Bears blast Blue Hawks from deep

Talk about it

BILLINGS, Mont. — After a tough loss the night before, Rocky Mountain College bounced back with a really good win Thursday.

And the Battlin’ Bears can thank the uncanny 3-point shooting of Nile Finney and Darryl Alexander with helping to provide the speedy recovery.

Guards Finney and Alexander knocked down 12 of Rocky’s 16 3-pointers as the Bears bombarded Dickinson State 92-60 during the final game of the Hampton Inn Classic men’s basketball tournament.

Playing at Fortin Center, Finney led the way with a game-high 23 points and seven 3-pointers. Alexander was close behind with 20 points and five 3s.

The Bears, who were still smarting from a 92-87 overtime loss to nationally ranked Bellevue (Neb.) University on Wednesday, overwhelmed the Blue Hawks (7-11) with their 16 of 28 shooting from 3-point territory and 55.4 accuracy overall.

“We let one slip away in the game against Bellevue,” said Finney, a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Satellite, Fla. “But tonight we really concentrated on just swinging the ball around, playing great team defense and great team offense.

“My team was just able to find me in creating open shots and getting me open looks.”

Finney connected on seven of his nine 3-point attempts and Alexander was 5 of 8 as the Bears (7-8) also avenged an earlier 25-point loss (84-59) at Dickinson in late November.

Rocky’s crisp shooting and sleek ball movement made sure that didn’t happen again.

The Bears led 41-28 after a rugged first half in which the teams combined for 30 turnovers. DSU had 17 of them.

Rocky shot into a 31-18 lead with 4:49 left in the first half on the strength of three consecutive 3-pointers — two by Finney and one by Alexander.

The Bears maintained control from there, hitting six of their first seven 3-point shots in the opening eight minutes of the second half to move ahead 64-37. Finney was responsible for three of those 3-pointers.

Rocky led by as much as 86-52 late in the game.

DSU shot 40 percent from the field and committed 28 turnovers.

Playing in his first game as a Blue Hawk, senior Pierce Brooks finished with team highs of 20 points and six rebounds.

Brooks is a transfer from Texas A&M-Kingsville who has been held out because of NAIA eligibility rules.

John Hanstad and Casper Hesseldal each added nine for the Blue Hawks, who are off until Jan. 13 when they host Black Hills State at Scott Gymnasium.

DICKINSON STATE (7-11): Pierce Brooks 8-15 4-4 20, Casper Hesseldal 3-9 3-7 9, Jeff Hurd 2-6 0-0 4, Robbie Morey 1-3 0-0 2, Jarek Hansen 3-4 0-0 8, Donavyn Persley 0-2 0-0 0, Brock Boos 0-0 0-0 0, Isiah Thomas 1-3 2-2 4, Ryan Kittleson 0-1 0-0 0, Tevin Hurd 0-3 0-0 0, John Hanstad 3-8 2-4 9, Connor Cunningham 1-2 0-0 2, Daniel Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Carl Dynneson 0-1 0-0 0, Destry Sterkel 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 23-58 11-17 60.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN (7-8): Joel Barndt 2-4 2-2 7, Sergio Trocha 1-3 2-4 4, Doundrekyc Parham 0-2 3-7 3, Nile Finney 8-13 0-0 23, Darryl Alexander 7-10 1-2 20, Nick Longmire 2-6 2-2 6, Derek Bartel 2-3 1-2 5, Kurtis Parsons 5-9 0-0 13, Matt Fogarty 4-5 3-4 11, Danny Little 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 31-56 14-23 92.

Halftime: Rocky 41-28. 3-pointers: DSU 3-14 (Brooks 0-3, Hesseldal 0-1, J. Hurd 0-1, Morey 0-1, Hansen 2-2, Thomas 0-1, Kittleson 0-1, Hanstad 1-4), Rocky 16-28 (Barndt 1-1, Finney 7-9, Alexander 5-8, Longmire 0-2, Bartel 0-1, Parsons 3-7). Total fouls: DSU 20, Rocky 21. Technical fouls: DSU, Thomas. Rocky, Trocha. Rebounds: DSU, 31 (Brooks 6), Rocky 37 (Bartel 6, Trocha 6). Assists: DSU 8 (Hesseldal 2, Persley 2, Hanstad 2), Rocky 18 (Parham 6). Steals: DSU 9 (J. Hurd 3), Rocky 11 (Finney 3, Alexander 3). Blocks: DSU 1 (Morey 1), Rocky 8 (Trocha 3). Turnovers: DSU 28, Rocky 24.

Tags: blue hawks, dsu blue hawks, dickinson state blue hawks, college basketball, rocky mountain battlin bears, sports