Lights sink Argos for a much-needed win

Winning just one out of six games over the last three weeks at the Armory Gymnasium, the Montana State University-Northern Lights were on the brink of letting their season get away from them.

But, it's funny how one game is all a team needs to turn things around. And that's what the Lights are hoping Thursday night's 54-42 win over the UGF Argos in Great Falls will do for them.

The victory in the McLaughlin Center avenged UGF's one-point win in Havre back on Jan. 11, and it also helped the Lights improve to 3-6 in the Frontier Conference, while getting their six-game road trip off on the right foot.

"I'm just very proud of our guys tonight," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "I know we have a very good team and are just starting to tap into our full potential. We have made a pact with each other to not look back but instead keep learning, improving, and going hard each day of preparation and each game."

And the Lights took a big step forward Thursday night.

MSU-N put on a defensive clinic against the talented Argos, holding them to just 39 percent shooting and three 3-pointers. UGF played defense well, too, but the Lights made the most of their opportunities, and took a 26-21 lead into halftime.

From there, Northern continued to make big shots, while also limiting the Argos' effectiveness on the other end. And, big shots by Warren Edmondson and K.J. Rech inside of the 10-minute mark gave the Lights a double-digit lead, while the Argos struggled mightily from the perimeter.

In the end, Northern was able to salt the game away at the free-throw-line and escape UGF with a much-needed victory.

"We got some great stops and executed our offense very well tonight," Huse said. "Great Falls is so active that it's not easy to do that against them. Our teamwork was reminiscent of some of our best teams from past years."

Edmondson paced a balanced Lights' attack with 16 points, while David Straughter added 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of important free throws with two minutes to play. Rech added 10 points and two big triples, while Trevail Lee chipped in with seven points. Northern's stifling defense also held the Argos without a double-digit scorer, as Sigman Farmer III and Michael Harris scored eight points each.

Now the Lights (14-7) will have a night off before heading to Helena to face 14th-ranked Carroll College Saturday night. The Fighting Saints, who play UGF tonight, edged MSU-N 72-69 back on Jan. 13.

Argos get Revenge

One of the best offensive and defensive games the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team has played this season was back on a Jan. 11 win over the UGF Argos in Havre.

On Thursday night however, the 25th-ranked Argos turned the tables on the 15th-ranked Skylights. Inside the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls, UGF led for much of the game and came away with a 60-45 win, dropping the Skylights to 5-4 in the Frontier Conference.

"We shot the ball terribly all night," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "At the rim, from the 3-point line and from the free-throw-line we simply didn't get it done. UGF played well and made shots throughout the night. But a lot of our problems are simply on us. We had, and missed too many open looks to expect to win. And Great Falls knocked down big shots every time they had to."

The Skylights did indeed struggle from the field, shooting just 30 percent from the game, and going a rough 4-for-24 from beyond the arc. Still, MSU-N stayed close throughout the first half, as Natalee Faupel kept getting to the bucket, and though Nneka Nnadi was doing the same for the Argos, MSU-N trailed just 22-17 after the first quarter and 35-30 at halftime.

But, only one team came out of the locker room shooting it well in the second half, and that was the Argos. UGF went on an 18-7 run in the third period, sparked by Nnadi, who scored a game-high 22 points. And by the time the dust settled on the third stanza, the Argos were in front 53-37 and Northern couldn't find a way to get back in the game on the offensive end.

While Nnadi led three Argos in double figures, the Skylights a big effort from Faupel, who scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jacy Thompson hit all four of MSU-N's 3-pointers and scored 14 points, while Sierra Richards chipped in with six points and 11 boards, as the Skylights did win the battle of the boards 42-40.

The loss to UGF also stings because it broke a tie with the Argos in the Frontier standings, and, Northern (16-4) has five more road games left, including Saturday night's trip to 10th-ranked Carroll College, a team that beat the Skylights in Havre three weeks ago.

"We need to regroup and regroup quickly because life doesn't get any easier," Mouat said.

Saturday night's game at Carroll will tip at 5:30 p.m. The Lights and Skylights also travel to Montana Tech next Thursday night and Lewis-Clark State next Saturday.

UGF 60, Skylights 45

Northern 17 13 7 8 - 45

UGF 22 13 18 7 - 60

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 5-15 0-0 14, Katie Fertterer 0-0 0-0 0, Brandy Lambourne 0-1 0-0 0, Natalee Faupel 8-14 1-2 17, Peyton Filius 0-5 0-0 0, Molly Kreycik 2-6 1-2 5, Jessica Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Cydney Auzenne 1-6 1-3 3, Sierra Richards 2-8 2-5 6, Makhayla Farmer 0-3 0-0 0, Tina Doughty 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-60 5-12 45.

UGF - Elyce Donaldson 0-1 0-0 0, Sidney Arant 0-0 0-0 0, Deserea Danner 0-1 0-0 0, Erin Legel 1-9 0-0 2, Morgan Grier 5-9 1-2 13, Stephanie McDonagh 6-13 2-2 15, Nneka Nnadi 9-16 3-3 22, Brice Henning 1-2 0-0 2, Whitney George 2-5 0-0 4, Kalani Ulafali 1-2 0-0 2, Molly Herron 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 6-7 60.

3-pointers: MSU-N 4-24 (Thompson 4-9, Lambourne 0-1, Faupel 0-2, Filius 0-4, Kreycik 0-4, Auzenne 0-3, Doughty 0-1), UGF 4-16 (Donaldson 0-1, Legel 0-4, Grier 2-3, McDonagh 1-6, Nnadi 1-1, Ulafali 0-1). Rebounds: MSU-N 42 (Richards 11), UGF 40 (Grier 8). Fouls: MSU-N 7, UGF 13. Fouled out: none.

Lights 54, UGF 42

MSU-N - Trevail Lee 2-8 2-5 7, Badhasa Margarsa 0-2 0-0 0, David Straughter 5-8 3-4 13, Kevin Oberweiser 0-2 0-0 0, Warren Edmondson 4-10 6-9 16, Dylan Tatarka 0-2 0-0 0, Justin Dunsmore 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Chandler 2-6 0-0 6, William Walker 1-1 0-0 2, KJ Rech 4-8 0-0 10, Ryan Reeves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 11-18 54.

UGF - Jarred Burr 0-0 0-0 0, Sergio Berkley 2-4 0-0 4, Gerald Watkins 1-3 0-0 3, Michael Harris 3-5 0-0 8, Darren Lockett 1-8 3-5 5, Sigman Farmer III 3-6 2-2 8, John Makker 2-3 0-0 4, Issac Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Malik Barnes 2-7 0-0 4, Daniel Arcau 3-5 0-0 6, Ian Carr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-42 5-7 42.

Halftime: Northern 26-21. 3-pointers: MSU-N 7-24 (Lee 1-4, Margarsa 0-1, Oberweiser 0-1, Edmondson 2-7, Tatarka 0-2, Dunsmore 0-1, Chandler 2-4, Rech 2-4), UGF 3-7 (Watkins 1-2, Harris 2-3, Lockett 0-1, Howard 0-1). Rebounds: MSU-N 26 (Straughter 6), UGF 36 (Harris 7). Fouls: MSU-N 13, UGF 18. Fouled out: none.