BUTTE – The Frontier Conference basketball season officially got underway on Thursday night with the No. 12 Montana Tech Orediggers (9-1, 1-0 Frontier) playing host to the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears (5-3, 0-1 Frontier).

After a successful start to the season in non-conference play, the Diggers kept it rolling against Rocky with a victory, 82-59.

“We’re gaining confidence with every game. It’s a new group playing new roles, and every game that they are on the floor they have gained more confidence,” Tech head coach Adam Hiatt said.

Tech was in control throughout the game to earn their first conference victory of the season. They got out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and never looked back.

Rocky cut into the deficit and Tech led 13-10 just over halfway through the opening half. The Diggers went on a 12-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 15 points.

The Tech defense smothered Rocky in the first half. The Bears shot 7-25 (28%) and were unable to get into a rhythm offensively. Rocky had 10 turnovers in the first half, and Tech capitalized by scoring 13 points off those turnovers.

Tech took a commanding 37-18 lead into halftime, their largest lead of the half. Forwards Michael Ure and Hayden Diekhans combined for 18 of the 39 points.

The Diggers momentum carried over into the second half, as they extended their lead to as many as 30 points. Rocky shot better to end the game, but the deficit and Tech’s offense was too much to overcome.

It was another strong defensive performance for the Diggers, as they held Rocky to under 60 points with 32.7% shooting from field goal range. Tech also forced Rocky into 16 turnovers.

Offensively, four plays scored 13 or more points for Tech. Caleb Bellach led the way with 18 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Diekhans scored 13 points and added nine rebounds.

“The big takeaway from tonight is that our guys are really starting to understand that if we play together, we can be really tough,” Hiatt said.

For Rocky, Jesse Owens led offensively with 13 points. Kael Robinson scored 10 points and added five rebounds.

Tech continues their Frontier conference schedule against Montana Western in Dillon on Saturday at 4 pm