Providence thwarts a gutsy comeback effort by MSU-N

Every win in the Frontier Conference is big. And when the Montana State University-Northern Lights beat No. 9 Carroll College Wednesday night, it was really big.

And playing a Top 10 team for the second straight night, the Lights nearly got an even bigger victory. Unfortunately, the No. 8 University of Providence Argos had something to say about that as Zach Darko-Kelly scored an old-fashioned 3-point play with two minutes to go, forcing the Lights to try a couple of game-tying shots that went for naught in a 66-61 Argo win Thursday night in the Armory Gymnasium.

It was a tough loss for the Lights, who fell to 2-6 in the Frontier, but it also showed how much fight Northern has. The Lights lost to the Argos by 30 points just two weeks ago, and were down double-digits again in the second half Thursday night, before they fought back and had a chance to tie the game in the final minute after Mascio McCadney made a clutch 3-pointer, and a driving layup.

"Absolutely proud of my team," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "We've had a lot of tough, disappointing moments this season, and still these guys come right back and fight their tails off. They kept fighting and battling, and never gave in."

The Lights did show heart, because the Argos started strong.

Northern's David Harris hit a couple of big shots early in the first half, but eventually, Darko-Kelly got hot, and Jacob Wetzel buried four three's to help Providence go on an 11-0 run. Behind a big spark from Gio Jackson, MSU-N bounced right back, but Darko-Kelly scored the last eight points of the half, sending UP into the lockerroom with a 41-33 edge.

Darko-Kelly continued his strong play early in the second, and Providence led by 10 with 10 minutes to go. From there, though, the Lights started to chip away with big shots from Devin Bray, McCadney and Harris down the stretch. That, coupled with some great defense, gave Northern a chance at the end, including a look at a game-tying three with :18 to go. However, the shot didn't fall, and the Argos iced the game at the foul line, but Huse was still proud of the comeback effort.

"Give Providence all the credit," Huse said. "They came in here and had to grind tonight, because I thought our effort was great, I thought we were really good defensively, again tonight. So Providence had to grind, and they did that, they made the plays that mattered most. They're a very good team."

Defensively, the Lights held the high-scoring Argos to nearly 30 points under their season average, though Darko-Kelly scored a game-high 20 points, while Jaxen Hashley added 15 points and nine boards, and made two clutch free throws in the final seconds. On the other end, Northern got 14 points from Bey, 12 from Jackson and 11 by McCadney in what was a solid effort on both ends of the floor.

And at the end of the night, effort was what Huse was so pleased with, and will carry the Lights (12-8) moving forward. Northern is back home next Friday against Lewis-Clark State and Saturday against Montana Tech.

"It was a gutty effort by our guys," Huse said. "For them to come back on short rest after such a tough game last night, get behind and then fight all the way back and give us a chance to beat a very good Providence team, I'm just tickled about that. I love this team, they have so much fight and so much character, and they showed that both nights this week. I know we didn't get the win tonight, but I'm so proud of this team."

Lights are 2-6 in Frontier, 12-8 overall; Next Up: vs LC State Friday

Providence 66. Lights 61

UP - Jacob Wetzel 4-7 0-0 12, Jaxen Hashley 6-11 3-3 15, Brandon Cotton 3-10 0-0 7, Caleb Currington 0-0 0-0 0, Dawson Fowler 0-3 4-4 4, Joel Thabize 3-5 1-2 8, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly 8-22 3-3 20. Totals 24-58 11-12 66.

MSU-N - Gio Jackson 3-6 4-4 12, David Harris 3-8 1-1 8, Mascio McCadney 5-9 0-1 11, Adam Huse 1-9 2-2 5, Jesse Keltner 1-1 0-0 3, Kavon Bey 6-8 2-2 14, Devin Bray 3-8 0-0 6, Cedric Crutchfield 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 22-52 11-12 61.

Halftime: Providence 41-33. 3-pt FG:Providence (Mont.) 7-22 (Wetzel 4-6, Hashley 0-2, Cotton 1-4, Fowler 0-1, Thabize 1-1, Darko-Kelly 1-8), Montana State University- 6-22 (Jackson 2-4, Harris 1-4, McCadney 1-3, Huse 1-7, Keltner 1-1, Bey 0-1, Bray 0-2). Rebounds: Providence (Mont.) 33 (Hashley 9), Montana State University- 26 (Jackson 5, McCadney 5, Huse 5). Fouls Providence (Mont.) 15, Montana State University- 15. Fouled out: Thabize Keltner . Technical: Darko-Kelly.