BUTTE, Mont. – Montana Tech used hot shooting and defensive pressure to defeat Dickinson State 88-80 on Kelvin Sampson Court Saturday night in the finale of the PayneWest Tip Off Classic.

Montana Tech (3-0) knocked down 14 threes and shot 50.8 percent from the floor in the victory over Dickinson State. The Orediggers forced the Blue Hawks into 19 turnovers in the game.

Chris O'Neill finished with a game high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting and had three steals and three assists for Montana Tech. O'Neill scored the first 10 points of the game for the Diggers that led the Blue Hawks 36-32 at the intermission.

Coming off the bench, John Chapman scored 20 points for the second consecutive night. Chapman had four threes and grabbed five rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

Sophomores Jake Miles and Dylan Pannabecker added 14 and 12 points respectively for the Tech Men.

The Orediggers had 18 assists compared to three turnovers and scored 20 points off of turnovers.  

Montana Tech held Brian Neal to 21 points on 6-for-15 shooting, a night after he poured in 33 against Montana Western.

The Orediggers will return to the floor on Friday November 10 when they face Warner Pacific at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament in Lewiston, Idaho.