Skylights beat Saints at the buzzer

There’s no doubt about it now — the Montana State University-Northern Skylights have something special going on.

Northern became the only unbeaten team left in the Frontier Conference after senior A’Jha Edwards put back a Taylor Cummings miss with :02 left to lift the No. 11 Skylights to a thrilling 50-48 win over No. 19 Carroll College Thursday night in Helena.

The win pushed MSU-N to 3-0 in the Frontier and an outstanding 18-1 overall. Northern will try for the road sweep when the Skylights visit Rocky Mountain College Saturday night in Billings.

“It was a great basketball game,” MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. “It was two good teams going toe-to-toe. It was a battle on both ends of the floor. Carroll played really well. I’m just really proud of our kids for gutting it out and finding a way at the end.”

Northern did have to win it at the end. The Skylights led 44-34 with 10 minutes left, but a 3-point barrage by Bailey Snelling erased that lead, and with just under a minute left, the game was tied at 48-48. Northern missed one go-ahead attempt, but with :19 left, Cummings was able to get an offensive rebound tie-up that led to a jump ball. The possession arrow was in favor of the Skylights, and that gave them the last shot of regulation.

Cummings would eventually take that shot, but it was blocked. However, Edwards was right there for the rebound and she put it back in, lifting MSU-N to a huge road win.

“Taylor made a huge play to get the jump ball,” Mouat said. “If she doesn’t make that play, they’re (Saints) going the other way with a chance to win the game. So it was a huge play by Taylor, and of course, a heads up play by A’Jha to be in the right position to get that board and put it back in.”

As expected, the game was full of big plays, in what was a defensive battle between two of the top defensive teams in the NAIA. Northern, by way of a couple of big 3-pointers late in the first half, scratched and clawed its way to a 25-22 lead at the break. From there, the Skylights played the next 10 minutes near flawlessly. MSU-N got big buckets from Edwards and Natalee Faupel, as well as a 3-pointer by Jacy Thompson to push its lead to as many as 12 points halfway through the second half.

But Carroll wouldn’t go away. Snelling buried three triples in the final 10 minutes to help bring the Fighting Saints, who had won five straight coming into the game, back. In the last three minutes, Carroll erased a seven-point deficit, setting up the exciting finish.

“We were able to open up a nice lead in the second half,” Mouat said. “And it’s a good thing we did. I thought we didn’t get off to a great start. But once we made a few baskets, we started to play with a lot more confidence. And the way we finished the first half, that kind of spring boarded us into the second half.

“But Carroll played great,” he continued. “They attacked us. They had a great plan defensively. Bailey Snelling was incredible. She played great. It was just a tough, tough game, and one we feel very fortunate to have won.”

Northern’s trademark defense and tough rebounding offset a career night from Snelling, who scored a game-high 23 points and hit all seven of the Saints’ threes. Edwards led the way for the Skylights with her 12th double-double of the season. She scored 12 points and grabbed 13 boards. Faupel added 10, while Thompson scored eight and hit two of Northern’s four threes.

“It’s a big one for sure,” Mouat said. “I’m proud of our kids because it was a very tough game. Now, we have to go to Rocky and play with a sense of urgency on Saturday. Because they’re (Bears) playing really well right now.”

The Skylights will face the Battlin’ Bears Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. in Billings. Northern returns home to host Westminster and UM-Western next weekend.

Another Heartbreaker

The Montana State University-Northern Lights made 15 3-pointers Thursday night in Helena. Carroll College made just five. But Zayne Kirkendoll’s lone triple of the night proved to the be the difference between Northern getting its first Frontier Conference win and leaving Helena disappointed.

With his team up by just one point with :15 left in overtime, Kirkendoll buried a clutch three that lifted the Fighting Saints to an eventual 89-83 OT win over the Lights at the Carroll P.E. Center.

“It was another heartbreaker for us tonight,” said MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse. “I was proud of our kids at times, but disappointed in them in the finish. Credit Carroll on finding a way to get the W, but I really feel we did most of this to ourselves down the stretch. We should have been shooting free throws to protect our lead in regulation but instead blew opportunities with turnovers and poor shot selection in the waning moments of the game. This one tonight is on us.”

