Lights happy to be back in the Armory

The Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball team went into last weekend in first place in the Frontier Conference. The Lights came out of the weekend road trip to UGF and Carroll College with back-to-back losses.

Such is life on the road in the Frontier.

Now, however, the No. 15 Lights (2-2, 13-3) don’t have to worry about the road for a while — three weeks to be exact. Tonight, Northern starts a six-game league home stand with a visit from Rocky Mountain College. MSU-N also hosts nationally ranked UM-Western Saturday. Both games tip at 8 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium.

And playing at home, where Northern is undefeated this season, will hopefully cure some current ailments. MSU-N went into last weekend’s road trip averaging 97 points per game, but the Lights scored just 59 at UGF and 51 at Carroll. Northern was also leading the NAIA in 3-pointers made per game, but in the two road losses, MSU-N combined to make just eight shots from distance.

“We did a very good job on defensive execution all weekend,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “I thought we played at a high level on that end. We just need to go to the drawing board and get back to work. We have to get back to scoring the ball way more consistently.”

Making threes will help, and the Lights have the shooters to do it. But Northern would also like to get the ball in the paint more and take advantage of 6-10 center Ryan Reeves, who averages 11 points and seven rebounds per game, as well as power forward David Straughter, who chips in with 10 points per night.

Of course, in both games this weekend, the Lights will also look to defend, like they always do because they’re going up against two powerful offensive teams.

Tonight’s game features a Rocky (2-2, 9-7) squad that averages 83 points per game and has four players scoring in double figures, led by University of Montana transfer Riley Bradshaw. The addition of Bradshaw (16 ppg) has given the Bears an outstanding offensive boost to go with fellow guards Taylor Longo (6-2) and Chad Kananan (6-1), who combine for 24 ppg. Forward Zach Hinton (6-6) is also having a strong season, averaging 14 points and six rebounds per game, while Derek Graves (6-3) is another veteran for the Battlin’ Bears.

And if playing the Bears wasn’t tough enough, the Lights will welcome in arch rival Western Saturday night. The No. 11 Bulldogs (4-0, 14-2) are off to a teriffic start, and are coming off a blowout home win over Lewis-Clark State last Saturday night.

Western, which is Northern’s second Top 25 opponent in its last three games, is an offensive juggernaut under head coach Steve Keller, as the Dawgs average 92 points per night, and have five players scoring 10 points or more. The leader of the pack is senior Shyke Smalls (6-1), who averages 15 ppg and leads the NAIA in steals. But a pair of newcomers have also added to Western’s firepower. Brian Neal (6-3) averages 16 ppg and point guard Dom Ribinson (5-8) added 14 per night. And while the Dawgs are a guard-oriented club, with help from Kooper Kidgell and former baseball standout Riley King, forward Marcus Payne (6-7) and Cameron Evans (6-7) give them the inside presence they need.

“Both teams have put points up at high rates at different times throughout this season,” Huse said. “It's another conference weekend where we need to play tough defensively if we expect to have a successful weekend.”

And defense is the key for the Lights, as they still lead the NAIA in scoring defense at 58 points per game. Northern is also No. 2 in the NAIA in field goal defense, and playing at home, the Lights will hope to feed off the energy of the Armory crowds and, in the process, get back on the winning track.

“After a frustrating couple of nights on the road, we are very excited to get back at home and give them everything we got,” Huse said.

Tonight’s game between Northern and RMC tips at 8 inside the Armory Gymnasium. Saturday’s game with the Lights and Bulldogs also tips at 8 p.m. Northern is right back at home next Friday and Saturday to host Montana Tech and Lewis-Clark State.

No. 15 Lights vs RMC, tonight, 8 p.m.; vs No. 11 Western, Saturday, 6 p.m.

In Armory Gymnasium

Radio: 92.5 KPQX

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Lights Projected Starters

G Badhasa Margarsa, 6-1, Sr., 7 ppg

G Tyler Chandler, 6-2, Sr., 6 ppg

G Dylan Tatarka, 6-3, Jr., 6 ppg

F David Straughter, 6-5, Sr., 10 ppg

F Ryan Reeves, 6-10, Jr., 11 ppg