Lights cage Bears for a third time

Who says it's hard to beat a team three times in one season? Not the Montana State University-Northern Lights.

In a hard-fought Saturday night game inside the Armory Gymnasium the Lights beat Rocky Mountain College for the third time this season. Northern got a big shot from Adam Huse with under two minutes to go, and a massive 3-pointer by Devin Bray, lifting the Lights to a 70-66 win.

"Those were two huge shots," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "Adam played a really clutch game tonight, and we've been needing that down the stretch. I thought Paco (Jones) gave us a huge lift tonight too. He played really well."

As has been the case with all three games between the Lights and Bears, it was a fight from start to finish. Northern came out swinging with early three's from Gabe Porter, and two more by Bray. Huse added a triple and a Charles Porter two as time expired on the first 20 minutes, gave the Lights a 38-35 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same. But it was Rocky which started punching first. The Bears got six quick points from Jared Samuleson, and led by four with 11 minutes left. Adam Huse started to catch fire though, with two triples and a jumper, and the Lights led 57-56 with eight minutes to go. But a three by Chad Kananan gave Rocky the lead back, and the Bears were still leading 64-61 with just four minutes to go.

But Paco Jones, who had hit a monster 3-pointer earlier in the second half, got a putback to pull the Lights within one. Caulin Bakalarski, who also hit a clutch triple earlier, then made two free throws, and the Lights went up one with 1:35 to go. Satchell McDonald answered back for Rocky with a bucket inside and the Bears led 66-65, with Northern calling a timeout. And that's when Huse came out and made the clutch shot to put the Lights in front for good.

"Credit Rocky for not going away," Coach Huse said. "They were determined to get this one from us. They came in her on a mission and weren't content with their win last night in Great Falls. And I thought our guys really responded to that. They played extremely hard and did what they needed to do down the stretch to get the lead back and hang on to it at the end."

The sophomore Huse finished the game with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Bakalarski and Ryan Reeves, who had a monster game on the defensive end, with seven boards, two steals and four blocks, each added 11 as the Lights moved to 7-9 in the Frontier Conference with two games left in the regular season. The Lights host Providence on Wednesday night for their final home game of the season.

"We've been playing good basketball for a long period of time," Coach Huse said, "so I'm really happy for our guys that they finally have something to show for it. They work very hard, and prepare for every game extremely hard. So it's nice to see that hard work pay off tonight, with a win."

Carroll Squeaks By

The last time the Montana State University-Northern Lights played the Carroll College Fighting Saints inside the Armory Gymnasium, the game was a battle right to the very end. And it was no different for Carroll's return trip to Havre.

The final result was also the same, as the No. 6 Fighting Saints topped the Lights 64-57 Friday night in Havre. The win was Carroll's sixth straight, and the Saints managed to take all three games from Northern this season.

But, it didn't come easy either. Northern, which lost its third straight game in Frontier play, shrugged off a 7-0 Carroll start, and an 8-0 Carroll run in the middle of the first half to trail just 38-29 at intermission. Three-pointers from Adam Huse, Charles Porter, and even 6-10 center Ryan Reeves helped the Lights close the halftime gap.

"I was extremely proud of the fight in out guys," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "They had to scrap and claw and fight tonight, and they did that. That's what this program has always been about, and this team has never disappointed me in that category."

Gabe Porter opened the second half with a triple, but Carroll was able to go back up by double digits with eight straight points from Ryan Imhoff. At that point, the Saints led 50-40 with 9:15 left. Imhoff added another deuce shortly after, but for the next six minutes, Northern's defense stiffened and held the Saints without a bucket. And when Reeves hit his second trey of the night, the Lights began to fight their way back.

Northern got to within four points when Reeves and Porter each made free throws, and at 55-51 with 2:47 left, the Armory was rocking. But, with 1:15 to play, Imhoff ended Carroll's drought with a bank shot, and though Justin Dunsmore answered right back, Carroll wasn't to be denied. Lorel Johnson matched Dunsmore's shot with one of his own, and it proved to be the game-winner. Carroll would make four key free throws to offset a late Gabe Porter triple, and, for the second time this winter, the Saints escaped Havre with a narrow win.

