George Ferguson Column: Just another historic Armory weekend

I’ve seen some pretty amazing nights in the Armory Gymnasium. And while I might not be as, experienced I’ll say, as some other Havreites, I think I’ve been around long enough to lay claim to having seen some of the greatest moments the old building at Northern has ever seen.

I’ve also seen some pretty heartbreaking moments in that same gym. And I’ve seen some crowds that have just wowed me, amazed me, and I’ve seen come out to support many of Northern’s great basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams over the years.

But I’m not sure I’ve seen so much of everything in the Armory, all crammed into a 24-hour span like I did this past weekend. I’m not completely sure I’ve seen anything like what I just witnessed in one of the most famous athletic venues Havre has ever had.

In fact, I know I haven’t, and that’s why I barely know where to start.

But if I have to start somewhere, I’ll start with the Northern fans, with the student body and with the community of Havre and people from all over the Hi-Line.

I’ll start there because all of you who came to the Armory Gymnasium this weekend are exactly what I brag about on the sports pages time and time again. You all are the reason I keep writing about how great Northern fans are, and how great this community supports its sports. You guys and gals, and children of all ages, you’re the reason I continue to lay claim to Northern having the best basketball fan base the way I did on Twitter on Saturday night.

I said the Northern fan base is second to none, and I mean it. I’m not guessing. I actually don’t really even think it’s an opinion. I think it’s a fact, and these last four games in the Armory once again proved me right.

The crowds were incredible both nights. The student section, all I can say is, great job and keep it up. But most importantly, the noise, that’s the factor that comes into play during great basketball games like I saw this weekend, and that noise level, through all four games this weekend, is a big reason why no one else in the Frontier has a home-court advantage like the Skylights and Lights do.

And speaking of the Skylights, let me just say this, the crowd that showed up for Saturday’s game against Westminster was absolutely special. I don’t have attendance figures, but I know that was the largest crowd for a regular season women’s basketball game that I have ever witnessed, and I’ve been going to these games for a long time.

Having said that, I hope it continues. I hope fans keep coming to pack the women’s games and then keep rocking right through the men’s game the rest of the season. I hope that happens because if you didn’t know before Saturday night, now you know — these Skylights aren’t good, they’re great.

Yes, even in a loss, I can say the Skylights showed their greatness. Westminster has won six straight Frontier titles, and no matter what graduation holds each spring, the Griffins just don’t seem to slow down. Westminster is on its way up to NCAA Division II, and the Griffins are ready for that level right now. Essentially, the Griffins are a DII team playing in the Frontier Conference this season.

The Griffins are loaded with talent across the board. They are an elite NAIA national power, who for many years now, have been at least on the doorstep of winning a national championship. And they will stay on that doorstep this season. And after saying all of that, the Skylights went toe-to-toe with the mighty Griffins for not just a game, but 10 extra minutes.

What we all witnessed Saturday night, and what we’re witnessing this season, is a Skylight team coming into its own level of greatness. And while I know that’s no consolation to them, and to their spectacular head coach, Chris Mouat, I can still easily say that this Northern team is great, and there’s a lot of season left for the Skylights to go even higher.

I sincerely doubt that we’ve seen their ceiling yet, and that’s why we need to continue packing the Armory for the women’s game. We are witnessing something very special, we saw it Saturday night in a women’s game for the ages, and we’re going to see a lot more of it from these Skylights before this season is said and done. They are so truly remarkable, and the best is yet to come.

And while one MSU-N blowout and one dramatic, gut-wrenching, absolutely fabulous women’s basketball game would be enough for most diehard hoops fans, all of that was only half the story of what was a mind-bending weekend in the Armory.

Each night following the women, the MSU-N men had their own weekend of thrills.

Yes, in wins over UM-Western and Westminster College, the Lights showed once again just why they have been the single most consistent program in the Frontier in head coach Shawn Huse’s tenure. They showed once again what it means to play with heart and toughness and character.

The 2014-15 Lights were on the ropes as of Friday night. A fifth straight loss in conference play would have been a disaster that the squad just might not have recovered from. But instead of falling down for the count, the Lights, as only they seem to be able to do, picked themselves up and started punching back.

First, Northern flat-out knocked out the nationally ranked UM-Western Bulldogs. The Dawgs and Lights don’t like each other a whole lot, and the biggest reason is, they’ve been the two powerhouses of the Frontier for a long time now. And Western, riding a 13-game winning streak and a high national ranking, was looking to drop its bitter rival into an even bigger hole on Friday night.

But the Lights, behind an amazing crowd, had other ideas, and it was Northern who sent the Dawgs out of Havre with their tails between their legs.

And in a fight the Lights will be in for the rest of the season, that was only round one.

On Saturday night, the Lights again found themselves dazed, maybe a little staggered and this time, it was the Griffins who were ready to deal the knockout punch. But, in typical Armory, and Lights fashion, MSU-N was the one delivering the final blow.

Northern erased a 16-point deficit in the final 13 minutes, picked up its second win in as many nights, and sent the Griffins, a team that has long been a thorn in MSU-N’s side, packing in what was their last-ever trip to Havre.

The comeback on Saturday night, as it will always be remembered, was one for the ages. Saturday night was a night that will go down in the annals of the historic Armory Gymnasium. And the entire weekend was one we won’t forget. We shouldn’t forget it because it was one of the most incredible 24 hours of basketball those walls, and that famous saddle-domed roof have ever seen.

However, with how great the Skylights and Lights are, and continue to be, and with how incredible Northern Nation, and Havre and Hi-Line sports fans in general are, I highly doubt that’s the last historic weekend we’ll see inside the Armory. No, when we look back on this past weekend years from now, it will only be a chapter in what is an ongoing novel of great moments in the Armory.

But oh what a memorable, thrilling, riveting chapter it was.