Lights dunk SAGU in return to the Armory

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team expected a fight from SAGU American Indian College Saturday and because of that, the Lights came out swinging.

And in the early minutes of the non-conference game inside the Armory Gymnasium, MSU-N delivered a knockout punch, opening the game on a 36-5 run and eventually winning easily, 107-62. The win improved Northern's record to 3-0 on the young season. MSU-N will be back in action Friday on the road against Oregon Tech.

"We just came out hungry," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "Our guys just were not going to be denied tonight. That team is a good team. They have some talent. But we were just determined from the start, and I liked to see that. When you come out and do that to people, that's when you know you have a good team."

Senior Charles Porter set the tempo early for the Lights, as he drove to the basket and scored at will early, notching seven of the first 16 points. Porter's ability to penetrate inside opened things up for big man Ryan Reeves, who had a couple of slam dunks in the opening stretch of play.

Reeves' second dunk of the game put MSU-N in front 24-5. Then the Lights got hot from deep as Gabe Porter, Caulin Bakalarski and Adam Huse all connected from 3-point range to give Northern a 32-5 edge with 11:49 left in the first half.

"Charles, he does a really good job getting to the basket and creating things," Huse said. "A lot of teams just create with their point guard, but Charles does as good a job of setting things up for other guys as anyone on our team."

While the Lights got off to a blistering start offensively, scoring 63 points in the first half and also shooting 61 percent from the field and 41 percent from deep, the Northern defense was just as important to its dominant start. MSU-N held SAGU to just 18 points in the first half and limited the Warriors to just 22 percent from the field.

"Our guys came out and they were just on it," Huse said. "We have some really great senior leadership on this team and I think that shows with games like these. Those guys always make sure we are always ready and I thought (Saturday) was another example of that."

In the second half, Northern didn't let up. Reeves opened the second half with an easy bucket inside, followed by a hoop from Porter and a triple from Huse, which made it 70-18 at the 16:59 mark.

The Warriors started to get going offensively, but Northern answered with a pair of treys from Gabe Porter and Huse, extending the lead to 82-28. The only drama in the late stages of the game, was whether the Lights would break 100 points and they got there with 4:59 left in the game on a dunk by Reeves, who was a force throughout the contest for MSU-N with a game-high 24 points. He also contributed with eight rebounds and three blocks.

"Ryan Reeves was just Ryan Reeves," Huse said. "He came out and played really well inside and that really opened some things up for us on the perimeter."

Reeves was the top scorer for the Lights, but he was joined by four others in double figures, led by Gabe Porter, who finished with 20 points, thanks to four 3-pointers. Charles Porter also pitched in with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. Huse also hit from deep four times in a 14-point effort, while Bakalarski contributed with 10 points, a game-high nine rebounds and seven assists. Ralph Myles Jr. was the lone Warrior to reach double digits, finishing with 11 points. Gum Makuei also contributed with nine.

Northern will be on the road for its next three games, playing Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon and Portland Bible College. MSU-N will return home Nov. 24 -25 for the Thanksgiving Classic.

Lights 107, SAGU

SAGU - Maurice Thomas 2-11 0-0 4, Gum Makuei 3-8 2-4 9, Oyintonye Akamande 4-7 0-0 9, Ralph Myles Jr. 3-14 2-2 11, Michael Scroggins 3-8 1-2 7, Nicholas Tate 0-1 0-0 0, Mas DeMesa 3-9 0-0 7, Jalen Jenks 1-4 0-2 2, Mahpiya Briseno 1-3 0-0 2, Devon Holland 2-3 0-0 6, Davelle Thornburg 0-1 1-2 1, Jamesbreon Pearson 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 23-71 6-10.

MSU-N - Adam Huse 5-11 0-0 14, Justin Dunsmore 3-8 0-0 7, Ryan Reeves 12-16 0-3 24, Devin Bray 0-4 0-1 0, Charles Porter 5-6 5-5 15, Gabe Porter 8-14 0-0 20, Caulin Bakalarski 3-6 2-2 10, Anthony Harper 3-6 0-0 6, James Fry 1-2 0-0 2, Cayeveoon Jones 2-3 5-6 9. Totals: 42-76 12-16.

3-pt FG: MSU-N 11-32 (Adam Huse 4-9, Justin Dunsmore 1-6, Devin Bray 0-2, Gabe Porter 4-9, Caulin Bakalarski 2-5, James Fry 0-1. SAGU 10-29 (Maurice Thomas 0-2, Gum Makuei 1-2, Oyintonye 1-1, Ralph Myles Jr. 3-11, Nicholas Tate 0-1, Mas Demesa 1-6, Jalen Jenks 1-2, Devon Holland 2-2, Jamesbreon Pearson 1-2. Rebounds: MSU-N 55 (Bakalarski 9), SAGU 27 (Thomas 6). Fouls: MSU-N 12, SAGU 14. Fouled out -- none.