Lights, Skylights win at nationally ranked Rocky

Both Montana State University-Northern basketball teams have seen their share of drama-filled games this season. But Saturday afternoon in Billings, they were part of nail biters on the same day.

The Skylights saw Shyan Krass drill a shot at the buzzer as they upended No. 12 Rocky Mountain College by a score of 76-75 in Billings.

The Skylights came out on fire scoring 27 points in the first quarter to Rocky's 14. The Battlin' Bears turned around and outscore the Skylights 24-10 in the second to put them up by one. Rocky shot 50 percent from the three-point line to outscore the Skylights 21-15. Northern battled back in the fourth quarter, as Ryley Kehr hit a jumper to tie the game with :27 left in the game. Payton Linse got fouled on a layup and went one for two to take the lead by one. The Skylights took the ball on the sideline, where Krass made a layup to win the game.

The win snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Battlin' Bears.

"Again, another gutsy effort by our kids," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "Rocky's guards played extremely well, and we had a hard time stopping them all night long. We had a huge lead in the first house and gave it up and eventually went down as many as nine. We really rallied to get the thing done. It was a battle and I'm just proud that we found a way. We had some great individual performances but one area where I thought  we did well as a team was on the boards. We played well at times and had some times with lulls. Rocky is a good team and this was hard-fought for sure."

"The Skylights were led by Ryley Kehr who had 27 points going 12-18 from the field. Taya Trottier had her best game as a Skylight with 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Shyan Krass was just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Battlin' Bears were led by Ky Oliver who had 30 points going 6-12 from the three-point line. Gracee Lekvold added 18 points and seven assists on the night.

The win was Northern's second straight in conference play. The Skylights (2-1) will return home to host Providence Thursday night.

Lights stun Bears in OT

Like the women's team, the MSU-Northern men also knocked off a nationally ranked Rocky club Saturday.

The Lights won in overtime against No. 15 Rocky Mountain College by a score of 87-84. The Lights came out on fire, as they went on a 10-0 run to start the game. They were able to extend the lead going into halftime 42-25. Northern shot 47 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three in the first half. The Battlin' Bears shot 25 percent from the field and 11 percent from the three.

The Battlin' Bears came out of halftime ready to go, as they came back to tie the game with 6:59 left in the game. The Lights hit some big threes to stay with Rocky. Rocky took the lead 69-66, but Zack Martinez hit a three tie the game up. Xavier Bailey hit two free throws to push the lead to four with 1:24 left on the clock. Stephens made a layup to cut the lead back to two with :34 left in the game. Rocky full court pressured, as Maxim Stephens got a steal and a dunk to tie the game 75-75. Martinez got a foul with :3 left and drilled both free throws to go up by two. Then Rocky hit two free throws to tie the game and go to overtime.

The score went back and forth in overtime, too. The Lights hit two layups to go up by three. Jesse Owens from Rocky hit two free throws to cut the lead to one with :7.4 left in the game. The Battlin' Bears fouled to put Raddle to the line who went two for two to win the game.

The Lights were led by Zackry Martinez who had 25 points going 8-13 from the field. Dae'Kwon Watson went 8-18 from the field with 22 points. Jacob Randall added 10 points and six rebounds.

  The Battlin' Bears were led by Jesse Owens who shot 42 percent from the field with 25 points. Maxim Stephens added a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Luca Brooks added 16 points on the night.

The win was a much-needed one as the Lights moved to 1-2 in the Frontier ahead of Thursday night's rivalry game at home against Providence.

"Nothing but proud of our guys tonight," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "We know we are truly better than where we sit right now. With Myles (Dalton) done for the season, we will be unable to return to the full health we were at in preseason. However other guys are stepping up and we are gradually getting back to our full health. I like how we have been playing and tonight was just great that we could get over the hump.

"Rocky is another very tough squad to beat," Huse continued. "Getting it done at their place is no easy task. They have weapons and made a nice run after our great start. Our guys hung in there, though, and overcame some big adversity. Especially down the stretch when we needed it most. I can't say enough good things about this group and how they battle each and every day as a team. We are still a work in progress after the injuries we have gone through, but I love seeing the improvement ... and (we) will need to keep growing together, moving forward in conference play."