Streaking: Lights romp in home finales

On an emotional final weekend of the regular season inside the Armory Gymnasium, the Montana State University-Northern Lights couldn’t do anything to change their position in the Frontier Conference standings.

But, the Lights could keep winning, and that’s exactly what they did. Northern pushed its longest winning streak of the season right into the Frontier playoffs, and in the process, knocked off its second nationally ranked team in a row when the Lights dominated the No. 6 Lewis-Clark State Warriors Friday night in Havre.

LC State had beaten Northern twice this season, but the Lights were the better team in a 82-72 victory in front of a boisterous Armory crowd.

“We’re getting better every day,” Northern junior Tyler Chandler said after the upset of LC. “We’re playing really well as a team right now, and we’re playing a full 40 minutes.”

And finishing is exactly what the Lights did against LC State. Northern had led the Warriors at halftime in the previous two meetings, only to see those leads go away in the second half. And while LCSC tried hard to erase Northern’s commanding 48-35 halftime edge Friday night, the Lights wouldn’t allow it.

“In all three games against them (Warriors), we played a great first half,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “Tonight, I thought we got off to a great start on both ends of the floor, and it was one of our best first halves of the season. But what was different was, we finished tonight. We finished the game strong, and I’m proud of our guys for that. And it’s something we need to keep doing going forward.”

The Lights did finish strong, but the start was a thing of beauty too. LC took an early 6-3 lead, but thanks to the 3-point-line, the Lights made the first 20 minutes very entertaining. Threes by Trevail Lee and Chandler sparked a 10-2 MSU-N run, which also included a dunk by Ryan Reeves. Then, already leading 24-14, Chandler and Justin Dunsmore would combine for three more triples in the span of :50, as the Lights continued to lead by 10.

LCSC’s Jake Wiley and Doug McDaniel did what they could to keep the Warriors in striking distance, but the Lights put the finishing touches on the first half with a 10-2 run that included back-to-back bombs from Badhasa Margarsa and Dylan Tatarka.

“There’s no question we shot the ball well,” Huse said. “But I thought we were very good defensively. Our effort was really good. As you can see, LC is a handful to guard, and I thought our guys really brought on that end tonight.”

And defense would come in handy when Northern finally hit a wall offensively in the second frame. Leading by double digits still, MSU-N would go eight minutes without a field goal. However, during that stretch, LCSC’s run was only 9-2, and when Margarsa knocked in a triple with 5:33 left, and Reeves slammed home a thunderous dunk seconds later followed by a Chandler trey, the Lights were back up 11, and LCSC’s valiant comeback attempt, spurred on by 27 points from Wiley, was all but over.

“I thought we did a good job of executing down the stretch, on both ends,” Huse said. “Offensively, all night, we got good looks, we shot a lot of threes but they were really good looks, and that means we were executing and sharing the ball. Defensively, it was a great team effort all night, but I also though Ryan (Reeves) really set the tone for us there. He is really becoming a force in the paint on that end.”

Reeves did have a strong game with nine rebounds and a whopping five blocks, to go along with six points. The big win also included a stellar 10-of-20 performance from three, with Warren Edmondson scoring 19 points, Chandler hitting 17 on four trey’s, Lee adding 11 and Margarsa scoring 10. David Straughter also chipped in with nine points and seven boards.

Last Hurrah

After beating the Warriors Friday night, the Lights were not about to slow down. And seniors Warren Edmondson, Trevail Lee and K.J. Rech went out of the Armory in style with a 78-64 win over the Montana Tech Orediggers — the Lights’ fourth straight.

“I’m very proud of where we’re at right now,” Lee said after scoring 18 points in his final game in the Armory. “Some teams get hot in November and then die down. We did that, but we fought back and are hot again. We’ve really stuck together as a unit, we’re definitely a family here, and now we’re peaking exactly when we want to be.”

The Lights certainly look to have found their stride shooting the ball. Against the Diggers, Northern buried 13 triples, including five first-half bombs form Edmondson. His fourth gave the Lights a 21-18 lead, and his fifth followed back-to-back trey’s from Lee, which capped a 12-2 run, and helped the Lights take a 40-33 lead into the break.

