DILLON, Mont. – The #23 Montana Western men's basketball program (8-1, 3-0 FC) returns home this week for matchups against Carroll (4-1, 3-0 FC) and (RV) Rocky Mountain (5-1, 2-1 FC).
 
 SCHEDULE 
Friday, Dec. 5
Carroll – 7 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats
 
Saturday, Dec. 6
 (RV) Rocky Mountain – 7 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats
 
 LAST TIME OUT 
UMW upset #4 Montana Tech 82-80 in a thrilling overtime road victory last week. The Bulldogs shot 45.1 percent (32-71) from the field, 27.3 percent (6-22) from three, and 52.2 percent (12-23) from the free-throw line. Western registered 38 rebounds, 13 assists, three blocks, and nine steals. Emanuel Steward tied for the game high with 22 points and led outright in assists (10). David Young pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and snagged a game-high four steals. Jacob Ankeny, Kolter Merritt, and Joshua Whiteside each recorded one block in the game.
 
 BEHIND THE BARK 
UMW is putting up 85.9 points, 38.1 rebounds, and 12.4 assists so far in 2025-26. The Bulldogs are shooting 46.7 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from three, and 71.1 percent from the foul line. They are also earning 5.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game.
 
Kyle Gruhler leads the team with 23.4 points per game. Billy Carlson is grabbing a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game. Steward is handing out 3.1 assists per game while Kolter Merritt is right behind at 3.0. David Young holds the team lead in steals (1.3). Jacob Ankeny swats a team-high 1.2 blocks per game.
 
 EMANUEL STEWARD NAMED FC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
Emanuel Steward picked up his first Erck Hotels/ Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week honor after a 22-point, 10-assist double-double against Montana Tech. He led the game in both categories while shooting 47.1 percent (8-17) from the field (60.0 percent) 3-5) from three, and 100.0 percent (3-3) from the line.
 
 DAVID YOUNG EARNS FC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
David Young received the first Erck Hotels/ Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week award for Western this season after a standout performance in UMW's 82-80 win over Montana Tech. He led all players with four steals. He also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, including six on the defensive glass.
 
 HOT START 
UMW is 8-1 to start the season for the first time since the 2017-28 season.
 
 LIGHT WORK 
Western is outscoring opponents by an average of 10.0 points per game, having won by 13 or more in six of eight wins on the campaign.
 
 MEASURING UP 
As a team, the Bulldogs are ranked 25th in the NAIA free throws made per game (17.8). Individually, Kyle Gruhler sits 13th in made threes (31), 15th in total points (211), and 16th in points per game (23.4)
 
 CONFERENCE ROUNDUP 
Western is third in the Frontier in blocks (3.6) while ranking fourth in points per game (86.0), threes per game (9.1), free-throw percentage (71.1), and rebounds per game (38.1). The Bulldogs also rank fifth in both three-point percentage (37.5) and opponent three-point percentage (28.8).
 
 HELPING HAND 
Emanuel Steward dished out a career-best 10 assists against Montana Tech. He posted more helpers than the entire Oredigger team combined. He has recorded seven multi-assist outings this season and ranks seventh in conference in assists per game (3.1)
 
 PICKPOCKET 
David Young swiped a career-high four steals against the Orediggers. He has three multi-steal games on the year.
 
 FROM DOWNTOWN 
UMW has hit at least eight threes seven games this season, including a season-best 13 against both Evergreen (10/26/25) and College of Idaho (11/3/25).
 
 CRASH THE BOARDS 
Western has pulled down 30 or more rebounds all but one game this season, including 40 or more in four contests.
 
 FEELIN' FINE AT THE FOUL LINE 
Three Bulldogs are ranked in the top 10 in conference in free throw percentage. Emanuel Steward sits second (87.9), Mark Huber is third (87.5), and Kyle Gruhler is sixth (84.2).
 
 SHOWCASING OUR DEPTH 
12 different Bulldogs have tallied an assist this season, with nine recording five or more. Additionally, 13 players have pulled down a rebound and 11 have snagged a steal. 
 
 MAKING IT RAIN 
Kyle Gruhler and Emanuel Steward rank second and third in the Frontier in points per game (22.4 and 19.3, respectively). Moreover, Gruhler is eighth in the conference in field-goal percentage (53.3).
 
 SPLASH BROS 
Kyle Gruhler ranks third in the league in threes per game (3.4) while Emanuel Steward sits 10^th (2.4). Additionally, Gruhler is third in the FC in three-point percentage (49.1).
 
 NOT TODAY 
Jacob Ankeny leads the team with 11 blocks on the season. He ranks fifth in the Frontier in blocks per game (1.1)
 
 MEET THE OPPONENTS 
Carroll (4-1, 3-0 FC)

• The Fighting Saints are averaging 82.8 points, 30.0 rebounds, and 15.8 assists per game.

• They are shooting 50.3 percent from the floor, 31.2 percent from three, and 66.3 percent from the foul line.
• Isaiah Crane leads CC in points per game with 18.5 and is second in three-point percentage (.417) while standing second in field-goal percentage (.578).
• Lorence Dela Cruz leads the team in steals (2.8), assists (3.0), and rebounds being led by Kellen Harrison (5.2) while also in second in steals (2.0).
• Harrison leads the Saints in three-point percentage (.524) and ranking third on the team in assists (2.2). 

 
Rocky Mountain (5-1, 2-1 FC)

• The Battlin' Bears are posting 80.8 points, 36.7 rebounds, and 12.8 assists per game.
• They are shooting 47.0 percent from the floor, 35.6 percent from long range, and 75.7 percent from the line.
• Omari Nesbit is leading in scoring (17.2 ppg), Royce Robinson is in second (11.7 ppg) along with Kyle Jones in third (10.3 ppg).
• Robinson is first on the team in assists at 2.8 assists per game. Drew Bowman paces the team from beyond the arc, shooting .400 going 10 for 25 while ranking second from beyond the arc is Nesbit shooting .367 going 18 for 49.
• Robinson leads the team in steals with 2.3 per game, also leading in assists with 2.8 assists per game.
• Carter McCoy with a team-best .680 field-goal percentage and eighth on the team in free-throw percentage (.550).

 
 SERIES HISTORY 
Since 2002, Western is 22-44 against Carroll. The last meeting between the two saw a 92-82 victory for the Bulldogs (2/8/25).
 
Since 2001, UMW is 32-32 against RMC. In the most recent matchup, Western earned the 80-66 victory (2/22/25).
 
 LOOKING AHEAD 
The Bulldogs are back at home next weekend when they host Mayville State (12/12) and Valley City State (12/13). Both games are set to tipoff at 7 p.m. MT  
For complete coverage of UMW Men's Basketball, be sure to follow us on social media at @umwesternbball (Instagram), @UMWesternBball (X), and @Montana Western Men's Basketball (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!