BUTTE -- Hayden Diekhans put another double-double on his résumé, Brayden Koch scored a game-best 22 points, and the 11th-ranked Montana Tech men's basketball team rolled to a 76-68 win over Ottawa (Ariz.) Friday night in the Best Western Tip Off Classic. 

Diekhans, the reigning Frontier Conference defensive player of the week, scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win, while Koch was 8-for-12 from the field in his second trip over the 20-point plateau. Rhett Reynolds added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Orediggers. 

Montana Tech (4-0) began the game with a 10-2 run, but the Spirit quickly responded. Ottawa took the lead, 18-17, on a Carter Gittens steal-and-score at the 11:03 mark in the first half. A Marley Gonzalez layup on the next possession put Tech back in front, but the teams locked into a battle for the remainder of the first half. The Orediggers led 43-42 at halftime. 

The second half started much the same. Gittens put OUAZ ahead with a pair of free throws just 1:05 into the period, but Tech mustered a run. Diekhans put the exclamation on a 12-1 Oredigger barrage, and the home team never again trailed. 

Owen Long's fast-break dunk with 1:57 remaining gave Tech its largest lead of the game, 74-60, and the Orediggers cruised to victory. 

Zeke Viuhkola paced Ottawa (1-1) with 18 points.

In the opening game of the Best Western Tip Off Classic, Lewis-Clark State topped Montana Western, 83-60.

The tournament continues Saturday inside Valley Bank Arena with OUAZ taking on Montana Western at 5 p.m. before the Orediggers play host to Lewis-Clark State at 7. Montana Tech will be in search of a 5-0 start for the fourth-consecutive season.

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