“Very proud of our three seniors,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “They led the way tonight. We wanted to make sure we finished strong at home, and on senior night, those three really stepped up to the challenge.”

Tech, and in particular, Jalen Coates, challenged the Lights, too. He scored 26 points and did all he could to keep the Diggers close. But Northern wasn’t going to go out that way. Twice, Coates’ baskets cut the Lights’ lead down to six in the second half, but Edmondson kept hitting, and key 3-pointers from Tyler Chandler and David Straughter, big inside buckets from William Walker, and one last three from Lee late in the game, helped the Lights keep their lead and put Tech away for the third time this season.

“Tech came in here and played hard. They really challenged us tonight, even though they knew they weren’t going to have a chance to extend their season,” Huse said. “I was very impressed with the way they played tonight. But our guys just weren’t going to be denied. I thought we shot it very well again, we defended really hard and we got a great team effort from everybody who stepped onto the floor tonight.

“It was a really fun atmosphere, too,” he added. “I’m so grateful for the fans we have and the support we always get. It was a lot of fun in this building the last two nights, and I know our guys really appreciate it.”

The big crowd witnessed the Lights, who jumped to 8-10 in conference play after a 1-5 start, shoot a sizzling 53 percent from the field. Edmondson went off for 29 points and seven threes, while Lee finished with 18 on four triples. Straughter added 16 points and seven boards, while Rech had five rebounds in his last home game.

“It feels good,” Lee said of his last home game. “It was all about focus. We just play one game at a time, and we’re peaking right now, just liked we’re supposed too.”

The Lights (19-11) are indeed peaking. They forged a fourth-place tie with Rocky Mountain College but will have to travel to Billings Tuesday night to play the Battlin’ Bears in a first-round Frontier playoff game, since RMC had the tiebreaker over Northern. Still, Huse couldn’t be more excited about the way his club is playing entering the postseason.

“These guys have hung in there, and fought hard to get better,” he said. “I feel like there’s nobody we can’t beat in this league when we’re playing the way we’re capable of. This team, right now, can still do some damage in this league.”

Last Hurrah

After beating the Warriors on Friday night, the Lights were not about to slow down. And seniors Warren Edmondson, Trevail Lee and KJ Rech went out of the Armory in style with a 78-64 win over the Montana Tech Orediggers – the Lights' fourth straight.

"I'm very proud of where we're at right now," Lee said after scoring 18 points in his final game in the Armory. "Some teams get hot in November and then die down. We did that, but we fought back and are hot again. We've really stuck together as a unit, we're definitely a family here, and now we're peaking exactly when we want to be."

The Lights certainly look to have found their stride shooting the ball. Against the Diggers, Northern buried 13 triples, including five first-half bombs form Edmondson. His fourth gave the Lights a 21-18 lead, and his fifth followed back-to-back trey's from Lee, which capped a 12-2 run, and helped the Lights take a 40-33 lead into the break.

"Very proud of our three seniors," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "They led the way tonight. We wanted to make sure we finished strong at home, and on senior night, those three really stepped up to the challenge."

Tech, and in particular, Jalen Coates, challenged the Lights too. He scored 26 points and did all he could to keep the Diggers close. But Northern wasn't going to go out that way. Twice, Coates' baskets cut the Lights' lead down to six in the second half, but Edmondson kept hitting, and key 3-pointers from Tyler Chandler and David Straughter, big inside buckets from William Walker, and one last three from Lee late in the game, helped the Lights keep their lead and put Tech away for the third time this season.

"Tech came in here and played hard, they really challenged us tonight, even though they knew they weren't going to have a chance to extend their season," Huse said. "I was very impressed with the way they played tonight. But our guys just weren't going to be denied. I thought we shot it very well again, we defended really hard and we got a great team effort from everybody who stepped onto the floor tonight.

"It was a really fun atmosphere too," he added. "I'm so grateful for the fans we have and the support we always get. It was a lot of fun in this building the last two nights, and I know our guys really appreciate it."

The big crowd witnessed the Lights, who jumped to 8-10 in conference play after a 1-5 start, shoot a sizzling 53 percent from the field. Edmondson went off for 29 points and seven three's, while Lee finished with 18 on four triples. Straughter added 16 points and seven boards, while Rech had five rebounds in his last home game.

