Lights return to Frontier play against Carroll

Since the Montana State University-Northern Lights and Carroll College Fighting Saints play each other twice in Havre this season, tonight won't be the final homecoming for Carroll's Dane Warp - the former Havre Blue Pony great. But, for both Warp's Saints, and the host Lights, tonight's game is a big one, no doubt.

Frontier Conference play resumes this week, and for the Lights, it starts with tonight's showdown with No. 23 Carroll (2-0, 11-3) in the Armory Gymnasium. The game tips off at 8, and is the first of two matchups between the two rivals in a 15-day span.

Tonight's game is also the first conference game for the Lights (1-1, 11-3) since their epic overtime battle with Rocky Mountain College last month. Since then, Northern finished non-conference play with four dominant wins in a row, and that has veteran head coach Shawn Huse liking how his team has progressed.

"A lot of the good stuff that makes us a pretty good team," Huse said following the four-game win streak. "I like what we're doing for the most part."

The Lights are doing good things as January dawns, and Frontier plays stays for good. Northern is currently No. 2 in the NAIA in scoring defense, allowing just 66 points per game, and the Lights are third in the country defending the 3-pointer. MSU-N is also a Top 10 team nationally in defensive rebounding, while on the other side of the coin, the Lights lead the country in assist to turnover ratio, while Kavon Bey is scoring 16 points per game, Adam Huse, who recently became a 1,000-point club member, averages 12, and leads the Frontier with his five assists per night. Mascio McCadney is also pouring in 14 points per night, while Cedric Crutchfield averages eight rebounds and 2 blocks per outing, and the bench trio of Gio Jackson, Jesse Keltner and David Harris are giving the Lights an additional 27 points per game.

Of course, as much talent and depth as the Lights have, Carroll will present all kinds of challenges. The Saints, who score 84 points per game, have a superstar tandem in Warp and sophomore Jovan Siljvancanin (6-5). Both standouts average 19 points per night, while Siljvancanin is averaging 11 rebounds to go with it. Both stars shoot better than 47 percent from the three, and better than 50 percent from the field, and they're complimented by young guards Dennis Flowers and Shamrock Campbell, who combine to score 20 more points for head coach Kurt Paulson's team.

"They (Saints) are playing very well and have the capability to score inside, out, and off the bounce," coach Huse said. "Getting stops will be a challenge but we do like our defensive capability this year."

Both teams play defense at a high level, but tonight's game will likely be a high-scoring affair. And while the Lights have gotten off to a great start this season so, too, have the Saints, who some projected to fall back after making a run all the way to the national championship game. But, with Warp and Siljvancanin putting up monster numbers, Carroll appears ready to fight for its Frontier throne again this season. And, they are just another example of how tough this Frontier season is going to be.

"It will be interesting to see how it plays out," Huse said. "There are no easy nights off in the Frontier - that's the one thing I feel everyone in this league can bank on."

Tonight's game between Northern and Carroll tips at 8 inside the Armory Gymnasium. Northern heads out on the road to take on Providence Thursday night.

#RV Lights (1-1, 11-3) vs #23 Carroll College Fighting Saints (2-0, 11-3)

tonight at 8 p.m.

In Armory Gymnasium

Radio: 92.5 KPQX

Streaming: golightsgo.com

Twitter: HavreDaily

Lights Projected Starters

G Devin Bray, 5-10, Sr., 8 ppg

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

G Mascio McCadney, 6-3, Jr., 14 ppg

F Kavon Bey, 6-6, Sr. 15 ppg

F Cedric Crutchfield, 6-8, Sr., 7 rpg, 2 bpg