BUTTE, Mont. - Despite holding Montana Tech (1-0, 0-0) to just 17 points in the second half, including just two in the third quarter, Dickinson State (3-1, 0-0) fell in overtime, 61-59 on Friday afternoon.

Playing in their fourth game in seven days, the Blue Hawks jumped out to a 13-12 lead after the first quarter with five different players scoring in the quarter. Samantha Oase led the way in the quarter with four points on 2-4 shooting and three rebounds. Oase finished the game with her fourth consecutive double-double, gathering game-highs in points (23) and rebounds (15). 

In the second quarter, the DSU offense went cold, shooting just 3-14 from the field. Montana Tech went the opposite way in the quarter, shooting 10-13 (77%) and outscoring the Blue Hawks 24-10 to take a 36-23 advantage into the half.

The roles reversed again after the half, as Dickinson State was able to hold MTU without a field goal for all ten minutes. Two free throws were all they would get in the quarter as the Blue Hawks cut the deficit to just three, 38-35. McKenzie Johnson scored eight points in the third, going 3-5 from the field, including 2-3 from deep. Oase pulled down 6 of her 15 rebounds in the third quarter alone.

With 3:45 left in the game, Montana Tech had extended their lead to 51-42, but a 9-0 Dickinson State run tied the game at 51 with 1:34 left. MTU scored on a layup with 1:12 left to take 53-51 lead, and were poised to put the game away on their next possession, but Oase came up with a huge block and Jenna Jacobson collected the rebound to give DSU a chance to tie it. After taking a timeout with 21 seconds remaining, McKenzie Johnson hit a jump shot with 16 seconds left to knot the score at 53-53. A last second three-point attempt by the hosts was no good at the buzzer and the game was headed for overtime.

In the extra frame, Dickinson State took an early lead 59-55 on an Oase layup, but the Orediggers scored the final six points for the come-from-behind victory. After Montana Tech took the lead with seven seconds left in the game, DSU had one last shot but McKenzie Johnson's attempt at the buzzer would not fall and DSU's three-game win streak to start the year was snapped.

"We were a little sluggish offensively in the first half and got down by 13." said head coach Eric Nelson. "We found our groove in the second half and battled all the way back to force OT. We held a 4 point lead but couldn't finish. We need to use this as a learning lesson and move forward. [We have] another really tough game tomorrow against a nationally ranked opponent in Montana Western."

WHATS NEXT

The Blue Hawks will wrap up their trip through Montana when they take on #23 Montana Western in Dillon, Mont. at 3 pm MT on Saturday.