Jermaine Walton led four scorers in double figures with 27, propelling the Montana State University-Northern Lights to a 97-95 overtime victory over visiting Montana Tech Saturday night.
Walton, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, shot 10 for 13 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free-throw line, in the Lights' (17-11 overall, 6-6 Frontier Conference) final home game of the season.
Senior center Josh Hays chipped in with 22 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Jeff Graham added 20 points, including a pair from beyond the arc.
Trailing by eight at the half, the Orediggers (8-23, 3-10) bounced back to tie the game at 89 by the end of regulation.
The depth of the MSU-N, however, was too much for Montana Tech, as the Lights outscored the Orediggers, 8-6, in the extra session.
Five Orediggers scored in double figures, led by Jason Murphy's 29 points and Newell Roche's 23. Mike Girias (15), David Scott (12), and Jeremy Rudolph (11) rounded out the starting five and the top scorers.
Northern honored three former athletes at halftime of the men's game, inducting them into the MSU-Northern Athletic Hall of Fame. Shelly Hermanson-Burcaw, Scott Filius and Patty (Weed) Franklin-Norby were honored for their athletic accomplishments at Northern.
Hermanson-Burcaw still holds four school and individual records at MSU-N for her efforts on the basketball court.
Filius was a 1991 NAIA national wrestling champion and a four-time All-American wrestler.
Franklin-Norby was a co-captain of the 1991 Skylights volleyball team that advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history and was selected to the six-member National All-Tournament team. Franklin-Norby also excelled in basketball for Northern. She still holds numerous records at the school.
TECH
36
53
6
95
NORTHERN
44
45
8
97
Tech Jeremy Rudolph 11, Mike Girias 15, Newell Roche 23, Pat Weber 5, Jason Murphy 29, David Scott 12.
Northern Jermaine Walton 27, Tabarus Phillips 2, Spencer Lazosky 12, Uros Mirkovic 9, Jeff Graham 20, Charlie Ereaux 5, Josh Hays 22.
