Pioneer 81... Rocky Mountain College JV 68

The MCC Pioneers used a dominating 2nd quarter and then needed some solid defense in the 4th quarter to defeat the Rocky Mountain College JV 81-68 on Saturday afternoon in Miles City. Rocky Mountain College jumped out to a 9-point lead 6 minutes in to the contest but the Pioneers rallied in the final 4 minutes to tie the game at 24-24 at the end of the 1st quarter. 

Things continued in the Pioneers favor as MCC outscored the Bears 26-12 in the 2nd quarter to build a 14-point halftime bulge. Rocky closed the gap to 6 points at the end of the 3rd quarter outscoring the Pioneers 24-18 in the 3rd. MCC used a 13-8 advantage in the 4th and had their 3rd consecutive win. 

Laynee Elness (Freshman - Winifred, MT) pumped in 25 points (10-18 FG, 1-5 3's, 4-6 FT) to go along with 7 steals and 5 rebounds. Ebele Mbagwu (Freshman - Bakersfield, CA) had 15 points (7-11 FG, 0-1 3's, 1-2 FT), 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists. Matilda Sanz (Freshman - Madrid, Spain) added 14 points (5-10 FG, 1-2 3's, 3-5 FT) and 5 rebounds. Jai Baumann (Freshman - Big Sandy, MT) came off the bench to score 11 points (3-8 FG, 1-6 3's, 4-6 FT). 

Inside the Box Score

• The Pioneers shot 31-74 (42%) from the field and 3-21 (13%) from the 3-point line. MCC was 16-25 (64%) at the free throw line. 
• The Bears hit 21-57 (37%) from the field and 8-17 (47%) from the 3-point line. RMC JV was 18-25 (72%) at the free throw line. 
• Rocky outrebounded the Pioneers 38-31. RMC had 16 offensive rebounds and the Pioneers had 15. 
• The Pioneers forced 35 Rocky turnovers. MCC had 17 turnovers. 
• There were 3 ties and 1 lead change. 
• MCC had 45 points off of turnovers compared to just 18 for RMC. 

The Pioneers are 6-4 on the season and travel to Scottsbluff, NE on Monday for a game against Region IX Western Nebraska with tipoff set for 5:00 PM.