Lights win, Skylights edged at DSU

A busy Thanksgiving week got off to a very good start for the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team.

On Tuesday night, the Lights were in Dickinson, North Dakota, to battle arch rival Dickinson State, and in a tough road game, Northern came away with a 71-57 victory.

Northern, which was coming off a blowout win last Saturday at Salish Kootenai College, didn't let another long road trip get in the way from playing at a high level either. The Lights shot a scorching 57 percent from the floor, and bombed in nine 3-pointers, six of which came in the first 20 minutes. That early scoring binge led to a 35-25 halftime lead over the Blue Hawks, and the Lights never looked back.

The Lights shared the ball well all night, too, with four different players scoring 10 points. Justin Dunsmore, Adam Huse, Caulin Bakalarski and Kavon Bay combined for 40 points for the Lights, while Cedric Crutchfield and Mascio McCadney each scored nine. Huse, Bakalarski and Devin Bray combined for six threes on the night, while defensively, the Lights held the Blue Hawks to 38 percent shooting, and won the battle of the boards 29-24.

"It was a really nice team win on the road tonight," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "Everyone contributed in their own way, towards the win. Dickinson is very athletic, long and disruptive. I thought we remained poised all night and handled what they threw at us. I was very happy that our defense set the tone and our offense followed suit."

Northern will get a rematch with DSU next month in Havre, but before that, the Lights will come home for Thanksgiving weekend and the 2018 AmericInn Thanksgiving Classic.

On Friday night, MSU-N (4-1) will play host to Portland Bible College (1-5). The game is the start of an exciting two nights for the Lights, but the big test for MSU-N will come Saturday night when they're back in the Armory against Oregon Tech.

The Owls (7-1) are one of the top teams in the Cascade Conference, and they come to Havre averaging 94 points per night. The Owls also beat the Lights in Oregon last fall, so Saturday night's game will be a big one for the Lights, and it's the last tune-up before Northern plays its first two Frontier Conference games of the new season.

The Lights play both of their AmericInn Classic games at 6 p.m. this weekend inside the Armory Gymnasium.

Blue Hawks edge Skylights

The Montana State University-Northern women were also in Dickinson Tuesday night, but after leading for much of the game, the short-handed Skylights came up short against the Blue Hawks, 55-52.

Northern started strong, with a 16-11 lead after the first period, but DSU came right back and led 30-29 at intermission. The Skylights wrestled the lead back from the Blue Hawks in the second half, and held a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter. However, the Blue Hawks fought back, took the lead late and held off Northern in the final minute.

The game was a defensive battle, with the Skylights shooting just 32 percent from the floor and 5-of-20 from three. Sophomore Peyton Kehr did have a big night for MSU-N, with a game-high 23 points, while Jessica Curl added nine, and Sydney Hovde pulled down 11 rebounds.

DSU was paced by former Havre Blue Pony Lacey Waid, who scored 13 points. Northern and DSU will meet again Dec. 9 in Havre. The Skylights (3-3) will have this weekend off before traveling to Billings Nov. 29 for the opening game of Frontier Conference play against Rocky Mountain College. MSU-N is at Carroll College Dec. 1. Northern's next home game is Dec. 4 against Yellowstone Christian College.

Dickinson State 55, Skylights 52

MSU-Northern 16 13 14 9 - 52

Dickinson St. 11 19 15 10 - 55

MSU-N- Lily Hilderbrand 1-3 0-0 2, Peyton Kehr 8-18 3-3 23, Jessica Curl 4-5 0-0 8, Sydney Hovde 1-4 5-6 7, Allix Goldhahn 1-5 2-2 4, Petra Sellin 1-2 4-4 7, Sabin Keo 0-5 1-2 1, Gokce Aslan 0-3 0-0 0, Sam Caruth 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 15-17 52.

DSU - Natalee Hafer 0-0 0-0 0, Lacey Waid 5-11 2-2 13, Ashlie Larson 3-7 2-2 9, Brook Janz 2-4 1-4 5, Riley Helmick 3-5 0-0 8, Rojin Karahan 3-10 3-5 9, Kyley Verploegen 0-0 0-0 0, Danielle Wallace 3-3 1-2 7, Caleigh McClenhan 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 20-41 11-17 55.

3-pt FG:Montana State University- 5-20 (Kehr 4-10, Goldhahn 0-3, Sellin 1-1, Keo 0-1, Aslan 0-2, Caruth 0-3), Dickinson State Universit 4-12 (Waid 1-4, Larson 1-4, Helmick 2-4). Rebounds: Montana State University- 32 (Hovde 11), Dickinson State Universit 24 (TEAM 5, Wallace 5). Fouls Montana State University- 15, Dickinson State Universit 20. Fouled out: Karahan.

Lights 71, Dickinson St. 57

MSU-N - Justin Dunsmore 4-9 1-2 10, Devin Bray 2-4 0-0 6, Adam Huse 4-7 0-0 10, James Fry 1-1 0-0 3, Caulin Bakalarski 4-8 0-0 10, Cedric Crutchfield 4-5 1-1 9, Kavon Bey 5-7 0-0 10, Joe Fons 2-2 0-0 4, Mascio McCadney 4-12 0-0 9, Kamari Burnside 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 2-3 71.

DSU - Austin Payne 1-2 3-4 5, Travon Hamilton 3-7 6-7 12, Tanner Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, Donte Walker 3-4 0-0 7, Ethan Caton 1-7 1-2 3, Melvin Collins 5-9 0-0 13, Michael Vandall 0-4 0-0 0, Malcohm Hill 3-6 2-2 9, Kenny Jackson 3-11 2-4 8. Totals 19-50 14-19 57.

Halftime: Northern 36-25. 3-pt FG:Montana State-Northern 9-20 (Dunsmore 1-3, Bray 2-4, Huse 2-4, Fry 1-1, Bakalarski 2-4, Bey 0-1, McCadney 1-3), Dickinson State Universit 5-12 (Hamilton 0-2, Walker 1-1, Collins 3-4, Vandall 0-4, Hill 1-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 35 (McCadney 8), Dickinson State Universit 24 (TEAM 6). Fouls Montana State-Northern 17, Dickinson State Universit 12. Fouled out: none.