Now we have to start focusing on Frontier Conference opponents,” said Dreikosen. “In the Frontier, everybody is good, so we are looking forward to that.”
