Lights come up short at UP in Frontier semifinals

Perhaps no one played the University of Providence Argos tougher than the Montana State University-Northern Lights did this season. And, in the Frontier Conference semifinals, the Lights, the only team to beat UP at home this season, once again gave the Argos all they could handle.

However, UP has Zach Darko-Kelly, and with the Argos clinging to a three-point lead, and the shot clock about to expire, Darko-Kelly rose up and nailed an 18-foot jumper with :40 left to seal a 63-56 win for the Argos in the McLaughlin Center, bringing Northern's season to an end.

"I am just very proud of our entire group," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "We really came together down the stretch after so many gut punches all year, and a key injury. Our group immediately talked after the game about the momentum we built, and already cannot wait to get back to work for next season ... when things can hopefully be normal, or very close to normal, once again."

Huse should be proud of his guys. The Lights led early, before trailing 32-29 at halftime. And inspite of making just one 3-pointer all night, the Lights were in position to steal one from the Argos down the stretch, that is until Darko-Kelly, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, made the biggest shot of the night.

On the other end, Northern struggled from beyond the arc, but did get 21 points from David Harris, 11 from C.J. Nelson and nine by Jesse Keltner as they finished with an 8-12 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the final regular season standings.

"Credit Providence for the win as they somehow found a way to get more points on the board," Huse said. "They are certainly a tough team to get and keep an advantage on. With that said, I felt like we executed very well on both ends and maybe even played the better overall game. We just picked a bad night to shoot a horrible percentage."

While the Lights' season ended in Great Falls, the No. 9 Argos will now look to win their first conference championship when they host Carroll College in the Frontier championship game Tuesday night in Great Falls.

Providence 63, Lights 56

Semifinal

MSU-N - Jesse Keltner 3-7 3-6 9, Jomel Boyd 3-5 0-0 6, David Harris 10-20 1-1 21, Masco McCadney 3-13 0-0 6, CJ Nelson 3-10 4-5 11, Naykel Shelton 0-2 1-2 1, Aaron Collins 0-4 0-0 0, Allen Sims 1-4 0-0 2, TJ Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-65 9-14.

UP - Zach Darko-Kelly 5-14 7-8 18, Marcus Stephens 2-13 5-5 10, Dawson Fowler 1-4 0-0 3, Cap Uzan 5-8 1-2 11, Jaxen Hashley 2-3 00-0 5, David Williams-Harris 1-5 0-0 2, Rshaee Stocks 3-7 1-1 8, Jake Olsen 2-2 2-2 6. Totals: 21-56 16-18.

Halftime: 32-29 Providence. 3-pointers: MSU-N 1-25 (Nelson 1), UP 5-19 (Darko-Kelly 1, Stephens 1, Fowler 1, Ashley 1, Stocks 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 32 (Harris 6), UP 43 (Darko-Kelly 9). Fouls: MSU-N 15, UP 15. Fouled out: None.