Bulldogs sweep MSU-Northern hoops in Dillon

The final Frontier Conference road trip of the regular season turned out to be a tough one for the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams.

On Saturday, the Skylights and Lights were swept by the Montana Western Bulldogs.

The Lights lost in a Frontier Conference match up against Montana Western 60-56 in Dillon. The Bulldogs outscored the Lights in the first half 29-22. The Bulldogs shot 47 percent from the field and went 3-11 from the three-point line. Northern shot 34 percent from the field and went 1-7 from the three-point line.

The Lights were down 10 a couple times, but they weren't going away. Dae'Kwon Watson hit a 3-point shot with one minute left in the game to cut the lead to three. Jok Jok hit two free-throws to put them back up by five. Watson hit another three to cut the lead back to two points with seconds on the clock. Western hit their free throws to take the game.

The Lights were led by Jesse Keltner who had 15 points going 7-8 from the field. Dae'Kwon Watson went 3-4 from the three with 13 points. C.J. Nelson led the team in rebounds with six.The Bulldogs were led by Jamal Stephenson, who had 14 points going 6-11 from the field. Tanner Haverfield added eight points. Jacob Ankeny led the team In rebounds with six.

The Lights shot a field goal percentage of 43, 30 percent from the arc, and 58 percent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs shot 45 percentage from the field, 27 percent from the 3-point line, and 92 percent from the free throw.

With road losses at Rocky Mountain College and Western, the Lights fell to 7-7 in the Frontier with one game left.

"As hot as we were last week, we went just that cold this weekend," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "Our defense held but at some point you have to make shots. It was disappointing considering the position we put ourselves in ... to not take advantage of the opportunity.

"The guys know it is now just a matter of getting more reps and continuing to work to find a way until the very end ... which is certainly one thing this team knows how to do."

The Skylights also struggled Saturday afternoon in Dillon. The MSU-Northern Skylights lost to No. 15 Montana Western 73-47.

The Skylight got down by 10 in the first quarter (19-9). They came back to take the second quarter (14-12). Northern cut into the lead by two in the third quarter with 5:24 left in the game. The Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to take the lead by 11 going into the fourth quarter. Montana Western took over in the fourth quarter outscoring the Skylights 26-11.

The Skylights were led by Ryley Kehr with 12 points and five rebounds. Savannah Toms and Briaunna McCullough each had 11 points. Sydney Hansen led the team in rebounds with six.

The Bulldogs were led by Brynley Fitzerald with 22 points going 6-13 from the field. Jordan Sweeney added 17 points going 6-13 from the field. Fitzerald led the team in rebounds with six.

The Skylights are 7-20 in the overall season and 0-14 in Conference. Both Northern teams will host Montana Tech Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season.

Western 73, Skylights 47

MSU-Northern 9 14 13 11 - 47

Montana Western 19 12 16 26 - 73

MSU-N - Ryley Kehr 12, Savanna Toms 11, Brianna McCullough 11, Rachel Van Blaricom 3, Shyan Krass 5, Taniyah Finney 3, Sydney Hansen 2.

MW - Branley Fitzgerald 22, Jordan Sweeney 17, Shainy Mack 8, Mesa King 8, Joelnell Momberg 5, Payton Hagy 7, Isabella Lund 4, Emily Cooley 2.

3-pointers: MW 10-24 (Fitzgerald 3, Sweeney 3, Mack 2, Momberg 1, Hagy 1), MSU-N 5-18 (Kehr 2, Van Blaricom 1, Krass 1, Finnen 1); Rebounds: MSU-N 27 (Hansen 6), MW 32 (Fitzgerald 6), PF MW 15, MSU-N 17; Fouled out: None.

Western 60, Lights 56

MSU-N - Jesse Keltner 15, Zackry Martinez 8, C.J. Nelson 4, Immanuel Abderson 2, Myles Dalton 2, Dae'Kwon Watson 13, Tanner McCliment-Call 8, Jacob Randall 4.

MW - Tanner Haverfield 8, Jacob Ankeny 7, Michael Haverfield 6, Colter Miller 5, Ky Kouba 3, Jamal Stephenson 15, Jok Jok 7, Brenton Woods 6, Jaeden Graham 4.

3-pointers: MW 6-22 (Havrefeidl 2, Jouba 1, Stephenson 1, Woods 1), MSU-N 4-13 (Watson 3, McCliment-Call 1), Rebounds: MW 22 (Ankeny 6), MSU-N 21 C.J. Nelson 6), PF MSU-N 16, MW 14; Fouled out: None.