Skylights looking to turn the tide on the archrival Argos

In a season of close calls and near misses, few games have been as heartbreaking and bitter for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights then the two they’ve played at the University of Providence in Great Falls.

Tonight, however, the Skylights get one more opportunity to flip the script on their biggest rivals. Northern (2-10, 10-14) hosts the No. 22 Argos (5-7, 16-8) in the Armory Gymnasium in the final meeting of the regular season between the two bitter foes.

And while MSU-N has come oh-so-close to knocking off just about everybody in the Frontier Conference this season, the Skylight’s two losses in Great Falls have been particularly frustrating for MSU-N. On Jan. 8 Northern held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, only to see the Argos rally for a 56-50 win. On Jan. 24, MSU-N was in a similar position down the stretch, but the Argos prevailed 63-58 in overtime.

“Both of those games were tough pills for us to swallow,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. “But Providence is a very talented team, and they showed why in those games.”

The Argos, despite a sub-500 record in conference play, are indeed talented. They have a dynamic inside-out duo with Parker Easy (6-1) averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds per game in the paint, and Emilee Maldonado (5-5) averaging 17 ppg and leading the Frontier in assists from the point guard position. Add to that the excellent play of Tristan Murphy and a deep and talented bench that includes former Havre Blue Pony Marca Herron, and it’s easy to see why the Argos are such a handful, and are considered a legitimate national tourney team contender yet again.

“They are talented, athletic and they get after you on both ends of the floor,” Mouat said. “Obviously, Parker and Maldonado are a great one-two punch, but Tristan Murphy is also playing at a really high level this season.”

The Skylights are playing at a high level too, no matter what their record says. Northern has blossomed in the last month into one of the top defensive teams in the country. And when the Skylights get going on offense, they’re very dangerous. MSU-N gets 14 ppg from Peyton Kehr, while Hailey Nicholson and Sydney Hovde are also top scorers. Tiara Gilham and Sabin Keo have also been spark plugs off the bench, and Allix Goldhahn is coming off a stellar performance last Saturday against Carroll College.

And getting going on offense will be key for the Skylights against a UP team that is very good offensively, and very, very good on the boards.

“Well, we can’t give up 25 offensive rebounds against them and expect to win,” Mouat said. “The bottom line is, we have to play better. I thought we played pretty well against them in the first two games, but we didn’t get over the hump. We just have to go out and play better on both ends of the floor, we have to shoot it better, we have to be strong on the boards, and we have to take better care of the ball. We also have to finish. That continues to be the goal for us, to play a clean game for 40 minutes, and finish it.”

The Skylights will get the chance to do just that tonight when they host the Argos at 6 inside the Armory Gymnasium. Northern continues its four-game homestead Friday night when Montana Tech comes to the Armory.

Skylights (2-10, 10-14) vs #22 University of Providence Argos (5-7, 16-8) tonight at 6 p.m.

In Armory Gymnasium

Radio: 92.5 KPQX

Streaming: golightsgo.com

Twitter: HavreDaily

Skylights Projected Starters

G Gokce Aslan, 5-3, Sr., 7 ppg

G Allix Goldhahn, 5-8, Fr., 7 ppg

G Peyton Kehr, 5-10, So., 14 ppg

F Hailey Nicholson, 5-10, Jr., 11 ppg

F Sydney Hovde, 6-0, So., 10 ppg