Reeves had yet another huge game for the Lights with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He also made his first three's of his Armory career. Porter added 11 points, but Carroll's defense was stellar, holding the Lights to 42 percent shooting and eight three's, which is five below their season average. And while Northern defended really well, they once again had no answer for Imhoff, who scored 24 points, to go with 14 points from Matt Wyman.

"That's a really good ball club Carroll has," Coach Huse said. "Hats off to them, they played extremely well, and they really made things tough on us. But I think tonight shows our guys belong. The way we played and fought back, there's a lot of basketball left this season, and we've shown we can play with anybody."

Lights are 7-9 in Frontier, 16-11 overall; Next Up: vs Argos Wednesday

Carroll 64, Lights 57

CC - Dane WARP 0-0 0-0 0, Oliver CARR 4-4 0-0 8, Match BURNHAM 1-3 2-2 5, Kyle NICKOL 0-1 0-0 0, Patrick COLBERG 0-0 0-0 0, Lorel JOHNSON 1-2 0-0 2, Ryan IMHOFF 11-20 2-2 24, Matt WYMAN 5-10 0-0 12, Ife KALEJAIYE 1-6 3-4 5, A SANTOS PIQUERAS 3-5 2-3 8. Totals 26-51 9-11 64.

MSU-N - Ryan Reeves 5-9 4-7 16, Justin Dunsmore 1-4 0-0 2, Charles Porter 2-5 3-7 8, Devin Bray 2-5 0-0 5, Adam Huse 3-6 0-0 7, Cayeveoon Jones 0-2 0-0 0, James Fry 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Harper 2-3 2-2 7, Caulin Bakalarski 1-4 0-0 2, Gabe Porter 2-5 4-4 10. Totals 18-43 13-20 57.

Halftime: Carroll 35-26. 3-pt FG:Carroll (Mont.) 3-9 (BURNHAM 1-2, JOHNSON 0-1, WYMAN 2-3, KALEJAIYE 0-2, SANTOS PIQUERAS 0-1), Montana State University- 8-20 (Reeves 2-2, Dunsmore 0-2, Porter 1-1, Bray 1-4, Huse 1-3, Harper 1-2, Bakalarski 0-2, Porter 2-4). Rebounds: Carroll (Mont.) 29 (IMHOFF 10), Montana State University- 25 (Reeves 11). Fouls Carroll (Mont.) 18, Montana State University- 10. Fouled out: none.

Lights 70, Rocky Mountain 66

RMC - Chad Kananen 2-7 0-0 5, Latrelle Franklin 2-2 0-0 4, Danny Betcher 10-16 0-2 20, Grant Wallace 1-1 0-0 2, Craig Wilmore 1-7 0-0 2, Austin Payne 1-3 1-2 4, Jared Samuelson 9-17 0-1 19, Satchel McDonald 3-7 1-2 7, Colin May 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 30-64 2-7 66.

MSU-N - Ryan Reeves 4-7 3-5 11, Justin Dunsmore 1-3 2-2 5, Charles Porter 3-6 2-3 8, Devin Bray 3-8 0-0 9, Adam Huse 7-10 0-0 17, Cayeveoon Jones 2-4 1-3 6, Anthony Harper 0-1 0-0 0, Caulin Bakalarski 3-8 4-4 11, Gabe Porter 1-7 0-0 3. Totals 24-54 12-17 70.

Halftime: Northern 38-35. 3-pt FG: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 4-16 (Kananen 1-5, Betcher 0-1, Payne 1-2, Samuelson 1-4, McDonald 0-1, May 1-3), Montana State University- 10-26 (Dunsmore 1-3, Porter 0-1, Bray 3-5, Huse 3-6, Jones 1-2, Bakalarski 1-5, Porter 1-4). Rebounds: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 35 (Samuelson 10), Montana State University- 28 (Reeves 7, Dunsmore 7). Fouls Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 14, Montana State University- 8. Fouled out: none.