The Tetons found themselves in a defensive battle with Lake Region State College on Monday night.

The Tetons jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Royals would answer with a 15-1 run of their own that spanned nine minutes. The final five minutes saw a back-and-forth battle with the Tetons tying the score off a monstrous fastbreak dunk by Moses Gordon. The Royals would end the final 3:14 of the first half on a 8-0 run, taking a 29-21 advantage at the half.    

"Defensively, we did some very good things in the first half. We were active, forcing 11 turnovers. They ran some good things that we haven't defended yet, but our guys did a great job of talking and adjusting on the fly. Offensively, overall, we had pretty good shot selection, they just didn't fall."

The second half saw a back-and-forth battle. The Tetons shooting struggles continued into the second half, seeing the Royals stretch their advantage to 15 halfway through the half. The Tetons would work to slowly cut the lead 9. Lake Region would then go on a run of their own, stretching their lead to as many as 21 with just under six minutes remaining. The Tetons wouldn't give in, going on a 9-0 run to cut it to 7 with 1:55 remaining.

It would turn out to be to little, too late for the Tetons as they fall to the Royals, 67-55.   

"I loved to see the fight from our guys. As Lake Region pushed it to 19, we didn't fold. We dug our heels in on defense and strung together stops. Offensively we were able to get out in transition a little more, and also worked the ball around on offense more which allowed us to get better shots."

Tetons will be back in action on Thursday, January 19^th at Bismarck State College.