The Montana State University-Northern Lights are finding life on the road to be very difficult. Northern went 2-1 this weekend in three hard-fought games in Oregon.

On Thursday night, the No. 15 Lights edged Portland Bible College 60-50 in Portland, Ore. The Lights led by just two points at the half, but worked hard to extend the lead to double digits by game’s end.

Sean Kelly just missed a double-double for Northern, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds in what was an excellent outing for the senior. LaVon Myers led the way with 13 points, while Shaun Tatarka chipped in with 11 and David Maddock had nine. Tatarka and Myers combined to hit six of Northern’s eight 3-pointers. Jordan Harris also had a solid games scoring six points.

On Friday night, the Lights moved on to Eugene, Ore, and defeated New Hope Christian 63-42. The Lights led 26-18 but turned on the heat in the second half to easily pull away.

Maddock poured in a game-high 14 points while hitting four trey’s. Joe Simpson had 13 points and four rebounds, while Kelly had another nice game, scoring eight points. Chris Brown gave the Lights a boost off the bench with eight points as well.

With two wins in tow, the Lights turned their attention to a rematch with Warner-Pacific, a Cascade Conference powerhouse. The Lights defeated the Knights by one point last week in Dillon, but on Warner’s home floor, Northern wasn’t as fortunate. The Knights erased Northern 39-32 halftime lead and pulled ahead late. The Knights then held on for a 69-67 victory.

“It seemed like anything that could go wrong down the stretch, did,” Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. “We were disappointed to let that one get away but that's life on the road. You can't pull in your horns too early and expect to win on the road against good teams. A few too many uncharacteristic mental errors and missed free throws ended up being the difference. We need to do a better job of finishing those games as the season gets deeper, if we are going to make any sort of a run. Give Warner credit as they battled back with a great deal of effort to get that one.”

Tatarka led three Lights in double figures with 14 points, including four bombs. Simpson scored 12 points and grabbed five boards, while Myers added 10 points and Maddock scored nine. Myers and Maddock each hit three trey’s in the loss.

Saturday night’s close loss dropped Northern to 6-2 on the young season, while the Knights now have wins over two of the top three teams in the Frontier Conference. Warner beat UM-Western last weekend in Dillon.

MSU-N is back on the road this weekend with games against Southern Oregon and the University of Alberta-Augustana in Lewiston, Idaho.

“Overall this was a very challenging weekend of true road games versus three scrappy teams in three compact gyms in three raucous home-opener environments in all three of them,” Huse said. “We were very proud to get two of the three a long ways from home and need to move forward now.”

Lights 60, Portland Bible 50

MSU-N — David Maddock 4-9 0-0 9, Devin Jackson 2-7 1-2 6, Jordan Harris 3-4 0-0 6, Shaun Tatarka 3-9 2-2 11, LaVon Myers 5-10 0-0 13, Sean Kelly 5-11 1-1 11, Mike LaValley 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Brown 0-0 2-2 2, Joe Simpson 0-4 0-0 0, Ben Mitchell 1-2 0-0, 2. Toats;: 23-57 6-7 60.

Halftime: Northern 27-25; 3-point goals 8-29  (Tatarka 3, Myers 3, Maddock 1, Jackson 1); Rebounds 43 (Kelly 9); Total Fouls 15; Fouled out: None.

Lights 63, New Hope Christian 42

MSU-N — David Maddock 4-7 2-4 14, Devin Jackson 1-9 0-1 2, Jordan Harris 1-2 2-2 3, Shaun Tatarka 1-9 0-0 3, LaVon Myers 1-4 0-0 3, Sean Kelly 4-9 0-0 8, Mike LaValley 0-2 0-0 0, Chris Brown 4-7 0-0 8, Joe Simpson 6-12 1-4 13, Ben Mitchell 2-4 1-2 4, Corbin Pearson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 25-68 7-14 63.

Halftime: Northern 26-18; 3-point goals: 6-26 (Maddock 4, Tatarka 1, Myers 1). Rebounds: 42 (Jackson 5); Total fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.

Warner-Pacific 69, Lights 67

MSU-N — Sean Kelly 4-5 0-0 8, Joe Simpson 5-6 2-4 12, Devin Jackson 2-7 0-0 5, Shaun Tatarka 5-16 0-1 14, LaVon Myers 3-6 1-3 10, David Maddock 3-9 0-0 9, Jordan Harris 0-1 2-2 2, Chris Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Ben Mitchell 3-4 1-2 7. Totals: 25-56 6-12 67.

Halftime: Northern 39-32; 3-point goals 11-33 (Tatarka 4, Myers 3, Maddock 3, Jackson 1); Rebounds: 29 (Simpson 5); Total Fouls: 20; Fouled out: Simpson.