Lights chase hoop history tonight in Helena

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team might have already locked up a berth to the 2011 NAIA national tournament in two weeks in Kansas City.

However, the Lights would like nothing more than to take the mystery out of their postseason fate. And they can do that and so much more tonight when they take on No. 19 Carroll College in the Frontier Conference championship game in Helena. The winner of tonight's game, which gets underway at 7 gets the Frontier's automatic bid to the national tournament, while the loser should still be in, but will have to wait several days to know for sure.

But it isn't just the automatic berth the No. 22 Lights are after tonight in Helena. It's been 14 years since Northern captured a Frontier Conference postseason championship, so this version of the Lights, a team which returned no starters and only two players with any Frontier experience has a chance to make some history. And they have a chance to do it against one of their biggest rivals.

"Our guys are hungry," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "They aren't satisfied with just getting this far. And while we would have liked to be playing this game in our gym, I know they are excited about going down there and trying to get this one on the road. I like the fact this team still feels like they have plenty to prove and plenty to accomplish, even after such a successful season."

And the Lights (23-8) do have something to prove tonight. Just three weeks ago, the Lights lost inside the P.E. Center, the Saints' home floor. In that game, Northern led until the eight-minute mark, but the Lights scored just five points the rest of the way and fell 56-47. The loss meant a season split with the Saints (23-7) as the Lights thrashed Carroll 73-54 on Jan. 21 in Havre. So tonight, the two teams will get to settle the score in a rubber game.

"We do feel like we let that one at their place slip away," Huse said. "We led for much of that game, and then things just went the other way on us. But this game will be a huge battle. Carroll is a very good, very disciplined team, and they seem to have gotten better as the season has gone on. I would think they are playing their basketball right now, so going down there and trying to win a conference championship on their floor will be a huge challenge for us."

Carroll is hot right now, but so are the Lights. In their first two playoff games, Northern has shot better than 56 percent from the field, and the Lights shot 61 percent in the final 20 minutes of their semifinal win over UM-Western on Saturday night. The Lights have also been a force on the boards, holding a 69-45 edge in rebounding during the playoffs, while committing just 13 turnovers in their two wins.

Carroll, which edged defending league champion Westminster Saturday night in Helena to reach tonight's title game, will look to slow down Northern's shooters, Shaun Tatarka, Devin Jackson and LaVon Myers, just as Western did. But junior forwards Joe Simpson and Ben Mitchell are playing great basketball right now and they give Northern a much more balanced attack when they are scoring and rebounding.

On the flip side, the Lights' vaunted defense will have to be at its best. The Saints have picked up their offense the last month of the season, and are shooting better than 50 percent from the field over their last nine games. A big reason is the play of Byago Diouf. The 6-3 junior forward has come on strong as of late, averaging close to 19 points in his last nine games, including scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Saints' win over Northern last month. Diouf's play has also opened things up for Carroll's super junior Andy Garland. While Northern has always done well to bottle Garland up, as he's averaging just eight points and four rebounds in four career games against the Lights, he still averages 18 points and eight boards on the season, and containing two players, one being Garland won't be easy. The Saints also have outstanding quickness in guards Sam Cartmell, Tony Dalton and Ben Cutler and Chase Goedecke (6-8) gives Carroll a true low-post presence.

"They (Saints) are a handful," Huse said. "With how well they're playing right now, you just can't key on Garland and hope to win. We are going to have to defend for 40 minutes and also make shots for two halves, not just one. It's going to take another total team effort on both ends of the floor because Carroll certainly is a team you have to be nearly flawless to beat."

And that's what either the Lights or Saints will have to be tonight in order to capture the Frontier title - something Northern last won in 1996. The Lights last played for a Frontier championship in 2008 when they lost 65-63 to Lewis-Clark State in the championship game in Butte. Carroll last played for a Frontier championship in 2007. So both teams aren't exactly new to this game, but neither roster has a player who's played in one.

Still, tonight's game, between two bitter rivals will likely go down to the wire with so much at stake. It will be a question of who plays the best at the right time, and who gets some breaks. And the Lights are hoping it's them.

"We look forward to going down there and playing them in their house," Tatarka said after Saturday night's exciting semifinal win. "They are a great team, and we've had some great games with them in the past. And after losing down there last month, we feel like we didn't play our best in that game. We feel like we can play better, and we want to go down there and prove and that hopefully win a conference championship. That would be huge for this team and this program."

Tonight's game between the Lights and Saints tips off at 7 at the Carroll College P.E. Center in Helena. The game can be heard locally on 92.5 KPQX FM. Also, stay tuned to the Havre Daily News for live updates via twitter and at havredaily.