Waiting: Lights' season-openers against YCC canceled

It was supposed to be an exciting beginning for the Montana State University-Northern Lights. Instead, COVID-19 ended the weekend before it even began.

Such is sports during a global pandemic.

The Lights, of longtime head coach Shawn Huse, were set to open their season last Friday and Saturday against Yellowstone Christian College in the Armory Gymnasium. However, a coronavirus issue within the YCC program forced the cancellation of both games.

Of course, the virus, which is still climbing across the country, will inevitably get in the way of many sporting events this winter, just as it has done with NFL and college football this fall. In just the first weekend of NCAA Division I basketball, more than 41 games across the country were canceled due to COVID-19.

The Frontier Conference, and the NAIA hasn't been exempt either. Montana Western also canceled games this past weekend, as did the Montana Tech women. The Montana Tech men had already canceled scheduled games two weeks ago because of COVID issues in its program, and former Frontier stalwart Lewis-Clark State has seen both its mens and women's programs cancel games already this season, so even with a delayed start, just playing college basketball games right now is a challenge.

And the Lights will have a challenge on their hands as they now have to open Frontier Conference play on the road at Rocky Mountain College, without a single game under their belt. The Battlin' Bears, however, will be in the same boat. While the Bears do get the Lights at home for their first two games, they too will not have played a real game prior to this weekend's season-opening matchups.

Northern and Rocky will open league play Saturday night at 7 p.m. and then again Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Fortin Center in Billings.