Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY - It turned out to be a thankless weekend for the No. 20 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team, as the Cougars were dealt a second straight loss by Montana Tech, 85-81, on Saturday night at the Westminster Thanksgiving Classic at Behnken Fieldhouse.
The loss marks the first time CSUSM (5-3) has dropped two straight this season. The night before, the Cougars fell to host Westminster, 85-61.
Ali Langford led CSUSM with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.
Jose Rivera went 4-of-8 from three point range and finished with 15.
Quincy Lawson was perfect from the field, going 5-of-5 for 15 points, while
Danny Redmon returned from a shoulder injury to record eight assists, a season best for the Cougars.
The Cougars trailed by nine midway through the first half, but took a six point lead on Langford's layup with 24 seconds left. However, the Orediggers made four free throws in the final 10 seconds to make it a one-possession game at the break.
Bryan Bock's three pointer at the 16:38 mark handed Montana Tech a one-point lead and the Cougars were unable to regain the advantage the rest of the way.
CSUSM rallied from a seven-point deficit to tie the game 61-61 with 10:03 remaining before coming back from five down to make it 68-68 at the 5:09 mark. However, Montana Tech rebounded with back-to-back threes to jump up by six.
The Orediggers led by eight with 26 seconds remaning, but the Cougars would earn a shot to tie it.
Jacob Ranger's three pointer cut the lead to five with :20 on the clock, before Montana Tech was called for a technical foul to hand Rivera a pair of free throws.
Down three,
Adam Eakles had an opportunity to cut it to one, but missed the first half of a 1-and-1. Redmon grabbed the rebound before kicking it out to Ranger, but Ranger's attempt bounced off the rim and out of bounds to the Orediggers.
CSUSM travels to Las Vegas this weekend to face No. 2 Oklahoma Baptist (Nov. 30, 6:00 p.m.) and Bethesda (Dec. 1, 4:00 p.m.). The Cougars face UCLA next Tuesday, Dec. 4 at Pauley Pavilion.
