MSU-N hoops set to battle in Great Falls

With the cold making itself at home, the sports are getting comfortable indoors. But, despite the chilly atmosphere, the Montana State University-Northern basketball teams are both on fire.

Both the No. 18 Lights (2-0) and the Skylights (4-0) are riding on undefeated records early in the season. Now, the teams will look to continue their streaks at the University of Providence in Great Falls today and Saturday.

The Skylights will play Northwest University of Washington today and Dickinson State Saturday at 2 p.m. for the pair of games. The Lights will play the same teams on the same days, but will play at 4 p.m. The games will serve as a testament to Northern's consistency on the court.

The Skylights' game today against Northwest kicks off the Providence Tournament and head coach Chris Mouat is ready for his team to put their best effort on the court.

"Northwest University has really good size," said Mouat. "They have excellent quickness and guards that can really shoot the three. I think in their first three games they shot about 80 threes, so they're pretty capable from the three-point line. They can hurt you if you don't do a really good job on the boards."

The Eagles have an advantage with height, with four of the players at or above six-feet tall. On top of that, a deadliness at the 3-point line is certainly an aspect that Northern will need to contain. Northwest will be hungry for a win, too, considering that the Eagles have fallen to the Skylights in the last three meetings.

Recently, Northern is 3-0 in games against Northwest, averaging 69.33 points against the Eagles and a total of 208 points. The largest margin of victory the Skylights have against Northwest is 30-points, while the smallest margin of victory is seven-points. But, Mouat is not letting his guard down against the Eagles.

"They have our full attention right now," Mouat said. "They're a nice team, and then they're getting better as they go."

Northern's next matchup is Saturday's rematch against Dickinson State, who the Skylights beat already this year. On Nov. 8, in the Armory Gymnasium, Northern grounded the Blue Hawks 82-45. Even so, when the scoreboard is zero again, anything can happen and Mouat knows Dickinson State can be tough.

"We're going to get their best effort," said Mouat. "They're also a really capable team that can get you in a hole if they get going."

The Blue Hawks have a good strength in free throws and rebounds. Against the Skylights, they made six-out-of-eight attempts, while racking up 27 rebounds off the board. Northern will have to prepare for Dickinson State to bring a lot on the court.

But the Skylights have a great amount of skills, too. Junior Kenya Lorton was a threat last week against Corban College, making 7-11 field goal attempts and one three-pointer for 17 points. Junior Peyton Kehr put up 5-12 field goals and two three-pointers for 14 points. Northern's shooting has been quite good.

Overall, Mouat sees that his team has to play consistently to succeed in the two matchups.

"Both games we have to defend the 3-point-line and defend the boards," said Mouat. "I think those are huge things for us to continue to stay on the path we're on defensively. Each team has a couple kids that we'll key on. But, we've been really locked-in as a group of 12 and everybody knowing their assignment."

After the Skylights play, the Lights, under head coach Shawn Huse, will take the court to play Northwest and Dickinson State. Today's game against the Eagles will be the first time the two teams will face each other. For Northern, the game will be a tone-setter for the future against Northwest.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding the Eagles and what they will bring to the court, but the Lights will have a game plan when the time comes. In the meantime, the end goal will be to continue the undefeated streak going.

On Saturday, the Lights will have a rematch against Dickinson State, as well. Last time the two teams met, Northern claimed the victory 76-60 in the Armory Gymnasium on Nov. 8. The game proved the potency of the Blue Hawks' attack on offense.

Dickinson State made 22-56 field goal attempts and 5-17 three-pointer for 60 points against the Lights. But MSU-N had the edge with 27-53 field goals and 4-11 three-pointers to stay on top with 76 points. The Blue Hawks are a team not to joke about. Most of the players that went out on the court were big when it came to field goals and threes. Now, a rematch to try and get revenge for the previous loss to Northern will only fuel the fire for Dickinson State.

But the Lights have some weapons on the court, too. Senior Kavon Bey had a game against the Blue Hawks in the last meeting, making 9-17 field goal attempts for 20 points. Sophomore Jesse Keltner made 4 out of 5 field goal attempts for 11 points, while senior Adam Huse completed 3 out of 5 field goal attempts and 2 out of 3 three-pointers against Dickinson State. The Northern offense has been quite a problem for teams so far.

Overall, the Lights and Skylights will have to go up against two teams looking for revenge, as well as keeping the win-streaks alive. With it still being early in the season, anything can happen on the court. In the end, MSU-Northern will be put to the test against some hungry opponents.

The Skylights (4-0) play the Northwest University of Washington (1-2) today at 2, then Dickinson State (2-3) Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lights (2-0) play Northwest (0-0) today at 4, followed by a Saturday game against the Blue Hawks (1-4) at 4 p.m. Both teams play in the classic in University of Providence Tournament in the McLaughlin Center.