GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Bismarck State men's basketball began its Montana road swing on Friday night, falling 95-83 to Providence (Mont.) in Frontier Conference play. The meeting marked the teams' first matchup, with both squads coming into the contest looking to secure their first victories of the young season.
The Mystics opened the night with sharp offensive execution, attacking the rim early and getting balanced scoring from their starting group. Alex Proctor and Kamayua Black Jr. provided the timely scoring to help BSC keep pace through the opening stretch, trimming the UP lead to just two points near the 10-minute mark.
Midway through the first half, Providence's pace and perimeter shooting began to shift the momentum. The Argos generated separation behind efficient three-point shooting and multiple second-chance opportunities, building a 52-35 advantage at the break. A productive offensive showing for the Mystics in half one, where they shot 43.3 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from deep, was overshadowed by UP's 61.8 percent effort from the floor and 47.4 percent clip from distance.
The Argos continued to pour on after the break, building their largest lead of the night at 29 with 14:38 remaining until the final buzzer.
Despite the uphill climb, the Mystics continued to compete on both ends as they worked to close the gap to 12 points over the next 13 minutes, which was too little, too late as time ran out on the Argos victory.
Proctor and Black led the Mystics with 17 points each, while Houston Davis added 14 and Eric Shadoan chipped in 12 on 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Carter Zeller contributed on the boards as he and Proctor led the team with nine rebounds each.
With the loss, Bismarck State moves to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in Frontier play. Providence improves to 1-9 and 1-3 in the conference with the win.
The Mystics return to action on Sunday, Dec. 7, for an 3 p.m. CT matchup against MSU-Northern (5-3, 2-2) in Havre. They'll round out the month of December with two additional conference road games before returning to Bismarck to host Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Monday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m. That game will be played at Bismarck High School.
Check out the men's schedule for information on how to follow and watch the team during their upcoming games.
Be sure to visit BSCMystics.com and download the MysticNation app to continue to stay up to date with everything going on in Mystic Athletics.
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