Lights throttle Vikings during Duck Inn Holiday Classic

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team was looking to out a big shiny bow on the holidays. And that's exactly what they did in two games inside the Armory Gymnasium.

The Lights faced off against the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings in the Armory Saturday and Sunday as part of the Duck Inn Holiday Classic. Northern swept the Vikings, with a win 96-42 Saturday and a 104-70 victory Sunday.

MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse was glad his team put up a good fight throughout the weekend against Alberta-Augustana.

“I thought we did a pretty good job,” said Huse. “We certainly showed some rust and some goofy moments out there but that’s the point. We’ll have to be sharper in some areas to play great against conference opposition. But that’s the point of this. Our guys have been off for nine days and that’s why we want to get this work in to shake off the rust.”

The Lights soared to a big start in Saturday’s game against the Vikings, with Mascio McCadney, Kavon Bey and Adam Huse leading the charge. On the other side, Griffen Lorenz and Nathan Bowie drove to keep Alberta-Augustana in the game. Northern led early on 21-8.

As the first half continued, David Harris, Bey, Adam Huse and Gio Jackson dominated to give the Lights a 35-point lead at halftime while the Northern defense disrupted much of the UAA offensive attack. The Vikings tried to push but many shots got away from them. The Lights kept up the good lead at 56-21 at the half.

MSU-Northern did not let up in the second half, tearing up the court and extending its lead even further. As the Lights’ lead pushed to 85-34, freshmen Eddie Harmon, a former Turner player, and T.J. Reynolds got some playing time on the court. As Northern drove its score to 93 points, Harmon sunk a 3-pointer to cap off the big game for the Lights.

There were still many challenges against Alberta-Augustana over the weekend that coach Huse was glad came their way.

“Alberta-Augustana is having a good season this year,” said coach Huse. “They certainly showed what they can do. They really pushed us and made us pay for some silly things. That’s what you want, and I’m pleased that they were giving it to us and making us do things the right way to gain control of the contest.”

McCadney and Bey led all scores for the Lights with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

The game Sunday was a lot more intense to start. Northern and Augustana battled with toughness. The Lights started down a few points in the opening minutes but Devin Bray dropped a shot and two 3-pointers, alongside other Northern players making big shots, to take the lead back at 33-25.

From there, Bey put up a six point run while Bray and McCadney, who had two dunks on the day, put up more great shots. The Lights took a decent lead at the end of the first half 58-39. The second half proved to be another huge game.

Adam Huse Bey, Harris, McCadney, Harmon and Reynolds all put in major work for Northern, driving the Lights to put up a big number at the end of the game. The 104-70 victory certainly felt great for MSU-Northern.

But what feels even better is knowing that Adam Huse now has 1,000 points in his career as a Light. Sunday’s game, where Huse put up 14 points, led him to hit the milestone.

Shawn Huse said he is proud of the work the senior put in in his time at MSU-Northern.

“I didn’t realize it was going to happen this weekend,” said Shawn Huse. “It just goes to show you what kind of player he is. That’s not an easy thing to do in college basketball. He did it very quietly just as Adam Huse does. He makes so many good things happen with his basketball IQ out there, which you kind of overlook at times. He is aware of his capabilities but at the same time he does things that sneak up on you, just as that 1,000th point snuck up on all of us.”

Along with Huse's big game Sunday, McCadney poured in a game-high 22 points, while Bey added 20.

Next up, Northern will face another competitor across the Northern border, the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder. The Lights (10-3) will play the game against the Thunder Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium.

Lights 96, Alberta-Augustana 42

UAA — Michael Stasuik 1-5 0-3 3, Spencer Marion 2-2 0-0 4, Nathan Bowie 2-9 0-3 6, Dane Philipenko 1-4 0-0 3, Austin Brulotte 2-11 0-4 4, Ryan Degner 2-3 0-0 4, Calen Dubuc 1-4 0-2 3, Josh Lawal 2-3 0-1 4, Elijah Schmuland 2-5 0-0 4, Griffin Lorenz 3-11 1-5 7. Totals: 18-65 1-18.

MSU-N — Kavon Bey 7-17 1-2 15, Cedric Crutchfield 2-7 0-0 4, Gio Jackson 5-8 2-3 12, Mascio McCadney 6-14 3-6 17, Adam Huse 4-8 2-6 12, David Harris 6-9 3-5 15, Jesse Keltner 2-5 0-0 7, Eddie Harmon 1-4 1-3 3, Devin Bray 3-6 3-6 9, TJ Reynolds 1-4 0-3 2. Totals: 37-82 15-34.

3-pointers: UAA 1-18 (Lorenz 1), MSU-N 15-34 (Bey 1, Jackson 2, McCadney 3, Huse 2, Keltner 3). Rebounds: UAA 30 (Stasuik 4, Marion 3, Bowie 3, Philipenko 4, Degner 2, Dubuc 2, Lawal 1, Harder 5, Schmuland 1, Lorenz 4, Team 1), MSU-N 59 (Bey 12, Crutchfield 9, Jackson 10, McCadney 4, Huse 3, Harris 3, Keltner 7, Harmon 2, Bray 5, Reynolds 4). Fouls: UAA 9, MSU-N 6. Fouled out: none.

Lights 104, Alberta-Augustana 70

UAA — Michael Stasuik 1-5 0-3 3, Spencer Marion 1-2 0-0 2, Nathan Bowie 5-12 0-0 13, Dane Philipenko 3-4 1-1 9, Austin Brulotte 3-10 2-5 8, Ryan Degner 1-3 1-3 3, Calen Dubuc 1-2 0-1 2, Josh Lawal 4-6 0-0 13, Elijah Schmuland 3-8 1-3 7, Nicholas Harder 3-8 0-0 6, Griffin Lorenz 3-7 1-2 7. Totals: 27-62 9-22.

MSU-N — Kavon Bey 9-12 2-5 20, Cedric Crutchfield 5-12 0-0 10, Gio Jackson 0-2 0-2 1, Mascio McCadney 10-14 2-4 22, Adam Huse 6-9 2-4 14, David Harris 5-10 1-5 13, Jesse Keltner 3-4 0-0 6, Eddie Harmon 1-4 1-4 3, Devin Bray 6-10 3-7 15. Totals: 45-79 11-32.

3-pointers: UAA 9-22 (Schmuland 1, Bowie 3, Philipenko 1, Brulotte 2, Degner 1, Lorenz 1), MSU-N 11-32 (Bey 2, Harris 1, McCadney 2, Huse 2, Harmon 1, Bray 3). Rebounds: UAA 30 (Schmuland 9, Marion 2, Bowie 4, Philipenko 1, Degner 2, Dubuc 2, Lawal 4, Harder 3, Lorenz 3), MSU-N 41 (Bey 7, Crutchfield 9, Harris 6, McCadney 4, Huse 4, Jackson 1, Keltner 7, Harmon 1, Bray 1, Reynolds 1). Fouls: UAA 14, MSU-N 7. Fouled out: Nicholas Harder.