Northern hoops fall in Frontier openers

It wasn't the Frontier Conference debut either of the Montana State University-Northern basketball teams were looking for.

On Saturday afternoon, both the MSU-N men's and women's basketball teams lost at Montana Western to start league play.

The Skylights lost to Montana Western in their first Frontier Conference game by a score of 60-48 in Dillon. The Skylights got off to a slow start in the first quarter, but outscored the Bulldogs in the second 14-7. Western was up at halftime 22-16. The Bulldogs came out hot, as they hit some hard shots to extend the lead to 16. They Skylights took the fourth quarter 17-16, but that wasn't enough to win.

The Skylights were led by Savannah Toms who had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Shyan Krass came off the bench with eight points. McKenzie Long added seven points.

The Bulldogs were led by Jonell Momberg with 22 points going 9-17 from the field. Jorden Sweeney went off in the second half scoring 17 points and added seven assists.

The Skylights are now 6-8 overall this season and 0-1 in the Frontier Conference.

Meanwhile, the Lights lost  in overtime against Western in their first Frontier Conference game with a score of 85-84. The first half was anyone's game, as the Lights got hot and went on a 9-0 run to take the lead by 10 with 4:18 left in the half. Quincy hit a hard layup to cut the lead to five with :6 left in the half. Martinez was head up to get a three off, as the ball rolls in at the buzzer to push the lead 48-40.

Northern kept a steady lead in the second half, until the Bulldogs went on a run to cut the lead to three with 1:39 left on the clock. Haverfield hit a three with :3 left in the game and send the game to overtime. Overtime was a battle until the end, the Bulldogs hit a layup to take the lead by one with :4 left. The Lights turned the ball over at the last second to fall to the Bulldogs.

The Lights were led by Zackry Martinez who had 26 points going 8-20 from the field. Xavier Bailey went 50 percent from the field with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Anthony Mendez added 13 points. Dae'Kwon Watson added 12 points.

The Bulldogs were led by Abi Adebo who went 13-22 from the field with 30 points and seven rebounds. Jalyn Stepney went 50 percent from the field with 19 points and four assists.

The Lights are now 8-6 overall on the season and 0-1 in the Frontier Conference.

Both Northern teams make their Frontier Conference home debut this Thursday against Montana Tech.