BILLINGS, Mont.- The Orediggers used a 16-8 run over the course of the last six minutes of the game to pull ahead of Rocky Mountain College to earn their first Frontier Conference victory of the season, 80-72. 
 
After trailing by as many as 13 points to the Battlin' Bears in the first half, Montana Tech (9-5, 1-2 Conf.) rallied back thanks to big plays by multiple players in the second half. 
 
"This was a great road win against a very good Rocky basketball team," said Tech head coach Adam Hiatt. "They have many weapons on the floor that make defensive assignments difficult." 
 
Both the Orediggers and the Battlin' Bears seemingly couldn't miss in the first half of the contest combining to shooting 63% from the floor. Rocky, who started the game 5-for-9 from downtown, led 46-41 at halftime. 
 
In the second half, a heavy dose of Taylor England on the inside and Sindou Diallo and Troy Owens Jr. on the outside, helped the Orediggers pull ahead late in the game. A Troy Owens Jr. three-pointer at the 1:42 mark put the Diggers in front 75-70 then Diallo powered through the lane for a dunk to put the Orediggers ahead by seven with 42 seconds left. 
 
"We are proud of how our guys adjusted in the second half," added Hiatt. "We made big plays late, which is a huge step forward for our program. It's a great day to be a Digger!" 
 
Diallo led the Orediggers with 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting and was 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. England, the reigning NAIA National Player of the Week, scored 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Owens Jr. and Drew Huse scored 14 apiece while Dylan Pannabecker scored 6 points, Derrius Collins added 3, and Connor Kieckbusch tallied 1.  
 
Darius Henderson led Rocky with 23 points while Sam Vining added 13 markers. The Battlin' Bears finished the contest shooting 42.9% as a team and 33% from three point land. 
 
Montana Tech travels to Dillon to take on Montana Western at 7:30 on Saturday, January 11^th at Straugh Gymnasium.