Lights pull off exciting wins at Providence

The college basketball season is still in its early stages, but many teams have gotten off to a big start on the year already.

And for those who were at the Bill Himmelberg Sr. Classic at the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls last Friday and Saturday, the Montana State University-Northern Lights put on a show against the Northwest University of Washington and Dickinson State University.

MSU-N won both of its games last weekend, beating the Eagles 70-65 and the Blue Hawks 103-68. The Lights continue their undefeated season at 4-0 after the pair of victories. A good result at the classic in Great Falls has put Northern in good spirits.

The first game, against Northwest Friday, was a close bout. Northern would flex its muscles first, but the Eagles stayed not too far behind. At the half, the Lights had a three-point lead at 37-34. MSU-N made 50 percent of its field goals and free throws, plus 33.33-percent of its 3-pointers.

Northwest’s first-half was not as powerful with 38.24-percent of field goals and 22.22-percent of the three-pointers made but completing 75-percent of its free throws kept them closer than those stats appeared.

The Eagles continued to stay with the Lights in the second half. Their field goal-percentage dropped to 37.50, but with an increase in 3-point-percentage at 40 and a consistency at free throws, Northwest made Northern’s margin of victory thinner.

Even so, the Lights kept the edge over the Eagles’ attempts to win. Northern's 12 field goals, three three-pointers and six free throws helped lift MSU-N over the tough Northwest team. The Lights moved to 3-0 after the win, with some great performances from key players.

Kavon Bey racked up six field goals, one three, two free throws, 10 rebounds and four assists on the day to total 15 points. Adam Huse put up six field goals and one three-pointer, as well, scoring 13-points. Devin Bray put in some work with three field goals, two threes, four free throws, three rebounds and two assists.

Next up, Northern faced off against Dickinson State in a rematch from two weeks ago and grounded the Blue Hawks.

The Lights opened the first-half with a strong performance and led Dickinson State 48-32 at the half. From there, MSU-N took control and dominated the second-half, putting up 55 points to the Blue Hawk'zs 36, claiming the easy win.

The Lights made 65.6-percent of its field goals, 72.2-percent of its three-pointers and 76.9-percent of its free throws. Northern put up 21 bench-points, 36 rebounds and 28 assists, too. Plus, the standouts in the game put on a show.

Mascio McCadney was electric, making 10-of-11 field goals and 3-of-4 threes for a total of 23 points. Cedric Crutchfield put up four field goals, two free throws, seven rebounds and three assists, while David Harris racked up three field goals, one three, two free throws, six rebounds and seven assists.

With the pair of wins, the Lights continue their undefeated season and improve to 4-0 early in the year. The performances in the McLaughlin Center show just how much the team is ready to make some ruckus in the Frontier Conference this season.

MSU-Northern will face two more teams in another classic, but this time, it will be at home in the Armory Gymnasium. The Lights (4-0) will play Yellowstone Christian College at 8 p.m. Friday and Salish Kootenai College at 6 p.m. Saturday in the American Thanksgiving Classic.

Lights 70, Northwest 65

NWW - Christian Hakilimali 8-16 2-2 18, Dejwan Walker 5-11 1-3 11, Ryan Ricks 4-8 0-3 11, Hussayn Ford 3-11 0-0 9, Cesar Sandoval 1-8 0-3 0-0 5, Jase Paulsen 3-5 3-5 9, Tanner Davis 1-4 0-2 2. Totals: 25-66 6-19.

MSU-N - Kavon Bay 6-14 1-2 15, Adam Huse 6-15 1-6 13, Devin Bray 3-7 2-6 12, Jesse Keltner 5-7 0-0 11, Mascio McCadney 4-12 0-3 8, Cedric Crutchfield 2-2 0-0 4, Gio Jackson 1-2 1-1 4, David Harris 1-2 1-2 3.

3-pointers: NWW 6-19 (Paulsen 3, Hakilimali 2, Walker 1), MSU-N 6-20 (Bray 2, Bey 1, Huse 1, Jackson 1, Harris 1). Rebounds: NWW 36 (Ford 10, Hakilimali 6, Ricks 6, Sandoval 6, Walker 5, Paulsen 2, Davis 1), MSU-N 38 (Bey 10, Crutchfield 7, Keltner 6, McCadney 5, Huse 3, Bray 3, Harris 2, Jackson 1, Other 1). Fouls: NWW 14, MSU-N 13. Fouled out: none.

Lights 103, Dickinson State 68

DSU - Kenny Jackson 5-12 2-5 12, Donte Walker 3-9 2-4 10, Montel Carlow 4-5 2-3 10, Ajdin Toskic 2-7, 2-6 8, Travon Hamilton 3-8 0-2 8, Grant Kohlus 1-2 0-0 5, Nick Wurm 2-5 0-0 4, Malcohm Hill 2-7 0-3 4, Tanner Davidson 1-3 1-3 3, Jalon Tinnin 0-2 0-0 2, Logan Miller 0-1 0-0 2. Totals: 23-61 9-26.

MSU-N - McCadney 10-11 3-4 23, Bey 9-17 1-1 19, Bray 5-6 4-4 16, Huse 5-6 4-5 14, Critchfield 4-7 0-0 10, Harris 3-5 1-3 9, Jackson 2-4 0-0 7, TJ Reynolds 1-3 0-1 3, Keltner 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 40-61 13-18.

3-pointers: DSU 9-26 (Jackson 2, Walker 2, Carlow 2, Toskic 2, Davidson 1), MSU-N 13-18 (Bray 4, Huse 4, McCadney 3, Harris 1, Bey 1). Rebounds: DSU 23 (Hill 6, Toskic 5, Jackson 4, Tinnin 3, Carlow 1, Wurm 1, Hamilton 1, Kohlus 1, Other 1), MSU-N 36 (Crutchfield 7, Bey 6, Harris 6, Keltner 4, Huse 3, McCadney 2, Bray 2, Jackson 2, Reynolds 2, Eddie Harmon 1, Other 1). Fouls: DSU 18, MSU-N 20. Fouled out: none.