BILLINGS — The Rocky Mountain College men's and women's basketball teams both picked up opening-round victories in the NAIA national tournament Friday evening.
The Battlin' Bear men topped Simpson (Calif.) inside the Fortin Center in Billings, while the Rocky women beat Southern Oregon on the campus of Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE'S MEN'S BASKETBALL WIN OVER SIMPSON:
Rocky men 94, Simpson 59
Frontier Conference tournament hero Omari Nesbit picked up right where he left off.
Nesbit buried seven first-half 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points, helping the second-seeded Rocky men blow past No. 15 seed Simpson University 94-59.
Rocky poured in 58 points in the opening half, as the Bears hit 13 3-pointers and led it by 26 going into the locker room. Simpson wasn't able to pull within striking distance in the second half, as the Bears kept their foot on the gas throughout.
Nesbit finished 10 of 16 from the field and 8 of 11 from beyond the arc. As a team Rocky shot 18 of 35 from 3-point land.
Rocky will host The Master's (Calif.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Fortin Center for a spot at the national tournament's final site in Kansas City, Mo. The Master's beat Lewis-Clark State on Friday.
Rocky women 83, Southern Oregon 64
Paige Wasson, Isabelle Heggem and Brenna Linse all poured in 20-plus points to lead the Rocky women to a wire-to-wire 83-64 win over Southern Oregon in the opening round of the NAIA national tournament.
Rocky jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead and was able to hold off Southern Oregon from there. The Battlin' Bears out-rebounded Southern Oregon 55-33.
Wasson finished with 25 points, Linse with 24 and Heggem with 20.
The eighth-seeded Rocky women will take on top seed and host Dordt University on Saturday at 2 p.m. Mountain for a spot at the final site in Sioux City, Iowa.
