Lights face Bulldogs tonight

The Montana State University-Northern Lights swept the UM-Western Bulldogs and Westminster Griffins last month inside the Armory Gymnasium. And that's why the Lights will have to be at their absolute best this weekend.

Northern (5-6, 16-11) has road rematches with both teams, starting tonight in Dillon with a critical Frontier showdown with the No. 12 Bulldogs (7-3, 19-6). The Lights face the Griffins (3-7, 10-13) Saturday night in Salt Lake in what is a huge weekend for everybody in the Frontier. Western is in first place in the standings, but leads by just a game, while Northern is tied for fifth, but trails the Bulldogs by just two games with three to play.

"We know a lot is on the line for every conference team these last two conference weekends," said MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse. "Our approach has always been to play every game like it's for a conference championship. Our effort and focus will need to be the same as we have had most of the season ... and with a few breaks, great things are extremely possible for us."

The Lights come into tonight's game having already bested the Bulldogs 68-56 earlier in the season. But Northern is also coming off a difficult setback at the hands of Carroll College last weekend in Havre, so the Lights know they must re-group tonight. Tonight, and down the stretch of the season, the Lights will lean on veterans like Corbin Pearson, who averages 13 points and seven rebounds per game, as well as the strong play of senior guard Nick Blount, and the scoring of juniors Warren Edmonson and Trevail Lee.

But, Northern also knows tonight's rematch will be a fight. Western is one of the top scoring and shooting teams in the league, and while MSU-N has gotten very stingy of late, stopping the likes of Dexter Williams Jr., who averages 15 points and seven rebounds per night, will be key. Stephen McCall and Jordan Overstreet also average double digits for Western.

"They (Bulldogs) are a very energetic team," Huse said. "If they get their momentum rolling, they can be a handful. We shot the ball very well last time, which helped us negate their high scoring."

Defense and shooting was big in both Northern's wins over Western and Westminster last time out. And the Lights will have to do both well again, especially in two gyms the Lights have had little success in over the years.

And while tonight's battle in Dillon will be a tall task for the Lights, so too will Saturday's trip to Westminster. Last month, Northern erased a 16-point second-half deficit to beat the Griffins in Havre. And while they're in last place right now, Huse knows the Griffins are no ordinary last-place team.

"We respect them just as much as anyone else, especially since they controlled most of the game at our place, the first go-round," Huse said. "Again, another Frontier Conference game means another tough challenge. We know going and playing at Westminster will be a big challenge for us."

Among the big challenges will be stopping Westminster's Quincy Bair, who scored 32 points against the Lights last time out. Jordan Pryor, Kenny Woodard and Casey Evans give the Griffins a deep and talented backcourt, and the Lights will have to play stellar defense.

Northern also must be focused. MSU-N is in the thick of a bizarre Frontier Conference race that, with only two weeks left, could see one of seven different teams still claim a share of the regular season title. The race for the Frontier playoffs is also tight, and with only six spots in the playoffs available, all eight teams in the league are still in contention.

Northern begins its quest to lock up one of those spots tonight in Dillon when they meet the Bulldogs at 7:30. MSU-N's game with Westminster is also set for 7:30 Saturday night in Salt Lake. The Lights close out the regular season next Saturday night against UGF at home.