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Tip Time: Lights open the season tonight

MSU-N men begin with Concordia-Alberta tonight in the Armory

The first full week in October seems awfully early to think about college basketball. But ready or not, college basketball is here.

Tonight at 7, the Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball team makes its season and home debut as the Lights take on Concordia University-Alberta inside the Armory Gymnasium.

And with a brand new season of MSU-N basketball here, it’s business as usual for the Lights, who went 23-9 in 2013-14, finished second in the Frontier with an 11-5 record and reached the Frontier semifinals for the eighth straight time. The Lights’ season ended with a 71-63 loss to Freed-Hardeman in the first round of the national tournament, Northern’s fourth straight trip to the big dance.

But Northern’s season also ended with heavy losses to graduation, and though expectations are once again high in Havre this year, MSU-N must replace its entire backcourt, led by Alfie Miller, Roshawn West and Alan Brown, as well as forward Will Perry, who was as tenacious as they come in the paint.

“The nice thing is, we do have eight guys returning who have been in our program,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “Those guys know how things work, they’ve all played in a lot of big games and they’ve been through the things we’re about to go through. So that’s made practices go really well so far, and I think it’s helped the new guys out a lot.

“So while we are going to be a new team, a different team,” he continued. “We do have a lot of veteran guys and those guys have shown great leadership, and I think that’s going to help us grow together a lot faster. We have a lot of great leadership on this team, and that’s huge for us.”

And Huse, who enters his 13th season at the helm, will get his first look the team with great leadership tonight. Northern has a solid mix of returning veterans and exciting newcomers, but the roster starts with seniors Corbin Pearson and Jesse Vaughan. Those two have played together in over 70 games and three national tournaments for the Lights, and their leadership and experience will be key. Pearson is coming off an All-Conference season in which he averaged 13 points and six rebounds, while Vaughan chipped in with eight points and five rebounds per night.

Nick Blount, Damian Robinson and Pat Jensen all return after playing key roles off the bench last season, while Anfernee Standing Rock and freshmen Dylan Tatarka and Brett Thompson could also get some looks, especially in the these early-season games.

“Nick Blount is a guy who really gave us some great minutes last year, especially down the stretch,” Huse said. “And with a year under his belt, I think he’s going to have a great season. Damian just never got a chance to get going last year. And when he did, he got injured. So with him healthy, he’s going to be a big factor for us this season. And I think Dylan (Tatarka) and Brett (Thompson) are two guys that could see some floor time. They both had a really solid red-shirt year, and they have improved a lot.

“So we do have some experienced guys back,” Huse continued. “And that’s nice to have that because we also do have some newcomers, so it’s good to have the leadership we have to help those guys get acclimated with our program.”

Northern also has a trio of talented new guards who will make their Lights’ debut tonight. Point guard Trevail Lee (5-9) will have an immediate impact for MSU-N, on both ends of the floor. Add in a pair of dangerous shooting guards in Warren Edmonson (6-2) and Jermaine Graves (6-1) and the Lights have all of the makings of an extremely explosive backcourt.

“Those three guys bring a lot to the table, and they will have an immediate impact,” Huse said. “They bring quickness, shooting and defense to our backcourt. And they have the potential to be as good a group of newcomers as you’ll find at this level.”

And tonight is all about potential. It’s the first game of the season, and though the Lights will be heavily favored against the Thunder, a team with few returning starters from a year ago, Huse will be looking for more than a win. He’ll be looking to see exactly where his team is, and where they’ll need to go from here.

“Immediately, in this first game, I want to see us get after it defensively,” Huse said. “Defense is again going to be our trademark, and I want to see this new team get that going right away. I think this team also has the potential to be a pretty good shooting team, and this first game gives a chance to get a good look at that.

“This game against Concordia will probably be a little choppy,” he continued. “It’s early and you aren’t going to avoid that. I hope we can come out and execute well on both ends, but that execution will get better and better with more game experience. But what I do expect is for us to come out and play very hard, to establish ourselves right away as a Northern basketball team that plays hard and gives a great effort. If we can do that, it will do a lot for us going forward.”

Tonight’s season-opener between the Lights and Concordia-Alberta tips off at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium. The Lights are also home to face Northwest Indian College Oct. 16 and the University of Lethbridge Oct. 17.

 

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