The devastating loss was Northern’s third straight to open league play, and it’s a game the Lights seemed to have control of down the stretch.

Late in the second half, Northern had fought all the way back from an 11-point deficit, and when Nick Blount nailed his fifth three of the night, the Lights led by seven points with just over four minutes to go. However, Carroll rallied. Zach Taylor hit a three to counter Blount’s and the Saints finished regulation on an 11-3 run. Northern had a chance to win the game with :04 left in regulation, but it wasn’t to be.

It looked like more of the same at the start of overtime, too. Carroll scored six unanswered, and again the Lights were on the ropes. But six straight points, including a huge 3-pointer by Trevail Lee with :51 left in the extra frame pulled the Lights to within one at 84-83. However, that’s as close as they would get. Kirkendoll’s triple put Carroll up four, and the Saints finished off the Lights at the foul line.

It was a disappointing loss for Northern, especially since the lights overcame large deficits twice. MSU-N also trailed by 11 points midway through the first half, but rallied to only be down 35-32 at intermission.

The Lights, who went a stellar 15-of-33 from the 3-point-line, got 16 points and seven rebounds from Corbin Pearson. Blount scored 15, all on threes, while Lee and Warren Edmonson each scored 13. But the Lights couldn’t overtake the Saints, who played inspired defense, and got 27 points from Taylor. Carroll had five players score in double figures, and the Saints out-rebounded the Lights 37-25.

Now, Northern (11-8) will have to regroup yet again, as the Lights go to Billings in search of their first conference win of the season. The Lights will face Rocky Mountain College Saturday night. Northern is back home to host Westminster and UM-Western next weekend.

Skylights 50, Carroll 48

MSU-N – Megan Feldman 3-11 0-0 6, A'Jha Edwards 5-9 2-3 12, Jacy Thompson 2-9 2-3 8, Natalee Faupel 4-11 1-1 10, Taylor Cummings 3-10 0-0 7, Molly Kreycik 0-2 3-5 3, Taybra Teeters 1-3 2-2 4. Totals: 18-55 10-14 50.

CC – Cassidy Hashley 7-14 0-0 14, Baylee Watson 2-8 0-0 4, Katie Estey 0-3 0-0 0, Kalee Junkermeier 1-7 3-4 5, Bailey Snelling 8-13 7-9 23, Jordan Johnston 0-2 2-2 2. Totals: 18-51 5-6 48.

Halftime: Northern 25-22. 3-pointers: MSU-N 4-18 (Thompson 2, Faupel 1, Cummings 1), CC 7-16 (Snelling 7); Rebounds: MSU-N 33 (Edwards 13), CC 35 (Snelling 6); Fouls: MSU-N 10, CC 13; Fouled out: None.

Carroll 89, Lights 83 OT

MSU-N – Trevail Lee 4-14 2-4 13, Nicholas Blount 5-9 0-0 15, Jermaine Graves 2-3 0-0 5, Corbin Pearson 6-11 2-4 16, Warren Edmonson 5-9 1-1 13, Dylan Tatarka 3-6 0-0 8, Jesse Vaughan 3-5 1-1 7, KJ Rech 2-2 2-2 6. Totals: 30-61 8-12 83.

CC – Zayne Kirkendoll 4-7 3-4 12, Zach Taylor 10-15 6-7 27, Jon Pulsifer 2-3 1-3 5, Lorel Johnson 6-10 1-2 13, Nick Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Jake Hollfield 5-7 1-1 11, Ryan Imhoff 4-9 2-3 12, Patrick Colberg 1-2 0-0 3, Oliver Carr 2-7 0-0 4. Totals: 35-63 14-20 89.

Halftime: Carroll 35-32; 3-pointers: MSU-N 15-33 (Lee 3, Blount 5, Graves 1, Pearson 2, Edmonson 2, Tatarka 2), CC 5-11 (Kirkendoll 1, Taylor 1, Imhoff 2, Colberg 1); Rebounds: MSU-N 25 (Pearson 7), CC 37 (Kirkendoll 7); Fouls: MSU-N 19, CC 15; Fouled out: None.