By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
It was evident early that Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team was going to win both of its games at this weekend's Coaches vs. Cancer Classic basketball tournament in Havre. The only uncertainty would be by how much.
Northern rolled up 191 points in two games while holding its opponents to under 50 points both nights in a pair of wins.
Friday night, the Lights jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back in an 87-49 win over Concordia University College.
The Lights never trailed in the game, and put it out of reach early in the first half on consecutive 3-pointers from Landen Grant, Rodrick Carter and Cody Gillespie. From there the rout was on.
"We came out with a lot of intensity right away," said Lights head coach Shawn Huse. "We were excited to play at home and it showed."
With a healthy lead, every Northern player saw plenty of action, with five players scoring in double figures, led by Cory Brothers' 13 points off the bench. Jordan Matthews had 12 points, Carter added 11, while Marcus Wilson and Gillespie chipped in with 10 points each.
"It was good to get everybody a lot of playing time," Huse said. "We were able to practice a lot of different combinations."
Saturday night was even less suspenseful as Northern rolled to a 103-41 win over Augustana University College.
Augustana took a 3-0 lead on a Leif Knutsen 3-pointer. But that would be the last points the Vikings would score for the next eight minutes as Northern rolled to an 18-3 lead.
"We came out really aggressive on defense," Huse said. "Sometimes it's hard to maintain that type of intensity, but our kids really maintained it the whole weekend."
The Lights forced Augustana into 22 turnovers, which led to several easy baskets.
With another large lead, Huse again played his younger players extensively while allowing his starters to get some much needed rest. "Everybody got more game experience, and guys that usually play heavy minutes were able to some rest," Huse said. "That's big because Marcus and Jordan are fighting some nagging injuries."
Every Northern player reached the scoring column, with six players reaching double figures, led by Brothers' best scoring performance as a Light. The former Havre standout scored a season-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Reid Stovall had a solid all-around game, scoring 13 points and dishing out seven assists. Wilson had 12 points and 11 rebounds while Matthews, Pathe Yatera and Leo Bullchild added 10 points each.
"Cory and Cody really gave us a lift off the bench this weekend," Huse said. "They're getting more confident with each game. I really feel like we are more balanced from top to bottom with guys that can come in and contribute every night."
Other statistics pleased Huse, particularly the lack of turnovers and the high number of assists. The Lights committed just seven turnovers on Friday and nine on Saturday while dishing out 52 assists in the two games.
"We really kept our unforced errors down," Huse said. "We know there are going to be turnovers in the game, but we need to keep them to a minimum. I really liked our attitude. When the score gets lopsided like that, it's easy for things to get out of hand. But none of our players were trying to get double digits or trying to get their own buckets. We were very unselfish and made the extra pass."
While the wins may not have been too suspenseful, they were still useful for Huse and his team
"I was proud of our kids for competing the entire time," Huse said. "We're starting to pick up some good habits and starting to get rid of some of our bad ones."
Concordia University College (49)
Jordan Mottl 4-7 1-2 10; Daryl Balog 2-12 2-5 8; Kris Raymond 6-11 0-1 13; Aidan O'Connor 0-2 0-0 0; Misha Szynykowski 3-5 0-0 6; Paul Kuperus 1-4 0-0 2; Jason Smith 0-1 0-0 0; Dave Kavanagh 1-3 2-3 4; Justin Kelly 2-9 0-0 6. Totals: 19-54 5-11 49
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MSU-NORTHERN (87)
Reid Stovall 2-4 2-2 6; Marcus Wilson 5-8 0-0 10; Jordan Matthews 5-11 0-0 12; Landen Grant 3-6 0-0 8; Antonio Jordan 3-5 0-0 6; Rodrick Carter 4-5 1-2 11; Leo Bullchild 0-5 2-2 2; Cory Brothers 5-8 0-0 13; Cody Gillespie 3-9 2-2 6; Ed Lowe 2-5 0-0 6; Pathe Yatera 1-4 1-2 3. Totals: 33-70 8-10 87.
Halftime score: MSU-N 41, CUC 20. Three-point goals: CUC 6-11 (Mottl 1-1, Balog 2-3, Raymond 1-2, Kelly 2-5), MSU-N 13-29 (Matthews 2-4, Grant 2-4, Jordan 0-1, Carter 2-3, Bullchild 0-3, Brothers 3-5, Gillespie 2-3, Lowe 2-5, Yatera 0-1). Rebounds: CUC 39 (Mottl 8); MSU-N 37 (Yatera). Assists: CUC 10 (Balog 4, Kelly 4); MSU-N 22 (Stovall 5). Turnovers: CUC 24, MSU-N 9. Total fouls: CUC 14, MSU-N 15. Fouled out: none; Technicals: none.
AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (41)
Bruce Carbert 3-8 0-0 6, Kris Augustson 5-9 3-6 15; Kory Payne 2-4 2-2 6; Cam Omoe 2-10 3-4 7; Leif Knutson 0-3 0-1 0; Jonathan Honey 1-3 0-0 2; Tyler Hartshorn 1-8 0-0 3; Nathan McElroy 0-2 0-2 0; Lee Martin 0-1 0-0 0; Jeff Merkel 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 15-51 8-15 41.
MSU-NORTHERN (103)
Reid Stovall 6-7 1-3 13; Marcus Wilson 5-8 2-2 12; Jordan Matthews 3-5 3-7 10; Landen Grant 2-5 0-0 6; Antonio Jordan 1-4 0-0 3; Rodrick Carter 2-4 2-2 7; Leo Bullchild 4-6 0-0 10; Cory Brothers 8-14 0-0 21; Cody Gillespie 3-6 0-0 6; Ed Lowe 2-5 0-0 5; Pathe Yatera 3-5 3-3 10. Totals: 39-69 11-17 103.
Halftime score: MSU-N 43, AUC 19. Three-point goals: AUC 3-14 (Carbert 0-1, Augustson 2-4, Omoe 0-3, Hartshorn 1-5, McElroy 0-1), MSU-N 14-34 (Matthews 1-3, Grant 2-5, Jordan 1-2, Carter 1-3, Bullchild 2-4, Brothers 5-11, Lowe 1-4, Yatera 3-5). Rebounds: AUC 29 (Carbert 7, Augustson 7); MSU-N 45 (Wilson 11, Yatera 7) Assists: AUC 5 (Payne 3); MSU-N 30 (Stovall 7). Turnovers: AUC 22, MSU-N 7. Total fouls: AUC 18, MSU-N 14. Fouled out: none; Technicals: none.
