Bears turn out the Lights in the Armory

They say it's hard to beat a team three times in one season. But, it was even harder for the Montana State University-Northern Lights to beat the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears a fourth time.

Tuesday night in the Armory Gymnasium, Rocky's Jared Samuelson poured in 32 points, including the game-winning shot with .08 left, lifting the Bears to not only their first win over Northern in four tries this season, but, also to a semifinal berth in the Frontier Conference playoffs.

Samuelson's heroics answered what looked like the game-winner for Northern as senior Paco Jones buried a wide-open 3-pointer with :11 remaining, putting the Lights ahead 72-71. Rocky had taken the lead with :51 left, but after Samuelson missed the second free throw of a one-and-one with :26 to play, the Lights had the chance they needed and Jones delivered. However, on the other end, Samuelson missed a shot with less than five seconds left, but after a scramble for the ball, he picked up what was his 10th rebound of the night and put it back in, sending the Rocky bench into a wild frenzy.

"First, hats off to Rocky," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "They came in here and played really well, and (Jared) Samuelson made a great individual play for his team. He played a great game tonight.

"But I am extremely proud of our seniors and of this team," he continued. "They showed resiliency and character again tonight, as they have done all season long. They've never quit, and when things weren't going perfect tonight, they didn't quit, and instead, battled and fought and put themselves in a position to win the game. They've done that all year and I'm proud of them for that, and for the way they've represented this program, our school and our community."

The Lights didn't quit, especially down the stretch. The finish was part of an intense final 10 minutes. Northern trailed 37-32 at halftime, but Adam Huse caught fire, and the lights took the lead early in the second stanza. Rocky went on a 9-0 run to lead 53-48, but Devin Bray stopped the run with a trey, and buckets from Ryan Reeves and Charles Porter gave the Lights the lead back with 6:08 to go. Huse, who had a big night for the Lights, would score twice in the key, and Jones hit a corner three that gave the Lights a 64-61 lead with 3:45 to go. Two minutes later, Huse knocked in a trey from the top of the key, after Reeves tapped out a missed shot, and the Lights were in front 69-65. But Craig Wilmore came down the floor and swished a triple of his own to pull Rocky to within one, and the Bears took the lead on a Samuelson jumper a few seconds later.

"It was a really well - played game by both teams," Coach Huse said. "Credit Rocky for never going away, and our guys for doing the same. They never went away, and they fought hard all night long. It was also a great crowd tonight. Our fans were great. They gave us a lot of energy and we truly appreciate them."

Rocky indeed never went away. The Bears started the game on a 7-0 run, and Samuelson knocked in three first-half bombs. But Porter and Huse went back-to-back as part of a 9-2 MSU-N run, and the Lights led for much of the final six minutes of the half. And yet, the Bears finished the first on a 12-3 run, taking a five-point lead into intermission.

Like many of the games this season between Northern and Rocky, Tuesday night's was an offensive display. Northern shot 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, with Huse scoring 17 points. Reeves, in the final game of his brilliant career, added 16 and 13 rebounds, while Porter scored 16 in his last game as a Light. Jones added his two clutch three's in his final game in the Armory.

It wasn't enough. Samuelson finished the game 13-for-22 from the field, with four trey's while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Rocky also shot a scorching 51 percent from the floor, and out-rebounded the Lights 25-22, while Wilmore chipped in with 11 points, as the Bears move on to face Carroll College Friday night.

The Lights (19-12) on the other hand, saw their season come to a heartbreaking close Tuesday night. The loss not only eliminates the Lights from the Frontier tourney, but severely hurts their chances of getting an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament next month in Kansas City. Still,

Huse was proud of what his team did and stood for this season.

"We have had some gut-wrenching losses this season," Coach Huse said. "But our guys kept coming back, kept preparing hard every week, and never quit fighting. They came back and got the wins they needed to to put themselves in this position. They got the wins they needed to earn a home game in the playoffs, and that's not easy to do in the Frontier Conference.

"I really felt like we had a team that could go on an unbelievable run in the postseason had we gotten by Rocky tonight," he continued. "We didn't, but we went out swinging. It didn't go our way at the end, and that's sports. But I'm extremely proud of this whole team for this season they've had. They need to hod their heads up high, because they've given our program everything they had, starting with our great senior leaders. I will miss this team and this season very much."

Lights finish the 2017-18

season 19-12

Rocky 73, Lights 72

RMC - Chad Kananen 2-2 0-0 4, Latrelle Franklin 5-10 0-0 10, Danny Betcher 3-10 2-2 8, Grant Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Craig Wilmore 4-8 2-2 11, Isaac Martel 1-1 0-0 2, Austin Payne 1-2 0-0 2, Jared Samuelson 13-22 2-4 32, Satchel McDonald 2-4 0-0 4, Colin May 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-60 6-8 73.

MSU-N - Ryan Reeves 7-10 2-2 16, Justin Dunsmore 2-7 0-0 4, Charles Porter 6-10 2-3 16, Devin Bray 1-5 2-2 5, Adam Huse 6-12 1-2 17, Cayeveoon Jones 2-3 0-0 6, Anthony Harper 0-0 0-0 0, Caulin Bakalarski 0-5 0-0 0, Gabe Porter 2-7 4-6 8. Totals 26-59 11-15 72.

Halftime: Rocky Mountain 37-32. 3-pt FG:Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 5-15 (Wallace 0-1, Wilmore 1-4, Payne 0-1, Samuelson 4-9), Montana State University- 9-22 (Dunsmore 0-2, Porter 2-3, Bray 1-4, Huse 4-8, Jones 2-3, Porter 0-2). Rebounds: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 33 (Samuelson 10), Montana State University- 31 (Reeves 13). Fouls Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 15, Montana State University- 12. Fouled out: Bray.