BILLINGS, Mont.- Montana Tech crossed a huge milestone Wednesday night defeating Rocky Mountain College at the Fortin Center, 70-59. 

Montana Tech, who earned their first Frontier Conference Playoff victory since the 1998-99 season, jumped ahead of Rocky 36-20 at halftime. The Orediggers held the Battlin' Bears to just 28.1 percent shooting and a 2-for-13 effort from three in the first half. 

In the second half, Montana Tech played efficient basketball and was able to hold onto their lead despite Rocky's best effort at a comeback. The Battlin' Bears cut into the Oredigger lead that was as high as 18 points to 61-56 with just minutes remaining. 

Montana Tech received a huge performance from their starting five of Taylor England (16pts, 11rebs), Nate Ward (14pts), Blake Dittman (13pts), Dylan Pannabecker (9pts), and Troy Owens Jr. (9pts). The Orediggers finished the night shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from three. Montana Tech scored 32 points in the paint and scored 12 points off offensive rebounds. 

Rocky was led in scoring by Brandon the Boy and Clayton Ladine who each had 13 points. Jared Samuelson chipped in 12 markers. 

The Orediggers improve to 17-14 on the year and also earned their first Frontier Conference road victory of the season. The Diggers return to action on Saturday against Carroll College in the Frontier Conference Playoff Semi-finals at 7 P.M.