Battlin' Bears survive another thriller in overtime, defeat Lights in Frontier men's championship

BUTTE, Mont. — Royce Robinson scored a game-high 29 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime as top-seeded Rocky Mountain (Mont.) edged seventh-seeded MSU-Northern 79-77 in a Frontier Conference men’s postseason tournament thriller Monday night at the Butte Civic Center.

The Battlin' Bears (28-3 overall record) enter the NAIA National Tournament with an 18-game winning streak and will host the first two rounds at Fortin Education Center.

With RMC winning both the Frontier Conference regular season and tournament titles, Bellevue (Neb.) earned the league's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.

MSU-Northern ends their 2025-26 season with an overall record of 18-13.

Rocky Mountain, which led 39-30 at halftime, needed extra time after MSU-Northern rallied to outscore the Battlin’ Bears 41-32 in the second half to force a 71-71 tie at the end of regulation.

The Lights erased multiple second-half deficits and tied it when Austin Ramos calmly sank two free throws with about five seconds remaining in regulation.

MSU-Northern briefly grabbed control in the extra session. Oskar Pula made a free throw and Ramos followed with another trip to the line to push the Lights ahead 75-74 with just over three minutes remaining in overtime.

Robinson answered less than 30 seconds later, freeing himself on the perimeter and knocking down a 3-pointer that swung the lead back to Rocky Mountain at 77-75 with 2:57 to play.

Rocky Mountain continued to lean on Robinson on both ends. The junior forward finished 13-of-21 from the field, including 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and added eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 44 minutes. His production helped the Bears overcome MSU-Northern’s efficiency at the foul line and a late push that nearly extended the contest into a second overtime.

Ramos kept MSU-Northern within striking distance throughout. He totaled 19 points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-4 from 3-point range. Luke Holecek added 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from deep, and went 5-of-6 at the stripe. Tracen Jilot chipped in 11 points, hitting a key 3-pointer off a Ramos assist that tied the game at 45-45 midway through the second half as the Lights wiped out the early nine-point deficit.

Rocky Mountain’s balance on the glass and in the paint proved decisive. The Bears shot 43.5 percent from the field (30-of-69 field goals) and matched MSU-Northern from long range with eight 3-pointers. They held a 38-31 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive boards, and finished 11-of-13 at the free-throw line (84.6%).

MSU-Northern countered by shooting 42.9 percent overall (24-of-56 field goals) and 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8-of-19) while converting 21-of-27 free throws (77.8 percent), but the Lights were slightly outmatched inside and managed just one steal to Rocky’s four.

Robinson set the tone early, throwing down a dunk off a feed from Carter McCoy in the opening minutes to help Rocky Mountain to a quick 4-0 lead, then beating the first-half buzzer with a jumper that stretched the margin to 39-30 at the break.

MSU-Northern’s defense tightened after halftime, and the Lights methodically chipped away until Ramos’ clutch free throws at the end of regulation and again in the final minute of overtime—his last pair cutting the deficit to 79-77 with 41 seconds left—kept the outcome in doubt until the final horn.

The NAIA Men's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Thursday evening at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time) via NAIA's YouTube page.