Lights beat Orediggers in Frontier playoffs

In the final stretches of the 2020 Frontier Conference regular season, perhaps no two teams had been hotter than Montana Tech and the Montana State University-Northern Lights. So, it was only fitting that they met in the first round of the 2020 Frontier playoffs.

And for the second time in three weeks, it was the Lights who found a way to get out of the HPER in Butte with a win — only this time, it was a huge, keep-the-season-alive win.

Tuesday night in Butte, Northern came back to beat the Orediggers 66-49 in the Frontier quarterfinals. The win pushed the Lights into the Frontier semifinals, where they'll head west to take on top-seeded Lewis-Clark State Friday night.

"I am just so proud of our guys doing it with one of our main players out," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "This was a huge gut check in a hostile environment and we found a way. Tech is a tough out, they put you in some tough situations, and have great players to defend. We knew we’d have to work to get this one and did just that. We have played great basketball the last 13 or so games this year, and we just want to keep that rolling.

Indeed. The Lights trailed the Orediggers for a pretty good chunk of Tuesday's game, including 34-29 at intermission. And with 13 minutes left, Northern was down by seven points, and Tech seemed to have all the momentum and a raucous home crowd on its side.

And yet, a veteran Northern team that has now won eight of its last 10 games, never got shook. Instead, the Lights quickly reeled off a 12-0 run, overtook the Orediggers and led by 10 points with two minutes to go. From there, Northern put the game on ice, as well as eclipsing the 20-win plateau in the process.

Northern's success came on the heels of a great defensive effort, as the Lights allowed Tech just one 3-pointer in the second half, as well as holding the Diggers to just 35 percent shooting. Offensively, junior David Harris scored a career-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds, as he got the start for the injured Kavon Bey. Harris was 10-of-17 from the field, as well as hitting on three treys. Adam Huse and Devin Bray also combined for four more threes while Jesse Keltner chipped in with 10 points off bench. Keltner was big in the post, too, as the Lights won the battle of the boards 41-35 and scored 28 points in the paint.

Now Northern will stay out on the road, traveling to Lewiston, Idaho, to face regular season champion LC State with a spot in the Frontier championship on the line. That game is set for Friday night, as is the other semifinal between second-seeded Carroll College and third-seeded Providence.

Lights 66, Montana Tech 59

MSU-N — Devin Bray 2-4 3-4 9, Adam Huse 5-10 2-2 14, Cedric Crutchfield 0-2 0-0 0, Mascio McCadney 0-10 1-2 1, T.J. Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Keltner 5-11 0-0 10, David Harris 10-17 4-4 27, Gio Jackson 2-5 1-4 5, Eddie Harmon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 11-16 66.

MT — William Mytty 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor England 4-12 4-4 13, Christian Jones 3-5 0-0 8, Drew Huse 2-8 3-6 7, Troy Owens Jr. 1-9 0-0 3, Connor Kieckbusch 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Baumstarck 2-3 2-4 6, Sindou Diallo 10-16 2-4 22. Totals 22-54 11-18 59.

Halftime: Tech 34-29. 3-pt FG:Montana State-Northern 7-18 (Bray 2-3, Huse 2-4, McCadney 0-4, Harris 3-7), Montana Tech 4-12 (England 1-1, Jones 2-3, Huse 0-1, Owens Jr. 1-5, Kieckbusch 0-1, Diallo 0-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 41 (Harris 10), Montana Tech 35 (Baumstarck 12). Fouls Montana State-Northern 14, Montana Tech 16. Fouled out: Keltner.