BILLINGS, Mont. – Despite pulling the score within two points in the closing seconds of the game, the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team could not overcome a double-digit second-half deficit in a 75-73 exhibition loss to Rocky Mountain College Wednesday evening inside the Fortin Center on the RMC campus.
 
With 1.1 seconds left on the clock, MSUB had possession with a final chance to inbound and take a shot. Marc Matthews was the recipient of the last look as time expired, but his wild 3-point shot rattled off of the backboard and rim as the game ended.
 
Senior Antoine Hosley led all players with 24 points in the game, finishing 4 of 8 from 3-point range and converting 6 of 7 free-throws on the night. Tyler Nelson (15) and Matthews were the other players in double figure scoring for MSUB. "I was really proud of Tyler tonight, everybody in the gym can tell he plays as hard as anybody on the court," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "To see what he has done with his game and how he has transformed into the player he is, I'm really proud of that."
 
Momir Gataric came up one point shy of a double-double, as he scored nine points and had a team-best 12 rebounds.
 
For RMC, Tyree Anderson launched 21 shots on the game and finished with 19 points. Sian Laine and Malachi Roberts each had 16 for the Battlin' Bears, and Zach Hinton had a team-best 11 boards on the game.
 
The Bears benefitted from 15 offensive rebounds in the game, and held a narrow 39-37 edge in the rebound department. "A lot of credit goes to Rocky," Stevens said. "Their guys played really hard, and it was a great exhibition game for us. We had a ton of situational things that you can't simulate in practice, and we executed a missed free-throw perfectly. You cannot ask for more from an exhibition game."
 
In the first, the Bears jumped out to a nine-point lead, with threes by Roberts, Nelson Smith, and Anderson making the score 15-6.
 
MSUB embarked on a 15-5 run including a 3-pointer by Hosley and a layup by Nelson that evened the score are 21-21. An ensuing trey by Matthews gave MSUB the lead midway through the first half 24-23.
 
A pair of missed layups by RMC opened the door for the 'Jackets, and Hosley followed with a 3-point play as he converted a foul shot after a layup. A finish by Nelson underneath and a 3-pointer by Matthews extended the Yellowjackets' lead to 32-25. The 11-2 run turned momentum into MSUB's favor and prompted RMC to burn its first timeout of the half.
 
RMC chipped away at the deficit, and a pair of costly giveaways gave the Bears two easy layups to make the score 32-31, Yellowjackets.
 
Trading buckets down the stretch in the first half, a pair of Hosley free-throws knotted the score at 36-36. RMC held for the final shot of the first, but a pull-up jumper by Rob Nyby rolled out as time expired.
 
An energizing dunk by Anderson pulled the score even again shortly out of the break, and a fast-break bucket by Laine made it 44-42 in favor of the Bears.
 
Matthews knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game with 13 minutes remaining in the game, a deep one from the corner that pulled MSUB within a single point at 46-45.

The Battlin' Bears went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes, sealed by three-straight baskets in transition that made the score 56-47 and pushed MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens to burn a timeout. Taylor Longo followed a missed three with a put-back layup, and the Bears grabbed two more offensive rebounds on the next possession to maintain control of the game.
 
RMC held onto the lead into the closing minutes, but the 'Jackets cut the spread to four points at 67-63 with two minutes remaining. The game ended in dramatic fashion, as a turnover by RMC gave the 'Jackets a final chance in the last second.
 
The win upped the Bears' record to 3-0 on the season, and the team competes in the Frontier Conference of the NAIA.
 
"We go play two NCAA Division Two teams now in the opening weekend excitement in California," Stevens said regarding opening the regular season. "The nice thing now is that we have nine days to prepare for a tough three-game road trip to start the season. That's what will get us better, and then we come back and go at it again with Rocky."
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets begin their regular-season next week with a pair of games in California in a tournament hosted by Dominican University. MSUB squares off against Cal State East Bay on Nov. 14 and Cal State Stanislaus on Nov. 15, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. Pacific time for both games.