Streaking Lights head south

It’s been mind-numbingly cold in Havre. But the Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball team has been hotter than the Fourth of July. And the Lights are about to head south, where they are not just hot, so is the weather.

The Northern men, winners of their first eight games of the 2016-17 season, travel to Phoenix for three games at the Phoenix Classic. The first game comes today when the Lights take on NAIA stalwart Warner-Pacific University.

“These three will be challenging,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “And that’s what we need. We have a few more games at home before conference play starts again, but to go on the road and play three very good teams, that is something we’re excited about.”

The Lights should be excited about the start to their season, too. Northern is averaging 102 points per game on offense, and shooting better than 40 percent from the 3-point-line. However, MSU-N, which is also 2-0 in the Frontier, has also been stout on defense, as the Lights allow just 56 points per game, which puts them in the Top 10 in the NAIA on both ends of the floor.

Still, the schedule this week will put the Lights to the test. Warner-Pacific is a team from the Cascade Conference that has given the Lights great battles in the past. And while the Knights are a modest 4-4 on the season, Huse expects nothing but another dogfight.

“They’re physical, they’re big, they always seem to have good size,” Huse said. “They are showing this season again to be a very tough out. We know we’ll have to play at a high level.”

Following tonight’s game against the Knights, MSU-N will play Tuesday morning against Diné College and again Wednesday morning against William Jessup, another strong NAIA team.

“We don’t know a lot about Diné,” Huse said. “But we know William Jessup is always a strong team with good players. And they’ve already beaten No. 1 Biola this season. So that game is going to be another good test for us, and it’s what we need right now. So we’re excited about all three of these games.”

MSU-N will only have a short Christmas break once the Phoenix Classic is over too. The Lights will head to Lethbridge for a game against the Pronghorns on Dec. 28, then come right back home to host the University of Alberta-Augustana Dec. 28-29 at the Armory Gymnasium. Those games wrap up non-conference play for the Lights.