Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western men's basketball team (9-10, 2-4) fell in a tough conference battle with Carroll College (11-8, 5-1) by a score of 81-74.
Western was led by Jalyn Stepney in the loss, totaling 16 points on six made field goals. He also added five rebounds and three assists.
How It Happened
The first ten minutes of the first half featured a dogfight, with both Western and Carroll trading punches throughout a physical, up-and-down stretch of action.
Leading 17-13 with 9:52 left in the half, the Bulldogs got the ball to Jacksen Burckley who hit a triple that got the Bulldogs out in front by seven.
The two teams continued to trade jabs as the two teams would tie the ball game up three times before tying it up for the fourth time just before the half. The two teams remained knotted at 36 heading into the break.
A layup from Abi Adedo fueled a short Western spurt, taking a 44-38 lead four minutes into the second half. Jacob Ankeny came up big in a wide-open slam dunk with 15:17 to play, seeing Western to an eight-point advantage.
Over the course of the next six minutes, Carroll would chip away at the Bulldog lead and ride a 16-7 run to reclaim the lead at 56-55.
Once the Saints found their footing, the Bulldogs were unable to catch up. A slew of turnovers and missed shots plagued the Bulldogs through the final minutes of the contest and Carroll found much success behind the conference-leading guard Andrew Cook.
Carroll would claim an 81-74 victory.
Notables
So far this season, Western is 5-8 in games that have been decided by 10 points or less.
Tonight's loss records the first loss in the Straugh Gymnasium this season.
Carroll put in work on the boards, totaling 41 team rebounds compared to Western's total of 33.
Tonight's game featured a season high in team fouls with 25 total for the Bulldogs.
Stepney led the night with 16 points and five rebounds.
Adedo and Burckley each tallied 11 points.
Up Next
Western moves to 9-10 this season with a conference record of 2-4. They are back in action this weekend as they travel to MSU-Northern Saturday Jan. 27 with tip-off at 4p.m. MT.
