Lights cage Bulldogs for second straight Frontier win

Montana State University-Northern head coach Shawn Huse said recently, his team just needed some consistency, and some positive momentum. The Lights certainly may have checked that box Thursday night.

After beating Montana Tech last Saturday in Havre, the Lights made it two Frontier Conference wins in a row for the first time this season when they edged the Montana Western Bulldogs 59-54 Thursday night in Dillon.

The win pushed Northern to 4-7 in conference ahead of three more road games over the next two weeks.

Also impressive was the fact that the Lights trailed by five points at half-time, and overcame a night when they shot just 38 percent from the field and made four 3-pointers. Still, MSU-N's defense was outstanding once again, holding the Bulldogs to 37 percent shooting and 23 percent from beyond the arc. Northern also scored 34 points in the paint, and got 13 points and three triples from senior Adam Huse. Jesse Keltner came off the bench to add 10 points and 10 boards, while Kavon Bey scored 10, as well, and Mascio McCadney chipped in with eight. The Lights also overcame a game-high 27 points from James Jones, as they beat the Dawgs for the second time this season.

And while Northern overcame a five-point deficit at halftime Thursday night, the No. 18 MSU-N Skylights couldn't do the same against the No. 22 Bulldogs in the Straugh Gymnasium.

Northern, which beat the Dawgs back in December, led 14-13 after the first quarter, but trailed 30-27 at the break. From there, Western out scored MSU-N 28-18 for a 58-45 victory.

A struggling offense was the Skylight's undoing Thursday night, as they shot 35 percent from the floor and got out-rebounded 39-31 by the Dawgs, who have now won four straight. The bright spot for the Skylights was Mckenzie Gunter, who returned from injury to score 16 points, while Tiara Gilham added 12. The Dawgs, who shot 41 percent, were led by Paige Holmes' 11 points.

"Our kids battled but we shot it poorly from everywhere, especially in the second half." MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "And we turned it over for too many points. We need to put together a complete effort at both ends. We really struggled to score in the second half. We will have to play much better in Billings if we expect different results."

Both the Skylights (4-7, 15-8) and Lights (4-7, 13-9) will play at Rocky Mountain College Saturday night in Billings.

Western 58, Skylights 45

MSU-Northern 14 13 6 12 - 45

Western 13 17 17 11 - 58

MSU-N - Kenya Lorton 1-7 0-1 2, Reilly Walsh 0-0 0-0 0, Allix Goldhahn 1-6 0-0 2, Jada Nicholson 0-0 0-0 0, Mckenzie Gunter 6-13 3-6 16, Peyton Kehr 4-7 0-0 8, Morgan Mason 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hovde 2-6 1-2 5, Tiara Gilham 5-12 0-1 12, Petra Sellin 0-0 0-0 0, Ryley Kehr 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 4-10 45.

MW - Brynley Fitzgerald 2-7 0-0 4, Natali Denning 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Holmes 5-10 0-0 11, Gracey Meyer 4-10 1-4 9, Shainy Mack 1-3 0-0 2, Lilly Gopher 2-4 0-0 4, Sydney Sheridan 0-3 0-0 0, Shannon Worster 2-8 2-2 6, Jenni Weber 1-2 0-0 3, Savanna Bignell 4-5 0-0 10, Mesa King 2-4 5-6 9. Totals 23-56 8-12 58.

Montana State-Northern .352, Montana Western .411. 3-pt FG:Montana State-Northern 3-16 (Lorton 0-2, Goldhahn 0-5, Gunter 1-3, Gilham 2-5, Kehr 0-1), Montana Western 4-16 (Fitzgerald 0-2, Holmes 1-2, Mack 0-2, Gopher 0-1, Sheridan 0-2, Worster 0-2, Weber 1-2, Bignell 2-3). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 31 (Hovde 10), Montana Western 39 (Fitzgerald 7, Bignell 7). Fouls Montana State-Northern 12, Montana Western 13. Fouled out: none.

Lights 59, Western 54

MSU - Gio Jackson 1-2 2-2 4, David Harris 1-4 0-0 2, Mascio McCadney 2-10 3-6 8, Adam Huse 5-10 0-0 13, Jesse Keltner 5-8 0-0 10, Kavon Bey 5-17 0-1 10, Devin Bray 2-3 2-2 6, Cedric Crutchfield 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 23-59 9-13 59.

MW - Max Clark 1-5 1-2 3, Cedric Boone 3-15 0-0 7, Davonte Eason 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Haverfield 1-5 0-0 2, James Jones 11-22 1-2 27, Brian Howell 1-5 0-0 2, Derrek Durocher 1-2 0-0 3, Connor Burkhart 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 23-62 2-4 54.

Halftime: Western 29-24. 3-pt FG:Montana State-Northern 4-11 (Harris 0-1, McCadney 1-3, Huse 3-4, Keltner 0-1, Bey 0-1, Bray 0-1), Montana Western 6-26 (Clark 0-3, Boone 1-9, Haverfield 0-2, Jones 4-7, Howell 0-2, Durocher 1-2, Burkhart 0-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 39 (Keltner 10), Montana Western 32 (Haverfield 7). Fouls Montana State-Northern 3, Montana Western 13. Fouled out: Haverfield.