BUTTE — The Montana Tech men, the four-time defending Frontier Conference champions, opened their 2025-26 campaign with a dramatic victory over Eastern Oregon.
Camdyn LaRance, in his first game back since suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, piled up a team-high 19 points including a go-ahead field goal in the final three minutes as the No. 11 Orediggers held on for an 86-83 win over the Mountaineers in their season opener.
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The back-and-forth game, which Tech led 45-32 at halftime, saw the teams exchange seven ties and 10 lead changes with hot 3-point shooting from EOU — the Mountaineers hit 10 3s in the second half — helping them retake the lead late in the game. LaRance's late field goal putting the Orediggers ahead for good.
Hayden Diekhans had a double-double for the Orediggers with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rhett Reynolds, Asher Williams and Marley Gonzalez each notched 10 points for Tech.
The Mountaineers were led by a 23-point performance from Eamon Monahan who shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range and 21 points from Keilan Torkornoo who drained three triples. James Bodily added 16 points for EOU and drained four 3-pointers.
Tech will play No. 14 Southern Oregon in Dillon on Thursday in a rematch of their first-round national tournament game last season which the Raiders won.
