BUTTE, Mont. – The Lakeland College Rustlers brought a small roster from Alberta, but they were competitive early against Montana Tech. The Orediggers turned up the offense as the Rustlers ran out of gas with a 96-63 final.
Most of the first half was a two-point game and saw the Rustlers take the lead four different times. The Orediggers finished the first half with a 17-8 run over the final four mintues going into the locker room with a 48-34 advantage.
Keeley Bake led the Tech offense early scoring all 12 of his points in the first half. Bake went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. The Orediggers shot 50% from the field while making 6 of 13 three-point attempts before the break.
Asa Williams had 11 of his game-high 23 points before halftime. Williams went 6 for 10 from long in the game.
The Orediggers shot 49.2% from the field and went 13 for 27 from long in the game.
The Rustlers quickly trailed off even more after the break as the minutes piled on their thin bench. They shot just 26.9% from the field after the break finishing with a 32.1 shooting percentage for the game.
The Rustlers had 18 turnovers to just 9 from the Orediggers.
Tech had 22 assits.
Caleb Bellach had 15 points and 6 rebounds on the night. Bellach shot 54.5% from the field and went 2 for 6 from three-point range.
The other Orediggers in double figures were
Ifeanyi Okeke with 11 points and
Camdyn LaRance finishing with 10.
Chrishon Dixon finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Andre McFaddon led the Rustlers with 20 points.
The Orediggers (9-3) wrap up the nonconference portion of their schedule tomorrow against Ambrose University. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. in the HPER.
