Bison, Lady Bison basketball teams to face tougher competition this season
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PABLO – The Salish Kootenai College Bison and Lady Bison officially started their 2017-18 season on Saturday afternoon by hosting the Dickinson State University Blue Hawks at the SKC Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center.
The Blue Hawks won both games outlasting the Lady Bison 83-61, while the men cruised to a 99-65 win over the Bison.
“We have a real solid group, but we really didn’t know what to expect,” Lady Bison head coach Silas Perez said. “I am pleased on how they played out there given it was their first game of the season. If we could have knocked down some of our shots, it could have been a completely different game. We had looks but they just didn’t fall for us.”
As the Bison and Lady Bison prepare to repeat as AIHEC Division I National Tribal College Basketball Champions, they will encounter tougher competition this season than in the past. This season’s schedule includes more regular-season contests against NAIA Frontier Conference varsity squads.
It’s been our goal (to play more varsity squads), Perez said, as the SKC basketball program progresses from being independent to (one day) conference affiliation.
“In the past we’ve played the NAIA junior varsity now we are playing the varsity squads,” Perez said. “This is a step up for us. We are real excited.”
In a learning experience on Sunday, the Bison were defeated by the visiting Carroll Saints 125-53, while the Lady Bison did not have a game.
The Bison and Lady Bison head out on a two-game road trip starting on Friday against the UM-Western Bulldogs in Dillon and Saturday in Billings against Rocky Mountain College.
