BUTTE- A valiant comeback attempt against the No. 8 Western Bulldogs fell short Thursday night on Kelvin Sampson Court as Montana Tech lost a close one 75-71.

The Diggers, who trailed by six points at the half, 42-36, after a Jake Miles three pointer with 3.1 seconds left rallied from as much as 13 down in the first half.

Montana Tech was led by Chris O'Neill who tallied 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists before fouling out with a minute left. O'Neill was 6-of-7 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three. Derrius Collins scored 13 points, Carson Dummer added 11, and Jake Miles scored 10 for Montana Tech.

The Diggers shot 38 percent in the game and held reigning Frontier Conference Player of the Week Zaccheus Darko-Kelly to just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Montana Tech falls to 2-9 in the Frontier and 10-12 overall. The Diggers host Lewis-Clark State Friday night at 7:30 p.m.