BILLINGS -- The Rocky Mountain College men defeated Portland Bible College 94-57 after the Battlin' Bears women downed Mount Royal University 88-55 in the final games of the 2019 Hampton Inn Green and Gold Classic at First Interstate Bank Arena at MetraPark.
Markaela Francis poured in 21 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead the Rocky women (9-3 overall, 1-1 Frontier Conference). Francis surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career, finishing the night with 1,006 career points.
“Being able to do this on a night like tonight means a lot,” said Francis in a Rocky release. “It wouldn’t mean as much if we had been playing badly as a team, but we had five players score in the double digits. I couldn’t score without my team, so to have the entire team playing together like we did tonight is just great.”
Kloie Thatcher added 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Destinee Pointer added 14 points and three steals, and Mackenzie Dethman had 12 points and six boards.
Rocky made 26 of 32 free throws and took advantage of 27 Mount Royal turnovers in the win. The Bears return to action for three games in January -- a Jan. 6 contest against Yellowstone Christian, followed by a Jan. 9 game against Montana Tech and Jan. 11 contest versus Lewis-Clark State College.
Rocky's men were paced by five players in double figures, led by Maxim Stephens' 21 points, in the 94-57 win over Portland Bible College.
Stephens flirted with a double-double, pulling down eight rebounds, while adding two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Darius Henderson scored 18 points to go with seven rebounds, Sam Vining had 17 points behind three 3-pointers, and Brandon The Boy and Grant Wallace combined for 22 points and six rebounds in the win.
Rocky (5-5 overall, 1-1 Frontier Conference) hit 31 of 59 shots and knocked down 10 3-pointers, while holding Portland Bible College to 23 field goals and only eight free throw attempts.
"You worry about the team coming out of the break, but I thought we gave an excellent effort tonight. Happy with our guys," said head men's basketball coach Bill Dreikosen in a Rocky release. "We have to prepare for our upcoming game against Dickinson State. They are going to be an excellent opponent to face before we head into the Frontier games."
The Battlin' Bears host Dickinson State University on Friday, Jan. 3, before returning to Frontier Conference play against Tech and L-C State on Jan. 9 and 11.
