Northern hoops sweep Dawgs in the Armory

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team wasn't panicking after an 0-4 start to Frontier Conference play. But there was no doubt the Lights needed a win. And they got that win Friday night as they upset No. 9 UM-Western 68-56 in front of a loud crowd at the Armory Gymnasium.

Northern's first conference victory came by way of some gritty defense and timely 3-point shooting. Behind an 18-4 run, sparked by three's from Trevail Lee, Corbin Pearson, Nick Blount and Jesse Vaughan, the Lights raced to a 37-24 halftime lead. Western trimmed the lead to 37-30 early in the second half, but Northern junior Warren Edmonson took over from there. Edmonson hit three triples in a three-minute span, and the Lights ripped off a 14-2 run to follow. Western never got within single digits again, as the Lights went 13-of-26 from beyond the arc, and held the Dawgs, who had won 13 straight coming in, to just four treys, as well as 29 percent shooting in the first half.

Lee paced the Lights with 17 points, while Edmonson and Pearson scored 14 each. Edmonson and Lee also combined for eight of Northern's 13 bombs as the Lights improved to 1-4 in the league and 12-9 overall.

Friday night was also good for the No. 10 MSU-Northern Skylights. One night ahead of their huge showdown with the Westminster Griffins, the Skylights shook off a slow start, and wound up blowing out the visiting Bulldogs, 62-37.

MSU-N led just 29-21 at intermission, behind 15 first-half points from Natalee Faupel. But the Skylights outscored Western 33-16 in the final 20 minutes, as Jacy Thompson and Taylor Cummings combined for 23 second-half points.

Faupel finished with a game-high 18 as Northern sent Western to its fourth straight league loss. Faupel was a perfect 4-for-4 from three, while Thompson added 14 and Cummings scored 12. A'Jha Edwards was held to three points, but she grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots.

The win vaulted the Skylights to 5-0 in the Frontier and a remarkable 20-1 overall. Northern will now get ready to face the No. 4 Griffins Saturday night in the Armory Gymnasium.

For complete coverage, see Monday's Havre Daily News.