Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – Falling behind down the stretch, Montana State University Billings came up just short in a hard-fought 73-69 loss to Rocky Mountain College Thursday evening inside Alterowitz Gym.
 
Tyree Anderson finished with a game-high 25 points for the Battlin' Bears, and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The performance overshadowed a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double by Austin Hudson, as MSUB couldn't cut into RMC's narrow lead down the stretch.
 
With time winding down in the second, Kendall Denham streaked the length of the floor, and drove in for a layup on an uncontested lane to make the score 70-68. The two-point difference was as close as the 'Jackets got however, as RMC knocked down free-throws inside the closing minute to secure the win.
 
Malachi Roberts had 18 points for RMC (4-1), and Zach Hinton and Sian Laine joined him as double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Bears shot 37.7 percent from the floor on the game, while the 'Jackets finished with a mark of 39.1 percent.
 
Playing its fourth game in a six-day span, MSUB (0-4) was hurt by poor 3-point shooting, finishing just 1-for-16 on the game. RMC meanwhile shot 9-for-32 from long distance, as Anderson and Roberts had three apiece. The Yellowjackets outrebounded the Bears substantially, 55-29, including a mark of 22-6 on offensive boards.
 
"I am really proud of our guys' effort," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "The main thing that we talked about is playing hard, guarding, rebounding and doing the tough things, and our guys did that tonight."
 
Momir Gataric put up 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for MSUB. Denham had a solid game, scoring nine points, picking up seven boards and contributing a game-high five assists. Seventeen turnovers also hurt MSUB, as RMC finished the game with just eight.
 
"It was a fifty-fifty game, they made some shots down the stretch, and we didn't," Stevens said. "I was really happy with the guys' effort tonight, and I think Rocky is a really good team that is going to win a lot of games."
 
For RMC, Laine added a pair of rebounds and assists, and a game-best four steals to his point total for a strong all-around effort.
 
Hudson got the scoring started with a pair of layups underneath, and scored six of the first eight points as the 'Jackets opened the game with a 10-0 run.
 
Working their way back into the game, RMC took advantage of several MSUB turnovers and turned a 12-5 hole into just a 14-13 deficit.
 
Denham had a layup and an assist to Marc Matthews, as the Yellowjackets scored four quick points out of a timeout to reestablish a seven-point lead at 20-13.
 
MSUB clung strongly to its lead moving into the closing minutes of the first half, but a bucket by Anderson and a pair of free-throws by Laine made the score 30-27 with 1:19 remaining. A steal and dunk by Roberts cut the deficit to a single point, and pushed Stevens to burn a timeout.
 
Similar to MSUB's run to open the game, the Bears embarked on a 7-0 stretch to open the second half and take a 39-32 lead.
 
The 'Jackets battled for offensive rebounds underneath, one of which by Tyler Nelson led to a free-throw to give MSUB a 44-43 lead midway through the second.
 
With less than nine minutes remaining, Emmanuel Johnson hit the Yellowjackets' first three of the game to knot the score at 49-49. A Hinton three on the other end temporarily gave the lead back to RMC, but buckets by Matthews and Hudson re-tied the score at 55-55.
 
The game remained tight as time wound down in the second, and a Johnson free-throw tied the score at 65-65. Roberts hit a big three on the next possession, and a pair of free-throws followed to make the score 70-65 Rocky with 38 seconds remaining.
 
The final five-point burst by the Bears proved to be too much for the 'Jackets to overcome, as a last-ditch three as time expired was off the mark.

The Yellowjackets wore throwback jerseys during Thursday's game, honoring the former name of the school, Eastern Montana College with black and gold uniforms.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB hosts the University of Great Falls on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. Live video and statistics will be available at www.msubsports.com.