Lights close with a big win

With the regular season ending, the Montana State University-Northern Lights basketball team had a chance to host a home playoff game to start off the postseason.

All Northern had to do was get through tough Frontier rivals in the Carroll College Fighting Saints and the University of Providence Argos.

The task ahead of the Lights was difficult, and Northern put up a big fight over the weekend, losing to the No. 17 Saints Friday in the Carroll PE Center, 61-57 and then beating the No. 10 Argos Saturday 65-61 in the McLaughlin Center to split the weekend.

In the loss to Carroll, MSU-Northern head coach Shawn Huse knew what went sour in the game.

“We missed great looks down the stretch, gave them an opening, and they took advantage of it,” Huse said. “Credit them for making the big shots and getting to the foul line when they needed to. Tough, tough night for us after playing so well and being in control for so long.”

The Lights started off the game against the Saints down 0-7 after Havre-native Carroll senior Dane Warp dropped some opening points. But then David Harris and Adam Huse helped propel Northern forward, while Ifeanyi Okeke pushed back for the Saints.

Devin Bray and Mascio McCadney gave the Lights a good boost toward the end of the first half, while Adam Huse and Kavon Bey followed up with baskets of their own. Meanwhile, Warp and Dennis Flowers III worked to keep Carroll in it, but Bey, Huse and Gio Jackson added more points for MSU-Northern, who led 33-24 at halftime.

Adam Huse and Bey opened the second half with some field goals, while Jovan Sljivancanin and Okeke fought back for the Saints. Harris and Flowers added buckets for their respective teams, while Jesse Keltner and Warp worked hard in their own ways.

Flowers continued to drive Carroll within striking distance, while the Lights pushed ahead to keep the lead. That is when Warp went off, sinking basket after basket to help give the Saints the comeback win.

Adam Huse had a huge game against the Saints with 20 points, while David Harris scored 16.

The Friday loss was tough for Northern, but the win over Providence Saturday gave them a good confidence boost going into the postseason.

Once again, though, the Lights started down 8-0, after Zaccheus Darko-Kelly and Jaxen Hashley opened the game strong for the Argos. Adam Huse. Bey and Harris then started to drive Northern forward. After a lot of back and forth baskets, McCadney and Bray helped the Lights push ahead at halftime 34-30.

Bey opened the second half with some points, while Darko-Kelly drove forward for the Argos. Providence tied the score quite a few times, but McCadney and Gio Jackson kept the forward push to stay ahead. Darko-Kelly hit a field goal, Bray jumped ahead with a 3-pointer and the Argos tied it with 1:16 left. Harris made two quick free throws to lead, and McCadney dropped the hammer to cap off the win for MSU-Northern.

The victory was big as the Lights had lost two tough games to the Argos earlier this season. However, it wasn't enough to get Northern the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, as Montana Tech swept the weekend and finished 10-8.

Now, after splitting the weekend, the Lights (9-9, 19-11) will head down to Butte to open the Frontier Conference playoffs against the Montana Tech Orediggers Tuesday.

Lights 65, Providence 61

UP - Zaccheus Darko-Kelly 10-23 1-8 25, Jaxen Hashley 8-12 0-0 17, Brandon Cotton 2-7 1-3 9, Dawson Fowler 1-3 0-1 3, Rashee Stocks 1-9 0-3 2, Joel Thabize 2-3 1-2 5. Totals: 24-60 3-20.

MSU-N - Mascio McCadney 4-10 0-2 11, Jesse Keltner 5-5 0-0 11, Gio Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Devin Bray 3-7 2-5 9, Adam Huse 3-11 2-6 9, Kavon Bey 6-14 2-3 14, David Harris 2-4 1-1 9. Totals: 24-54 7-17.

3-pointers: PROV 3-20 (Darko-Kelly 1, Cotton 1, Thabize 1), MSU-N 7-17 (Bey 2, Huse 2. Harris 1, Bray 2). Rebounds: PROV 36 (Darko-Kelly 8, Hashley 15, Cotton 2, Fowler 3, Stocks 5, Thabize 3), MSU-N 31 (Bey 3, McCadney 3, Huse 7, Harris 5, Crutchfield 2, Keltner 8, Bray 1, Jackson 2). Fouls: PROV 16, MSU-N 17. Fouled out: none.

Carroll College 61, Lights 57

CC - Dane Warp 7-14 2-4 20, Ifeanyi Okeke 7-8 1-1 19, Dennis Flowers III 4-9 0-1 12, Jovan Sljivancanin 3-7 0-1 7, Shamrock Campbell 1-4 0-3 2, Brendan Temple 0-0 0-0 1. Totals: 22-47 3-12.

MSU-N - Mascio McCadney 3-10 0-3 6, Jesse Keltner 2-3 0-0 4, Gio Jackson 1-3 1-2 3, Devin Bray 1-2 1-2 3, Adam Huse 7-12 6-9 20, Kavon Bey 1-7 0-2 2, David Harris 7-13 2-6 16, Cedric Crutchfield 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 23-53 10-24.

3-pointers: CC 3-12 (Okeke 1, Warp 2), MSU-N 10-24 (Huse 6, Harris 2, Jackson 1, Bray 1). Rebounds: CC 37 (Warp 4, Okeke 9, Flowers III 3, Sljivancanin 8, Campbell 2, Temple 1, Gaven Ramirez 2), MSU-N 21 (Huse 2, Harris 4, McCadney 3, Crutchfield 4, Bey 3, Keltner 4, Jackson 1). Fouls: CC 12, MSU-N 15. Fouled out: Kavon Bey.