GREAT FALLS — The Providence men’s basketball team came close to an appearance at the NAIA national tournament last season, but too many losses in close games eventually doomed the Argos from getting an at-large bid. UP finished 18-12 overall and 9-9 in Frontier Conference play.
The Argos have added some reinforcements in head coach Steve Keller’s second season.
Probably the biggest addition is junior Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, a second-team all-American transfer from Montana Western. Coach Keller also highlighted the addition of junior transfer Joel Thabize for rebounding and length. Add in seasoned vets like Jake Wetzel and Brandon Cotton, and Keller is excited about where this team can go. But if the Argos are going to build off last season, he says they have to figure out a way to be more consistent in crunch time.
"We’ve got to learn to win those close games. We lost three games at the buzzer. I think it helps that we have some guys back from last year so they know the system a little bit," Keller said. "But we’ve got some new guys and they’ve got to fit in. At the end of the day, everybody’s got to play together and play hard and play smart. Hopefully it’ll come together for us as a team."
