Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information photo credit Terri Haverfield
GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The Montana Western men's basketball team (14-15, 6-9) put up a strong defensive front and downed the MSU-Northern Lights by a final score of 63-45.
The Bulldogs held the Lights to just 13 points in the second half and an 18.5 shooting percentage from the field.
"Really proud of the defensive effort from our guys, especially in the second half. We got some really big rebounds down the stretch," Head Coach Patrick Jensen said. "To hold them to only 13 points and only give up five threes in the game was huge."
How it Happened
Abi Adedo got the Bulldogs on the board first right from the start of the game. Despite the early score, UMW was slow to get back in motion. MSU-Northern's offense propelled them forward to take an 11-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
It was Adedo who got the Bulldogs back on track, hitting a on back-to-back attempts with eight minutes to play in the half. Quincy Taylor followed with a triple to tie the game at 20 all.
After trading pairs down the stretch, the two teams were primed to enter the half tied up at 29. MSU-Northern's Dae'Kwon Watson threw up a long three at the buzzer to put the Lights up three at 32-29 heading into the half.
The second half saw the Bulldogs put together a strong defensive front and hold the Lights from the start.
MSU-N held their final lead of the game with 15:16 on the clock. Jalyn Stepney connected on a jumper and Christian Pitcher followed with a layup to flip the lead back in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Lights hit their final bucket of the game with 7:43 left on the clock and the Bulldogs ran away with the game following a 16-0 run to cap the game on top 63-45.
Notables
The Bulldog men combined to shoot 49.0 percent from the field and a team 86.7 from the free throw line.
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs held the Lights to just 13 points in the second half and forced six turnovers.
UMW was led in scoring by Adedo with 23 points, three blocks, four rebounds, and a steal.
Stepney followed with 14 points and three rebounds.
Pitcher was another key component in the win, totaling 14 points, six rebounds and a steal in the game.
Up Next
The Bulldogs move on to the Frontier Conference semifinal to be played tomorrow afternoon at 1:00pm. The Bulldogs are set to take on the No. 8 ranked and regular season champion Montana Tech.
To view tournament information, click here.
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