The top-seeded Montana Tech Orediggers defeated a persistent second-seeded University of Providence team for the fourth time this season winning their second straight Frontier Conference Tournament 103-95.
The teams left everything on the court including a barrage of scoring in the first half finishing with a 62-55 Tech advantage at the break.
Asa Williams (6'6''-F) got the momentum going hitting back-to-back threes in the opening minutes and had his third before five minutes had passed. Williams finished the half with 12 points going 3 for 5 from beyond the arc.
Williams finished with 23 points shooting 58.3% from the field and 5 for 8 from three-point range. Williams also led the Orediggers with eight rebounds.
Tech shot 63.4% in the first half and hit 8 of 16 from deep. The Orediggers led by as many as 18 during the first half.
Three more Orediggers hit double-digits in the first half. Caleb Bellach (6'7''-F) netted 11 going 2 for 4 from long. Hayden Diekhans (6'6''-F) went 5 for 5 from the field and Michael Ure (6'7''-F) went 5 for 6 as they both finished with 10 points each.
The Argos were able to cut the lead before the break with an 18-6 run in the final three minutes of the half. Providence shot 47.4% from the field and made 11 of their 25 three-point attempts.
Kenny Curtis (5'9''-PG) went 4 for 6 from deep and Sam Vining (6'4''-G) hit 4 for 7 from three with all coming with less than four minutes in the half.
Providence made 42 three-point attempts in the game but made just four after the break.
The Argos opened the second half with the same momentum they had at the end of the first. Providence went on a 9-2 run closing the gap to just two points 66-64 with 17:22 to play.
Tech slowed the Argos charge and created some space getting the lead back up to nine after Bridger Larson (6'7''-F) made a layup with 11:30 left in the game. Tech was abler to hold off Providence's advances in the final ten minutes. Larson had 10 of his 14 points in the second half.
The Orediggers had seven in double-digits by the end of the game. The Tech bench had 37 points.
Bellach finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Diekhans had 12 points and five boards. Keeley Bake (5'11''-PG) shot 4 for 5 from beyond the arc finishing with 12 points and five assists. Camdyn Larance (6'3''-G) had 11 points and six rebounds.
Marcus Stephens (6'3''-G) led the Argos with 22 points and seven rebounds. Davien Harris-Williams (6'1''-PG) finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Curtis finished with 20 points and Vining had 14.
The last time the Orediggers won back-to-back tournaments was in 1998 and 1999. There was only one other time the Orediggers won both regular season and tournament titles two years in a row. The 1983-84 and 1984-85 teams under head coach Kelvin Sampson won both back-to-back.

Courtesy of frontierconference.com

Player of the Year: Caleb Bellach (6'7''-F) of Montana Tech
Defensive Player of the Year: Jesse Keltner (6'6''-F) of MSU-Northern
Freshman of the Year: Dae'Kwon Watson (6'1''-G) of MSU-Northern
Newcomer of the Year: Asa Williams (6'6''-F) of Montana Tech
Sixth Man of the Year: Dae'Kwon Watson (6'1''-G) of MSU-Northern
Coach of the Year: Adam Hiatt of Montana Tech

All-Frontier Conference First Team 2023

Cook

Temple

Keltner

Bellach

Robinson

Stephens

First Team
Andrew Cook (6'4''-G) of Carroll, MT
Brendan Temple (6'8''-F) of Carroll, MT
Jesse Keltner (6'6''-F) of MSU-Northern
Caleb Bellach (6'7''-F) of Montana Tech
Kael Robinson (6'6''-G-2002) of Rocky Mountain
Maxim Stephens (6'8''-F-2000) of Rocky Mountain
Marcus Stephens (6'3''-G) of Providence, MT

All-Frontier Conference Second Team 2023

Nelson

Williams

Stephenson

Harris-Williams

Second Team
CJ Nelson (6'1''-G) of MSU-Northern
Asa Williams (6'6''-F) of Montana Tech
Jamal Stephenson (6'4''-G) of UMW
Davien Harris-Williams (6'1''-PG) of Providence, MT

Honorable Mention
Dae'Kwon Watson (6'1''-G) of MSU-Northern
Michael Ure (6'7''-F) of Montana Tech
Ky Kouba (6'3''-G) of UMW

Frontier Conference All-Defensive Team 2023

Hillman

Keltner

Nelson

Diekhans

Larson

Jok

All-Defensive Team
Jonny Hillman (6'2''-G) of Carroll, MT
Jesse Keltner (6'6''-F) of MSU-Northern
CJ Nelson (6'1''-G) of MSU-Northern
Hayden Diekhans (6'6''-F) of Montana Tech
Bridger Larson (6'7''-F) of Montana Tech
Jok Jok (6'7''-F) of UMW