The Benedictine Mesa Redhawks secured a hard-fought 85-81 victory over Montana Western on Sunday afternoon.
 
Benedictine came out strong, dominating the early minutes. Deven Foster opened the scoring with a layup at 19:22, assisted by Tanner Crawford, and quickly followed with a jumper to make it 4-0. Crawford added a layup, keeping the momentum in Benedictine's favor.
 
Montana Western briefly closed the gap with a three-pointer by Jalyn Stepney at 17:30, but the Redhawks responded with key contributions from Seth Dawson, Crawford, and Jaylin Turner. Foster's three-pointer at 12:07 extended Benedictine's lead to 17-9, and layups from Malakai Harris and Deven Franks pushed the score to 21-9.
 
Montana Western fought back, led by Abi Adedo's consistent scoring, but the Redhawks' balanced offense, highlighted by a clutch three-pointer from Damian Zivak, ensured a commanding 47-32 lead at halftime.
 
Montana Western came out aggressive in the second half, narrowing the deficit to 47-38 after strong plays by Adedo and Kevin Bethel. However, Benedictine's resilience showed, with Zivak and Crawford contributing critical points. A three-pointer from Malik Payton off a Dawson assist extended the lead to 60-42.
 
Despite a late surge by Montana Western, fueled by Bethel and Stepney's dynamic performances, the Redhawks held their ground. Key defensive stops and timely baskets from players like Turner and Crawford secured the win as time expired.
 
Key Players

• Seth Dawson: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block
• Tanner Crawford: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks
• Deven Foster: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal

 
Next Game
The Redhawks return to action on Tuesday, December 17, against Montana State University-Northern in the Cactus Classic.