Lights, Skylights lose close games to Providence

On Thursday night in Great Falls, both the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams played against the University of Providence to begin their Frontier Conference seasons. While both teams played tough games against the Argonauts, the Skylights could not complete their comeback as they lost, 66-59, while the Lights fell, 82-77, in double overtime.

In their game, the Lights went back and forth with the Argos. Through most of the first half, the Lights and Argos often exchanged points and the lead. But with the game tied, 26-26, late in the half, the Argos went on a 9-2 run to end the half. Kenny Curtis got hot as he nailed a trio of 3-pointers to help the Argos take a 37-28 lead into the break.

The Argos maintained their momentum through most of the second half. Near the halfway point of the second half, the Argos were in control as they had stretched their lead to 53-34. The Lights began to claw their way back, but the Argos still held a 60-45 lead with just over six minutes left in the game.

But the Lights found a surge down the stretch as they went on a 9-0 run with Myles Dalton leading the way with five points during the run. After the Argos scored to push their lead to 63-57 with about two and a half minutes left, the Lights did not give up. Dalton knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 63-60 with just over a minute left. Then with 19 seconds left in regulation, Tanner McCliment-Call knocked down a three to tie the game. The Argos then missed back-to-back layups to send the game to overtime.

After letting the game get away from them, the Argos played strong through most of overtime to push their lead to 69-64. But the Lights continued to battle as a layup from Jesse Keltner and a three from Zackry Martinez tied the game, 69-69, to force another overtime period.

Dalton got rolling with four points as he helped the Lights build a 75-73 lead with just under two minutes left in the second overtime period. But the Lights could not hold on as Sam Vining scored to tie the game and then Eric Milner made a layup to give the Argos the lead with 38 seconds left. After the Northern turnover, the Argos knocked down their free throws to put the game away.

The Lights shot 36.7 percent from the field and 28 percent from deep in the game. Martinez and Dalton each scored 14 points in the game while Keltner and Immanuel Anderson both recorded a double-double in scoring and rebounding in the contest. The Argos shot 38 percent from the field as Curtis led the way with 29 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 shooting from deep.

"They shot the ball better than we did and that was pretty much the difference in the end," MSU-N men's basketball head coach Shawn Huse said. "They do a good job of making things tough with all their dribble penetration. That said, I thought our defense was pretty special. I was certainly proud of our effort on one hand. The guts our guys showed was phenomenal."

The Skylights also played in a close game on Thursday night, but just like the Lights they were unable to pull out the victory. Early in the game, the Skylights kept it close. With seconds remaining in the opening quarter, the Skylights only trailed 18-14. But in the closing moments of the quarter, Brooklyn Harn made a layup to give the Skylights a 20-14 lead.

In the second quarter, the Argos took control to take a 39-22 lead into halftime. Along with the solid shooting for the Argos during this stretch, MSU-N women's basketball head coach Chris Mouat believes the Argos dominated the boards as well.

"We dug ourselves too big a hole in the first half," Mouat said. "They made big shots and we had a hard time getting a shot. When they missed their shots, they cleaned (the boards) up and then scored"

The Skylights played better in the third quarter, but they still trailed, 55-40, heading into the final quarter. The Argos continued to play well to stretch their lead to 61-43 early in the fourth quarter.

But with time running out, the Skylights came back with a 14-0 run. Briaunna McCullough scored six points during this stretch to help the Skylights cut their deficit to 61-57 with just under two minutes remaining in the game.

After giving up 14 unanswered points, the Argos finally put an end to the run with a 3-pointer from Reed Hazard. After a bucket in response from McCullough, Hazard made a layup in the closing seconds to close it out for the Argos.

"Our kids showed some grit and toughness and fight in the second half and gave themselves a chance to get back in the game," Mouat said. "It was a tale of two halves but I think their cushion was comfortable enough."

The Skylights finished the game shooting 32.8 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from deep and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. McCullough led the Skylights with 22 points on 6-for-18 shooting from the field and 8-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Shyan Krass recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Both the Lights and Skylights start Frontier Conference play with a 0-1 record. The Lights are now 6-1 overall on the season and the Skylights are 3-3. Both teams will now return home to Armory Gymnasium this Saturday to play Carroll College. The Skylights will tip off at 2 p.m. while the Lights will tip off at 4 p.m.

Providence 66, MSU-Northern 59

MSU-N - 14 8 18 19 - 59

UP - 20 19 16 11 - 66

MSU-N -Briaunna McCullough 6-18 8-10 22, Shyan Krass 3-11 4-4 10, Sydney Hanson 4-5 0-2 10, Taya Trottier 3-8 2-2 8, Savannah Toms 2-9 0-0 4, Dulci SkunkCap 1-2 0-0 3, Ryley Kehr 1-4 0-0 2, Jalen Callender 0-2 0-0 0, Rachel Van Blaricom 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 14-18.

UP - Reed Hazard 7-16 1-2 18, Maddy Dixon 6-13 0-2 14, Kenedy Cartwright 4-12 3-4 12, Brooklyn Harn 2-12 4-4 9, McKenna Reggear 4-7 1-2 9, Kolby Pimperton 0-1 2-2 2, Alicia Oatis 1-8 0-0 2, Delaney Pink 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-71 11-16.

Halftime: UP 39-22. 3-pointers: MSU-N 5-19 (Briaunna McCullough 2, Sydney Hansen 2, Dulci SkunkCap 1), UP 7-22 (Reed Hazard 3, Maddy Dixon 2, Kenedy Cartwright 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 26 (Shyan Krass 10), UP 40 (Maddy Dixon 8). Fouls: MSU-N 11, UP 17. Fouled Out: Alicia Oatis.

Providence 82, MSU-Northern 77

MSU-N - 28 35 6 8 - 77

UP - 37 26 6 13 - 82

MSU-N - Zackry Martinez 4-12 4-6 14, Myles Dalton 4-14 4-4 14, Jesse Keltner 5-12 2-2 12, Tanner McCliment-Call 4-7 2-2 12, Immanuel Anderson 5-9 0-0 10, Dae'Kwon Watson 2-6 0-1 4, Micaiah Hauser 1-1 0-0 3, CJ Nelson 1-10 0-0 2, Anthony Braggs Jr. 1-4 0-0 2, Jacob Randall 1-3 0-0 2, Terry Holmes Jr. 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-79 12-15.

UP - Kenny Curtis 9-16 6-6 29, Jake Olsen 6-19 1-4 13, Eric Milner 5-16 2-3 12, Sam Vining 5-10 1-2 11, Drayton Caiole 2-11 3-4 8, Caleb Currington 1-3 2-2 4, Jackson Esary 2-4 0-0 4, Sam Norum 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 30-79 16-23.

Halftime: UP 37-28. 3-pointers: MSU-N 7-25 (Zackry Martinez 2, Myles Dalton 2, Tanner McCliment-Call 2), UP 6-17 (Kenny Curtis 5, Drayton Caiole 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 38 (Immanuel Anderson 11), UP 43 (Jake Olsen 17). Fouls: MSU-N 17, UP 13. Fouled Out: Kenny Curtis 5.