"It feels good," Lee said of his last home game. "It was all about focus. We just play one game at a time, and we're peaking right now, just liked we're supposed too."

The Lights (19-11) are indeed peaking. They forged a fourth-place tie with Rocky Mountain College but will have to travel to Billings Tuesday night to play the Battlin' Bears in a first-round Frontier playoff game, since RMC had the tiebreaker over Northern. Still, Huse couldn't be more excited about the way his club is playing entering the postseason.

"These guys have hung in there, and fought hard to get better," he said. "I feel like there's nobody we can't beat in this league when we're playing the way we're capable of. This team, right now, can still do some damage in this league."

Lights finish 8-10 in Frontier, 19-11 overall; Next Up: at RMC Tuesday

Lights 82, LC State 72

LCSC - Nick Emerson 2-6 2-2 6, Cammie Lewis 1-6 2-2 5, Rich Tesmer 3-5 3-4 10, Trea Thomas 1-5 2-2 4, Youssoupha Kane 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick White 0-3 0-0 0, Ty Higbie 1-1 0-0 3, Isaiah Omamogho 0-3 0-0 0, Doug McDaniel 3-6 2-2 10, David Shedrick 0-0 0-0 0, Zavon Jackson 4-7 1-2 9, J Wiley 11-19 3-4 25. Totals 26-61 15-18 72.

MSU-N - Trevail Lee 2-6 5-6 11, Badhasa Margarsa 4-5 0-1 10, David Straughter 1-6 7-8 9, Kevin Oberweiser 0-0 0-0 0, Warren Edmondson 6-12 7-7 19, Dylan Tatarka 1-1 0-0 3, Justin Dunsmore 1-1 0-0 3, Brett Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Chandler 5-7 3-4 17, Nikola Ivanovic 0-0 0-0 0, William Walker 0-1 2-2 2, K.J. Rech 1-3 0-1 2, Ryan Reeves 3-7 0-2 6. Totals 24-49 24-31 82.

Halftime: Northern 48-35. 3-pointers: LCSC 5-17 (Emerson 0-2, Lewis 1-4, Tesmer 1-2, Thomas 0-2, White 0-1, Higbie 1-1, Omamogho 0-2, McDaniel 2-3), MSU-N 10-20 (Lee 2-5, Margarsa 2-2, Straughter 0-1, Edmondson 0-4, Tatarka 1-1, Dunsmore 1-1, Chandler 4-5, Rech 0-1). Rebounds: LCSC 29 (Wiley 7), MSU-N 33 (Reeves 9). Fouls: LCSC 23, MSU-N 14. Fouled out: Thomas, Omamogho, McDaniel . Technical: Rech.

Lights 78, Tech 64

MT - Paul Engstrom 1-4 4-7 6, Flemming Okeke 1-1 0-0 2, Akeem Williams 1-3 0-0 2, John Chapman 0-3 0-0 0, Carson Dummer 0-1 0-0 0, Jalen Coates 9-15 6-9 26, Kale Guldseth 4-5 0-0 11, Sadiq Inuwa 1-2 1-1 3, Lukas Vining 6-8 2-2 14. Totals 23-42 13-19 64.

MSU-N - Trevail Lee 6-10 2-2 18, Badhasa Margarsa 0-1 1-2 1, David Straughter 6-8 3-6 16, Kevin Oberweiser 0-0 0-0 0, Warren Edmondson 10-17 2-2 29, Dylan Tatarka 0-0 1-2 1, Justin Dunsmore 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Chandler 1-6 0-0 3, Nikola Ivanovic 0-1 0-0 0, William Walker 2-4 0-2 4, K.J. Rech 1-2 2-2 4, Ryan Reeves 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-51 11-18 78.

Halftime: Northern 40-33. 3-pointers: MT 5-8 (Chapman 0-1, Coates 2-4, Guldseth 3-3), MSU-N 13-27 (Lee 4-7, Margarsa 0-1, Straughter 1-1, Edmondson 7-12, Dunsmore 0-1, Chandler 1-5). Rebounds: MT 24 (Williams 5, Inuwa 5), MSU-N 23 (Straughter 7). Fouls: MT 19, MSU-N 19. Fouled out: Engstrom, Rech.