Lights lose exhibition game to the Griz

While it was just an exhibition game, the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team had a big matchup against the University of Montana Tuesday night. On the road at Dahlberg Arena, the Lights played a tough game against the Griz as they kept it within single digits in the second half. The Griz ultimately pulled out the 63-51 win over the Lights, but MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse liked his team's effort against a Big Sky opponent.

"I was just very proud of our guys and the fight they put forth," Huse said. "That game could have gone either way after halftime. Our guys battled back, corrected their mistakes, and showed the great character they have."

Against the Griz, the Lights shot 33.9 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from the 3-point line. The Lights made 100 percent of their attempts at the free-throw line, but they only had four trips there. Tanner McCliment-Call led the team with 14 points as he went 6-for-12 from the field.

The Griz shot 40.7 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep. At the free-throw line, the Griz made the difference in the game as they went 12-for-16. Josh Bannan recorded a double-double for the Griz as he led the team with 15 points and 12 rebounds. While the Griz got their opportunities, Huse believes the Lights did enough on defense to give themselves a chance in the game.

"Montana definitely did a good job of being patient and pounding it inside, but I thought we did extremely well at not allowing anything easy," Huse said. "If we had a little better first half, we may have had a good chance down the stretch."

Through most of the first half, the Lights and Griz went back and forth. After Bannan opened the game with a 3-pointer to take the lead, Jesse Keltner made a pair of jumpers to give the Lights a 4-3 lead. After the Griz retook the lead, McCliment-Call knocked down a shot to give the Lights a 6-5 lead. The Griz responded with a 7-4 run to take a 12-10 lead just past the halfway point of the first half.

The Griz and Lights continued to exchange runs. The Griz went on a run with a three from Jaxon Nap and a jumper from Bannan to take a 17-10. McCliment-Call responded with a jumper and Zackry Martinez knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 17-15.

The Griz took control with a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to 23-15. Bannan got the run started with a bucket and Josh Vazquez knocked down a three and a free throw. Keltner made some free throws and McCliment-Call knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 25-20.

Over the rest of the half, the Griz began to pull away. Over the last two minutes of the half, the Griz went on an 8-0 run to take a 33-20 lead into the half. Jonathan Brown got in on the action as he made a three and dunk during this run.

In the second half, the Griz could not put the Lights away. Martinez and C.J. Nelson made a pair of threes to cut their deficit to 34-26. After the Griz stretched their lead to 11 points, Anthony Braggs Jr. made a three and McCliment-Call knocked down a jumper to cut the Griz's lead to 37-31.

Just past the halfway point of the second half, the Griz built themselves a 49-39 lead. But the Lights continued to stay with it as Keltner and Dae'Kwon Watson made a couple of buckets to cut the deficit to 49-43.

The Lights were never able to make it closer. The Griz again built an 11-point lead as they led, 58-47, late in the game. Martinez and Nelson made some layups to cut the deficit to 58-51, but the Griz knocked down some shots and held the Lights scoreless to secure the win.

Since it was an exhibition game, the loss does not count toward the Lights' record as they remain undefeated with a 6-0 mark through their non-conference schedule. But the Griz are a Big Sky opponent, so the Lights have plenty to learn from this game as they move forward into their conference schedule this winter.

"We have a lot to be proud of and take away from this game moving forward," Huse said. "We know the most important parts of our season lie ahead and that we need to get back to work and use this experience down the road."

The MSU-N men's basketball team will next play in their first Frontier Conference game of the season when it heads down to Great Falls to play the University of Providence Dec. 1.

Montana 63, MSU-Northern 51

MSU-N - 20 31 - 51

Montana - 33 30 - 63

MSU-N - Tanner McCliment-Call 6-12 0-0 14, Zackry Martinez 4-10 2-2 12, Jesse Keltner 4-9 2-2 10, Anthony Braggs Jr. 3-4 0-0 8, CJ Nelson 2-8 0-0 5, Dae'Kwon Watson 1-5 0-0 2, Myles Dalton 0-4 0-0 0, Immanuel Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Micaiah Hauser 0-1 0-0 0, TJ Reynolds 0-2 0-0 0, Jacob Randall 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 4-4.

UM - Josh Bannan 5-12 4-5 15, Dischon Thomas 6-13 1-2 14, Jonathan Brown 5-7 2-2 13, Josh Vazquez 2-10 2-2 8, Lonnell Martin 2-5 1-1 6, Jaxon Nap 2-4 1-2 6, Laolu Oke 0-2 1-2 1, Mack Anderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 12-16.

Halftime: UM 33-20. 3-pointers: MSU-N 7-27 (Zackry Martinez 2, Anthony Braggs Jr. 2, Tanner McCliment-Call 2), UM 7-20 (Josh Vazquez 2, Lonnell Martin 1, Josh Bannan 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 32 (Jesse Keltner 5), UM 40 (Josh Bannan 12). Fouls: MSU-N 11, UM 6. Fouled Out: None.