BUTTE, Mont – The No. 8 Montana Tech Orediggers picked up their fourth straight Frontier Conference win defeating the Montana Western Bulldogs 81-76 in front of a packed house.

The Orediggers (15-3, 4-0) stay undefeated in league play and increased their winning streak to five.  

After the squads grinded out the first half, the Orediggers led 35-32. The teams had identical shooting going 13 for 28 from the field and a 46.4 shooting percentage. 

Tech opened with an 11-2 run in the first three minute taking a 46-34 lead. 

Western got back in the game with a 17-8 run of their own. The uptick in offense was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Jaylyn Stepney and one from Mike Haverfield. 
The game was tied at 51 with 12:23 to play. 

The teams played point-for-point over the next several minutes. After Ifeanyi Okeke missed his only free throw on the night, he tied the game at 59 on the second with 7:36 left to play. Okeke went 4 for 5 from the line in the game and the Orediggers made 23 of 29 free throw attempts. 

Keeley Bake led the final charge over the next six minutes knocking down two threes and all 8 of his points in the game on a 17-7 Tech run. The Orediggers led 75-66 with 1:16 to play. Bake went 2 for 4 from long in the game and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. 

Western closed the margin when Haverfield and Stepney each hit a three-pointer but time ran out. 

The teams were nearly shot-for-shot, but the Orediggers had more opportunities at the free throw line. Western finished shooting 45.8% from the field and Tech shot 45.5%. The Bulldogs made 9 of 19 three-point attempts and the Orediggers hit 8 of 24.

The Orediggers cleaned up the glass leading the Bulldogs 35-26 due to Hayden Diekhans who finished with a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds. Diekhans went 5 for 6 from the field and 3 for 5 from the line. 

Caleb Bellach led the Orediggers with 19 points. Bellach went 4 for 7 from deep and 3 for 3 from the line. He finished with 5 rebounds. 

Asa Williams had 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. 

Chrishon Dixon had 10 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. 

Stepney went 4 for 6 from three-point range finishing with a game-high 23 points and 3 rebounds. 

Haverfield went 4 for 9 from long finishing with 15 points and 4 rebounds. 

Abi Adedo had 14 points. 

Montana Tech travels to Great Falls Saturday. The Orediggers tip-off against the University of Providence at 4 p.m.