Montana Tech’s season comes to an end with second-round loss to Lewis-Clark State

BUTTE — The 2023-24 season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion for Montana Tech on Saturday night.

The three-seeded Orediggers fell to 11 seed Lewis-Clark State, 85-77, in the second round of the NAIA national tournament at the HPER Complex. Tech finished with an overall record of 27-5.

“The finality of a season just always stings. There’s no way you can emotionally prepare yourself for it, because you just believe you can play for as long as you can play,” Tech head coach Adam Hiatt said.

“To have it end like that on your home floor, it leaves you a little bit speechless.”

Tech trailed by one point at the halftime break but shooting struggles in the final 20 minutes were too much to overcome.

The Diggers shot 28.6% from the field and 20% from 3-point range in the second half, also missing nine free throws.

“We just couldn’t catch a break when it mattered most. A combination of missed free throws and open possessions, and (L-C State) just capitalized every time we made a mistake. They were the better team today, flat out,” Hiatt said.

For L-C State, it looked like a much different team than the one that lost by 24 points to Tech on Nov. 17 in Butte. The Warriors shot 50% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc.

L-C State advances to the NAIA final site in Kansas City, Missouri.

“L-C was amazing tonight. This is what we expected from them, they’ve been playing really good. They’re a potent team, they were firing on all cylinders,” Hiatt said.

Hayden Diekhans led Tech with 18 points and Caleb Bellach recorded 17 points. For the Warriors, Davian Brown led with 18 points and Quentin Raynor added 13.

The Diggers had lofty expectations for the 2023-24 campaign after reaching the national quarterfinals last year, with many of the contributors returning.

They came up short, but the group – headlined by five seniors – has been on a historic run over the last three seasons.

This year, Tech won the Frontier Conference’s regular season and tournament titles for the third year in a row. It was a feat that had never been accomplished in the league’s history.

With Friday’s win over Wayland Baptist, the Diggers won a national tournament game for the third consecutive season.

“The message to the team is simple: one game doesn’t define the legacy that this team over the last couple years has left here,” Hiatt said.

“They’ve reached new heights, they’ve had historic moments and they’ve set history in the conference and here with the university. That stuff will never be forgotten and will never be taken away.”

Bellach, Asa Williams, Bridger Deden, Chrishon Dixon, and Sam Gray were honored at Tech’s senior night.

Deden and Gray each spent five seasons with the Diggers. Dixon and Williams transferred into the program prior to the 2022-23 season.

Bellach, a transfer from Montana State, played three seasons at Tech and was a pivotal piece in the programs’ first national tournament win in 2021-22.

The historic three-year run came to an abrupt end, and the Diggers will look to build off of it next season.

“This is the last time that this team is going to be together, and that breaks your heart as a coach,” Hiatt said.