Lights roll in season opener

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor

[email protected]

When it comes to season-openers, there’s a certain amount of sloppiness that is usually expected, and that’s OK with most basketball coaches. However, in their season debut, the Montana State University-Northern Lights looked anything but sloppy.

Friday night, inside the Armory Gymnasium, the Lights opened their 2016-17 campaign with a convincing win over Yellowstone Christian College of Billings, 93-62. And from the onset, MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse was pleased with the way his team played.

“I thought we were very sharp for a first game,” Huse said. “The team we played tonight came in having played Dickinson State very tough, and they’re very talented. So for us to execute as well as we did, I was really excited. I thought we just got a great, all-around team effort.”

It started early as the Lights quickly jumped on the Centurions, a member of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association. Point guard Badhasa Margarsa got the Lights’ offense going, while a triple from Kevin Oberweiser would cap a 12-1 Northern run. Tyler Chandler also buried a 3-pointer as time expired on the first half, giving the Lights a 46-30 lead at the break.

“I thought we came out ready to play,” Huse said. “Badhasa did a great job of leading us. He showed why I think he’s one of the most underrated guards in the Frontier Conference. His leadership for us is big.

“I just thought we got off to a really good start,” he added. “We got into the rhythm we wanted and we pretty much kept it up all night.”

Margarsa opened the second half with a trey, one of 15 Northern bombs on the night, and the Lights coasted to victory. No matter what combination Huse put on the floor, the Lights stayed sharp, with the likes of redshirt freshman Devin Bray and Adam Huse adding to the 3-point barrage, as well as Dylan Tatarka, William Walker and Seth Christiaens giving Northern key bench plays.

Margarsa led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, while Bray and newcomer Charles Porter each scored 11. Oberweiser hit for 10 points, while Ryan Reeves had nine points and six rebounds. In all, 12 different Lights scored on a night when they went 15-for-29 from beyond the arc, shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded a taller Centurion squad, 42-37. From the 3-point-line, seven different Lights hit shots, with Margarsa nailing four treys, Bray hitting three, and Oberweiser, Chandler and Cameron Epps each making two.

“I was very pleased overall,” Huse noted. “Sure, there’s plenty of things we need to work on, and there’s a long way to go. But it was a great start. It was a great effort, and this is a game we can be excited about and build off of moving forward.”

The Lights will now have a week off before returning to action Nov. 4-5 in Great Falls. There the Lights will face Oak Hill Christian College and Shephard University. Northern won’t be back in the Armory until its Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-26.

Lights 93, Yellowstone Christian 62

MSU-N – David Straughter 2-5 3-4 7, Ryan Reeves 4-5 1-5 9, Badhasa Margarsa 4-5 0-0 12, Kevin Oberweiser 3-7 2-4 10, Tyler Chandler 2-6 0-0 6, Cameron Epps 3-5 0-0 8, Adam Huse 1-2 0-0 3, Devin Bray 3-5 2-4 11, Dylan Tatarka 0-3 6-8 6, Justin Dunsmore 4-9 0-0 8, Charles Porter 5-9 0-0 11, Seth Christiaens 0-0 0-0 0, William Walker 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 32-64 14-27 93.

Halftime: Northern 46-30. 3-pointers: 15-29 (Margarsa 4, Oberweiser 2, Chandler 2, Epps 2, Huse 1, Bray 3, Porter 1). Rebounds: 42 (Reeves 6, Straughter 5). Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.