Lights ready to play three in Phoenix

Last Saturday night was tough for the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team. A gut-wrenching overtime loss to Frontier Conference rival Rocky Mountain College will make it tough.

But the Lights, who fell out of the NAIA Top 25 this week, will look to put the tough loss behind them this weekend with three games in warm and sunny Phoenix.

Northern (6-1) will play in the Cactus Classic, starting with huge game Saturday night against No. 21 Arizona Christian (6-3), the host of the tournament.

"We'll get three really good games in Arizona," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said back in the fall. "Those games down there will be a really good test for where we're at at that point in the season."

The Lights will be tested, but Huse also already knows a lot about his team. MSU-N, which is 1-1 in the Frontier Conference, has been one of the top defensive teams in the NAIA through the first nearly two months of the season. On the other side of the floor, the Lights have an explosive offense, led by the likes of Kavon Bey (18 ppg), Mascio McCadney (14 ppg), Adam Huse, Devin Bray, and the trio of Jesse Keltner, Gio Jackson and David Harris off the bench. Starting center Cedric Crutchfield has also come into his own this fall, and is becoming a big difference-maker for the Lights in the paint.

However, Northern has also gone through some offensive ups and downs this fall. And moving forward, Huse said, his team needs to be a little sharper on the offensive end.

"We need to put the ball in the hole more consistently," he said. "And we know we can. We have a very good offensive team, inside and out. We just need to be more consistent."

The Lights will look to find some of that consistency in Phoenix, as they embark on the remainder of their non-conference schedule.

Saturday night's game against the Firestorm will be a tough one for the Lights. Not only is ACU playing at home, but the Firestorm are always a high-scoring outfit, and they've had success against MSU-N in the past. But it will also be a good game for the Lights to play because it will be similar to another Frontier Conference matchup.

Northern will then get Sunday off, before returning to action Monday against Mount Vernon Nazarene. The Lights will be heavy favorites in that game, but then, they'll take on another NAIA power in Embry-Riddle University. The Eagles are 3-5 on the season, but they've played some tough games so far this season, including NCAA Division I Northern Arizona. And given the league ERAU plays in, it will be another game that will feel like a Frontier battle for the Lights.

And while Northern is back in non-conference play, the full Frontier season is not that far off, so the Lights will look to stay sharp.

When MSU-N returns from Phoenix, the Lights will have Christmas break before the Duck Inn Holiday Classic Dec. 28-29. Northern will finish non-league play with a Jan. 1 game against Concordia of Edmonton. Frontier play resumes Jan. 7 when Northern hosts Carroll College.

At the Cactus Classic, the Lights will face ACU Saturday at 8 p.m., Mount Vernon Nazarene Monday at 4 p.m. and Embry-Riddle Tuesday at 8 p.m.