Lights split at Arizona tourney

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team is heading to Christmas break after going 1-1 at the Cactus Classic earlier this week in Chandler, Arizona.

Last Tuesday saw Northern fall to No. 9 The Masters 76-66. The Lights battled in the first half. The Masters went on a 13-2 run to push the lead to double figures. They extended their lead to 19, as the Lights cut into the lead going into halftime 39-29. The Lights battled in the second half shooting 50 percent from the field and 54 percent from the three, but it wasn't enough to take the game.

The Lights were led by Xavier Bailey who had 20 points going 7-13 from the field. Jack Reardon added 13 points and three assists. Leon Sayers IV led the team in rebounds with seven.

Northern did bounce back with a win over Benedictine-Mesa. Last Wednesday saw the Lights beat Benedictine Mesa 76-66. The Lights had a good first half, but went down going into halftime 42-40. They came out of halftime on fire as they shot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three.

The Lights were led by Jack Reardon who had 30 points going 10-10 from the free throw line.  JJ Thomas added 18 points going 70 percent from the field. Xavier Bailey led the team in rebounds with six.

The Lights are now 5-7 this season. They return to the Armory Gymnasium Dec. 29 against The King's University and Dec. 30 against Keyano University.