CHANDLER, Ariz. – The OUAZ men's basketball team opened their weekend at the Cactus Classic with a 97-73 loss to Rocky Mountain College on Friday afternoon at the Coyote Center on the campus of Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
 
OUAZ (2-7) gave up the game's first seven points and less than five minutes into the game the Spirit trailed by 10. Rocky Mountain (8-2) saw their 17-point first half lead cut to six before the Montana team closed the half with eight straight points to lead 48-34 at halftime.
 
The Spirit used an 11-3 run early in the second half to get back to within 62-53 with 12:26 remaining. Rocky quickly went back ahead by double-digits where it remained the rest of the afternoon.
 
Brian King Jr. led three Spirit players in double figures with 15 points. Dimetres Moore added 11 points while Tanner Riley scored 10.
 
OUAZ shot 36.1 percent from the field and went 8 of 22 from beyond the arc. They grabbed 16 offensive rebounds but were only able to turn that into five points. The Spirit also had 11 steals from 20 Rocky turnovers.
 
The Battlin' Bears shot 51.4 percent and had a 47-36 edge in rebounds. They scored 54 points in the paint and had 32 second chance points from 18 offensive rebounds. Jared Samuelson led Rocky with 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
OUAZ will be back in action on Saturday when they face Providence (Mont.) at 2 p.m. at the Coyote Center.