Lights look to break out on the road

Slumps are something the Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball program hasn’t endured very often. But there’s no denying the Lights are in one right now.

If Northern is going to break out of a slump that has seen the Lights fall in five of their last six games, they’ll have to bust out of it on the road.

Tonight, the Lights (2-6, 13-7) are in Great Falls for a bout with the UGF Argos (3-5, 10-7), while Northern travels to nationally-ranked Carroll College (7-2, 14-5) on Saturday night. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m., and both are rematches from home losses earlier this month.

The 68-67 loss to UGF and a 72-69 loss to the Fighting Saints three weeks ago was the start of a tough stretch for the Lights, who, on a six-game home stand, managed to win just once. Losing at home isn’t the only unusual thing about the Lights lately; shooting has been the main culprit for the slide. Normally, Northern is at, or near, the top of the Frontier Conference in 3-point shooting, but currently, the Lights 38 percent from beyond the arc, and a rough, 31 percent in conference games.

Still, with veteran leadership coming from Warren Edmondson, KJ Rech and Trevail Lee, as well as the emerging inside presence of sophomore Ryan Reeves, MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said his team remains positive and is working hard to play well heading into not only these next two games, but a grueling six-game road trip over the next three weeks.

"Every game is important in league play,” Huse said. “We just need to stay focused on our improvement and good things will happen. I really believe we are just learning to sail our ship as we go through these recent storms, learning more and more with each game we play. We have a good team, with some young inexperienced guys playing key roles at times.”

Of course, the learning curve in the loaded Frontier is steep, and the Lights will be up against it this weekend.

Tonight, Northern faces a steadily improving UGF squad, led by a tenacious defense, and young talents like, Sigman Farmer III, Jarrett Givens, Sergio Berkely and Darren Lockett, who scored 25 points against the last in Havre.

And things don’t get any easier when Northern pays a visit to No. 14 Carroll on Saturday night. The Saints are as dangerous a team as there is in the league, as they give up just 60 points per game, while still being an explosive offense, averaging 82 points per night. Carroll also has talent at every position, and few point guards are better than senior Zach Taylor, who averages 19 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

“UGF and Carroll play hard and bring very good shooting to the court,” Huse said. “They both bring a lot of athleticism and length, and are both very good rebounding and defensive teams.”

But, as good as UGF and Carroll are, the Lights still have shown plenty of promise this season, and two road wins in the Frontier would go a long way toward Northern getting back in the thick of the conference title chase.

“We had two tough close games (with Carroll and UGF) the first time around, so I am sure our guys are anxious to battle them again,” Huse said. “Conference play is an even longer road this year, so we just need to stay the course and good things will happen. I really feel that."

Tonight’s game between Northern and UGF tips at 7:30 inside the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls. Saturday night’s battle between the Skylights and Saints gets underway at 7:30 p.m. in the Carroll P.E. Center in Helena. Northern is right back on the road next week, with games at Montana Tech Thursday and Lewis-Clark State next Saturday.