Lights hit the road

And now it will be three. For the first time this season, the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team is playing a Frontier Conference rival for the third time.

Under the new Frontier schedule, the Lights (4-8, 15-9) will face the UM-Western Bulldogs (7-5, 14-10) tonight at 7:30 in Dillon, then take on the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears (6-6, 15-9) Saturday night in Billings. Both games are the third meeting between the two teams, and both games are big for the Lights, who are trying to secure a berth in next month's Frontier Conference playoffs.

Thus far, Northern has split with RMC, winning in overtime in Billings back in December, while falling to the Bears in Havre last month. However, tonight, Northern is trying to beat the Bulldogs for the first time this season, and for the first time in the last five meetings.

Western beat the Lights 72-52 in Dillon back in December, and again 73-65 last month in the Armory Gymnasium. And while the Bulldogs have two of the top scorers in the Frontier in Dexter Williams Jr. and Shyke Smalls, the Lights are hoping the third time will be a charm.

"We expect to see zone this weekend for 80 minutes of basketball ... 80-plus if there happens to be overtime," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "Being prepared for that type of defense is a must. At the same time, staying fresh with our man stuff is important as well, just in case. Each week and each game are new ones so we take nothing for granted right now. We have gradually improved all year and if that continues, we should have chances on this trip. Seizing all opportunities Thursday, Saturday, and the three weeks ahead, is very important as we enter the final stretch - every game for every team will be important."

The Lights are improving, but the reason Huse thinks he'll see a lot of zone defense this week is because Northern has been struggling to shoot the ball consistently. The Lights are shooting less than 50 percent from the field and just 35 percent from the 3-point-line in conference play, and at times, those numbers have really hurt the Lights.

Still, MSU-N knows it can play with anybody in the league, and on the road for the third straight weekend, the Lights will look to lean on veterans Warren Edmondson, K.J. Rech and Trevail Lee, who combine to average 29 points per game, as well as the steadily improving play of big men Ryan Reeves and David Straughter on the inside.

And Northern will not only need those players to step up tonight in Dillon, but also Saturday night in Billings, where the third game between the Lights and Battlin' Bears shood be a great one.

Northern and Rocky have gone to overtime in both meetings this season, with each winning on the other team's home floor. But, the Bears have the advantage in the rubber match Saturday night, not only because they're at home, but because they have the Frontier's leading scorer in senior Roby Nyby, who's averaging 21 points per game. Joe Stulc and a cast of others have also helped RMC push forward despite having a pretty thin bench.

But, if the Lights can find a way to even split on the road, let alone win two, they will be in excellent shape heading into the final four games of the Frontier season, which will all be played in Havre. Following this weekend's road trip, Northern is home to face Carroll College and UGF next weekend, before closing out the regular season with Lewis-Clark State on Feb. 26 and Montana Tech on Feb. 27.

Tonight's game between MSU-N and UM-Western will tip off at 7:30 in Dillon. Saturday night's game at Rocky Mountain College will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Fortin Center in Billings.