Montana Tech men claim fourth straight Frontier title, Providence women take champioship

GREAT FALLS — Hayden Diekhans scored 23 points and brought in 11 rebounds as Montana Tech used a big second half to down Providence 69-50 and win its fourth consecutive Frontier Conference men’s basketball tournament championship Tuesday.

The Orediggers (24-6) are the first team to win four straight Frontier men’s tournaments.  

Diekhans — who also earned conference player of the year honors Wednesday — finished the day 10 of 15 from the field. 

Michael Ure added 15 points and Karson Peffer tallied 11 for Montana Tech, which outscored Providence 38-23 in the second half. 

Antoine Boyd Jr. and Quinn Swanson scored 12 points apiece to lead the Argos (16-14). 

The Orediggers outscored Providence 42-8 in the paint. 

Montana Tech earns an automatic bid into the NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The bracket release is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. 

Women’s Championship 

Providence 69, Rocky Mountain 50

Keanna Salave’a scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Providence cruised past Rocky Mountain College to win the Frontier Conference women’s championship. 

Taliah Lee added 13 points in 23 minutes for the Argos (22-7). Ashlee Maldonado and Kolby Pimperton had 12 apiece to put four Providence players in double figures. 

Iliana Moran led the Bears (20-10) with 15 points, Paige Wasson and Gracee Lekvold tallied nine points each. 

The Argos never trailed as they jumped out to a 21-11 lead after one quarter. 

Providence was 11-for-28 from behind the arc compared to just 4 of 15 for the Bears. 

The Argos await their seeding in the NAIA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The bracket is revealed Thursday at 5 p.m.