The United Tribes Thunderbirds woke up ready to play and the MCC Pioneers did not as the T-Birds jumped out to a 16-0 lead early and never looked back in a 97-69 victory over the Pioneers. The Pioneers couldn't get anything going on either end of the floor in the first half shooting only 30% (12-40) compared to 53% (19-36) for the T-Birds. The T-Birds took advantage of the poor Pioneer shooting by outrebounding the Pioneers 52-41 (13 offensive).

There were not many bright spots for the Pioneers but freshman Ethan Bell (Chinook, MT) scored 15 points (4-10 FG, 1-2 3's, 6-7 3's). Paul Gakmar (Perth, Australia) scored 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 FT) and grabbed a team high 7 rebounds. The Pioneers shot a paltry 3-17 (18%) from the 3-point line and 24-33 (73%) from the FT line.

MCC will finish the tournament tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM MST against the loser of the Bismarck State/Dakota College-Bottineau game.