Blue Hawk men take down #6 Montana Tech in Butte

Butte, Mont. – Just 13 days ago Dickinson State took on #6 Montana Tech on a neutral floor and fell 70-56, but Thursday night they went into Butte and took down the national powerhouse Orediggers, 87-78, for their second top 25 win of the young season.

Five Blue Hawks scored in double figures as DSU shot 49 percent (29-59) from the field and 47 percent (10-21) from deep to blitz a strong MTU team. Kose Egbule collected his second straight double-double, scoring a team high 19 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds. He also dished out 6 assists, another game high. John Evans returned to his sharp-shooting form, scoring 18 points on 6-8 shooting, while Jaiden Wright (14 points), Cordell Stinson (13 points), and Gus Wright (10 points) all finished in double digits as well.

The game started out slow, with neither team scoring a basket until Montana Tech took a 2-0 lead a minute and a half into the game and led 4-0 30 seconds later. The game remained close during the early going, with DSU holding a 12-9 advantage with 12:40 left in the half, but then the Blue Hawks caught fire. With the Blue Hawks leading 33-20, Evans scored 11 consecutive points for DSU, including three straight three pointers, to take a commanding 44-29 lead heading into the halftime break.

In the second half, DSU scored the first basket to bring their lead to a game-high 17 points, but Montana Tech responded with a quick 9-0 run to get within eight, 48-40, with 17 minutes left. DSU answered with four points from Evans, but at the 12:29 mark in the second half, a pair of free throws from MTU tied the game 54-54, and another pair gave them their first lead since 4-2, 56-54. Yet another pair of free throws stretched the lead to 58-54, but a 9-2 run by the Blue Hawks, capped by an and-one layup by Egbule but the Blue Hawks back in front, 63-60, with 7:28 to go.

Dickinson State never trailed again, stretching their lead back to eleven, 77-66, with 1:23 to play and holding the Orediggers at bay the rest of the way for the huge road victory to kick off a big DSU weekend in Butte.

Montana Tech is usually a great shooting team, but the Blue Hawk defense held them to 35 percent overall and 18 percent from deep to offset a 23-29 effort by the hosts at the free throw line. DSU won the rebounding battle 39-33 and dished out 15 assists compared to eight for Tech and they proved to be the superior team in all facets on the night.

Dickinson State will conclude their trip to Butte on Friday afternoon when they take on another tough Frontier Conference foe in the University of Providence at 5 pm MT.