Skylights falter, Lights win against Carroll College in Helena

On Saturday in Helena, both the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams faced off against Carroll College. The day yielded mixed results for Northern basketball as the Skylights suffered a 71-40 loss to the Fighting Saints while the Lights picked up a 69-59 win on the road.

In the Skylights game against Carroll to start the afternoon, the Saints jumped out to a 6-2 lead. After Briaunna McCullough scored to cut the deficit to 6-4, the Saints went on a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 11-4. After Ryley Kehr knocked down a pair of free throws, the Saints went on another run to push their lead to 18-6.

The Skylights were unable to slow down the Saints as they trailed, 27-13, to end the first quarter. The Skylights did start the second quarter with a 7-2 run to cut their deficit to 29-20. But the Saints responded with a 9-0 run to end the first half to take a 38-20 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Saints continued to control the game as they pushed their lead to 63-25. Even in the fourth quarter, the Skylights were unable to keep it within 20 points as the Saints cruised to a victory.

As a team, the Skylights shot 34.1 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from the 3-point line. Savannah Toms was the lone Skylight in double figures with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. With the loss, the Skylights dropped to 7-12 on the season and 0-6 in the Frontier Conference.

"In all reality, I don't think we could have played worse. I think on both ends of the floor we were sloppy and we were slow," MSU-N women's basketball coach Chris Mouat said.

Even though it was a tough loss for the Skylights, Mouat did still find some positives on the day.

"I was proud of what they had to give in the fourth quarter. They competed hard," Mouat said. "They got after it and gave good effort."

The Lights had more success in their game against the Saints later Saturday. Through the first half, the Lights and Saints exchanged scores. With the Saints holding an 11-10 lead halfway through the opening half, the Lights went on a 10-5 run to take a 20-16 lead. Dae'Kwon Watson led the Lights with a pair of buckets during this stretch.

The Saints came back with a run of their own to take a 26-24 lead with just over two and a half minutes left in the half. Over the rest of the half, the Lights went on a 6-0 run to take a 30-26 lead into halftime.

After some free throws from Brendan Temple cut the lead to 30-28 to start the second half, the Lights went on a 13-0 run to extend their lead to 43-28. C.J. Nelson led the Lights with 11 points off a trio of 3-pointers during this stretch.

Over the rest of the game, the Saints were unable to cut into the deficit in a meaningful way. With the double-digit lead, the Lights went on to win the game. Nelson led the Lights with 22 points as he shot 9-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep. Jesse Keltner recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Watson scored 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field. As a team, the Lights shot 48.3 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from deep.

With the win, the Lights improved to 13-6 on the season and 2-4 in the Frontier Conference. After a string of disappointing losses, MSU-N men's basketball coach Shawn Huse liked how the Lights played Saturday.

"Once again, I am extremely proud and impressed with how we prepped and played coming off a disappointing, heart-breaking home stand last weekend," Huse said. "To bounce back from another heartbreaker on Thursday to take control on Saturday, showed nothing short of great character. A lot of teams in the basketball world may have crumbled on that second road game after the emotional losses we have had."

The MSU-N basketball teams will be back on the floor this Thursday when they head to Great Falls to play the University of Providence. The Skylights will play the Argonauts at 5 p.m. and the Lights will play the Argonauts at 7 p.m.

Carroll College 71, Skylights 40

MSU-N - 13 7 5 15 - 40

CC - 27 11 25 8 - 71

MSU-N - Savannah Toms 7-11 2-4 16, Jalen Callender 2-2 1-2 6, Shyan Krass 2-2 1-2 5, Briaunna McCullough 1-9 2-2 4, Ryley Kehr 1-6 2-2 4, Sydney Hansen 1-2 0-0 2, ShaAnn Danelson 1-2 0-0 2, Rachel Van Blaricom 0-8 1-2 1, Abigail Keltner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 15-44 9-14.

CC - Jamie Pickens 9-12 2-2 20, Kyndall Keller 4-7 0-0 12, Kamden Hilborn 4-6 0-0 10, Genesis Wilkinson 4-10 2-2 10, Maddie Gerritz 3-3 2-3 8, Sadie Filius 1-4 2-2 5, Izzy Erickson 2-5 0-0 4, Addi Eckstrom 1-8 0-0 2, Rakiah Grende 0-1 0-0 0, Ava Oakland 0-0 0-2 0, Erica Nessan 0-3 0-0 0, Sienna Swannack 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 28-63 8-11.

Halftime: Carroll College 38-20. 3-pointers: MSU-N 1-9 (Jalen Callender 1), CC 7-17 (Kyndall Keller 4, Kamden Hilborn 2, Sadie Filius 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 22 (Shyan Krass 5), CC 35 (Jamie Pickens 8). Fouls: MSU-N 10, CC 14. Fouled Out: None.

Lights 69, Carroll College 59

MSU-N - CJ Nelson 9-13 0-0 22, Dae'Kwon Watson 6-12 0-0 14, Jesse Keltner 6-7 0-0 12, Immanuel Anderson 1-4 3-4 5, Zackry Martinez 2-9 0-0 5, Anthony Braggs Jr. 2-4 1-2 5, Tanner McCliment-Call 1-5 0-0 3, Jacob Randall 1-1 0-0 2, Micaiah Hauser 0-1 1-2 1, Myles Dalton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 28-58 5-8.

CC - Andrew Cook 9-18 2-3 20, Brendan Temple 5-13 4-5 14, Brayden Koch 3-6 0-0 8, Isaiah Moore 1-7 3-5 5, James Lang 2-3 0-0 5, Garrett Long 2-6 0-0 4, Trent Rogers 1-1 0-0 3, Gui Pedra 0-2 0-0 0, Derek Kramer 0-1 0-0 0, Murat Guzelocak 0-1 0-2 0, Jordan Bryant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-59 9-15.

Halftime: MSU-N 30-26. 3-pointers: MSU-N 8-19 (CJ Nelson 4, Dae'Kwon Watson 2, Zackry Martinez 1), CC 4-12 (Brayden Koch 2, James Lang 1, Trent Rogers 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 38 (Jesse Keltner 10), CC 23 (Andrew Cook 6). Fouls: MSU-N 9, CC 7. Fouled Out: None.