Lights hope to turn it around against Carroll, UP

To say the road has not been kind to the Montana State University-Northern Lights would be an understatement. After all, the Lights have suffered three straight road setbacks in Frontier Conference play.

So, it would stand to reason that, Northern (1-5, 11-7) would be pumped to be home for the next four league games, and while that's true, the Lights know, even in the Armory Gymnasium, things won't get any easier.

Tonight, Northern hosts No. 9 Carroll College for the second time in two weeks, and that game will be followed up with a Thursday night tilt against No. 8 Providence.

And while back-to-back games against Top 10 NAIA opponents, who beat the Lights by double-digits is certainly daunting, right now, Northern head coach Shawn Huse is focused on his team, and helping them turn around their rough start to conference play, which included losses at Lewis-Clark State and Montana Tech last weekend.

"The locker room is great. I unequivocally love these guys," Huse said. "It would be easy to sit and whine and cry and play victims in this tough stretch, but our group continues to show better character than that. We are a resilient, positive bunch that continues to spend countless hours learning and working hard together to find solutions, get better at what we do, prep well for our opponents, and find ways to make the breaks go in our favor down the stretch."

Not only does Northern's squad have plenty of fight in character, the Lights still have loads of talent, and a team that can turn things around in a hurry. Mascio McCadney, Kavon Bey and Adam Huse continue to carry the bulk of the offensive load for the Lights, all averaging between 12 and 16 points per night. But junior David Harris has really stepped up his offensive game off the bench as of late, while Cedric Crutchfield gives the Lights an imposing defensive presence in the paint. Devin Bray, Gio Jackson and Jesse Keltner combine to give the Lights another 18 points per night, while Keltner has also been a defensive sparkplug off the bench.

And Northern will need all of its firepower over the next two nights.

The Lights fell to the Fighting Saints (5-1, 14-4) 69-58 two weeks ago in Havre, as Carroll put on an impressive defensive performance, while getting a game-high 26 points from former Havre Blue Pony Dane Warp. The 6-5 Warp, who will be playing his last-ever basketball game in Havre tonight, is on a tear as of late. He's averaging 20 points per game, and he's coming off a weekend which he scored 33 in a triple-overtime win over Rocky Mountain College, a game he sent to overtime with a 3-point buzzer-beater. Warp has also been the catalyst for an otherwise young Carroll team that also includes sophomore double-double machine Jovan Sljivancanin, Dennis Flowers and Shamrock Campbell.

And if Carroll wasn't tough enough, the Lights have to turn right around and face the Argos (4-2, 16-2) Thursday night. It was just two weeks ago that Northern was blown out by the Argos in Great Falls, but since then Providence has lost back-to-back road games, as they, too, fell at both Tech and LC State last weekend.

Still, Providence is an offensive juggernaut, averaging 94 points per game, while shooting better than 44 percent from the 3-point-line. Zach Darko-Kelly leads the Frontier in scoring at 22 points per game, while he also pulls down eight boards per outing. Darko-Kelly also has plenty of help, too, with Brandon Cotton scoring 15 points per night, while Jaxen Hashley (6-7) and Joel Thabize (6-8) are a handful on the interior.

So, with all that in mind, the Lights know the next two Armory nights will be challenging, especially having already seen first-hand how good the Saints and Argos are. But Huse knows his team best, and he believes the Lights can and will turn things around - and there's still plenty of time to do just that.

"It's easy when you are winning, but a stretch like this reveals true character," Huse said. "Our guys have that. I cannot say enough good things about them."

Tonight's game between the Lights and Saints tips off at 8, as does Thursday's battle between Northern and Providence. Both games will be played in the Armory Gymnasium.

Lights (1-5, 11-7) vs #9 Carroll College Fighting Saints (5-1, 14-4) tonight at 8 p.m; vs #8 Providence Argos (4-2, 16-2) Thursday at 8 p.m.

In Armory Gymnasium

Radio: 92.5 KPQX

Streaming: golightsgo.com

Twitter: HavreDaily

Lights Projected Starters

G Gio Jackson, 5-10, Sr., 5 ppg

G Adam Huse, 6-1, Sr., 13 ppg

G Mascio McCadney, 6-3, Jr., 15 ppg

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

F Cedric Crutchfield, 6-8, Sr., 5 rpg, 2 bpg