Lights shoot for three in a row tonight

The Armory Gymnasium has been a friendly place to the Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball team as of late.

In their last two home games, the Lights have slayed Top 25 Frontier Conference rivals Carroll College and the University of Providence, and Northern has done it by shooting better than 50 percent from the 3-point-line.

Tonight, the Lights (7-6, 15-10) hope that trend continues, too, as they close out their four-game homestand against the Montana Tech Orediggers (5-7, 15-9) at 8 inside the Armory.

And while Tech isn’t ranked in the Top 25, the Orediggers are a team that will present a big challenge to the Lights, because beating a team three times in one season is no easy task.

“Tech is really good,” Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. “They’re a very good defensive team, and they’re balanced offensively. We know full well the challenges they present, and we’re going to have to play at a very high level to be successful against them again.”

The Lights have certainly found success against the Diggers this season. Northern beat them twice in January, including three weeks ago in the Armory and two weeks ago in Butte. However, that doesn’t mean they will go quietly tonight.

Adam Hiatt’s club is far and away the most improved team in the Frontier this season, led by Taylor England’s 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Troy Owens Jr., and Nate Ward are two more double-digit scorers for the Orediggers, who also boast Drew Huse, the nephew of Shawn Huse and the young brother of Northern standout junior Adam Huse.

“They (Orediggers) have some guys who are really good at scoring around the bucket,” coach Huse said. “But they also have guys who can score from the perimeter. So they’re a tough matchup defensively.”

Of course, the Lights are a tough matchup defensively, as well, especially if they continue to shoot the ball the way they did in Wednesday night’s win over Providence, and last Saturday’s victory over Carroll. In their last two games, Northern has made a combined 29 triples, with Adam Huse, Mascio McCadney, Caulin Bakalarski, Justin Dunsmore and Devin Brey all in on the shooting act.

But, the Lights are also getting it done on the defensive end. Both Providence and Carroll came to Havre averaging more than 90 ppg, but the Lights yielded just 71 to both clubs.

So heading into tonight’s bout with Tech, coach Huse certainly likes how his team is trending.

“I like the way we’re playing right now,” he said. “We’re playing very good, team basketball on the offensive end, and guys are locked in on D. We’re playing well, and we want to keep that going Friday night. But we also understand that what happened in the first two games (with Tech) doesn’t matter. We know that anybody can beat anybody in this league, and we know this game is going to be another tough battle against a very good Frontier Conference opponent.”

The Lights and Orediggers will meet tonight at 8 in the Armory. Northern plays its final two road games of the regular season next week at Rocky Mountain College and Carroll.

Lights (7-6, 15-10) vs Montana Tech Orediggers (5-7, 15-9) tonight at 8 p.m.

In Armory Gymnasium

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Twitter: HavreDaily

Lights Projected Starters

G Devin Bray, 5-10, Jr., 10 ppg

G Adam Huse, 6-1, Jr., 12 ppg

G Mascio McCadney, 6-3, So., 15 ppg

F Justin Dunsmore, 6-6, Sr. 13 ppg

F Cedric Crutchfield, 6-8, Jr., 6 ppg