Lights win two at L-C State tourney

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team doesn't cut an imposing shadow in a hotel lobby. With only eight healthy players and none of those standing taller than 6-5, they certainly didn't intimidate Evergreen State on Thursday night as both teams checked into the same hotel a night before they were going to play.

But basketball isn't played in hotel lobbies. The Lights, behind some solid play, timely shooting and scrappy defense, defeated Evergreen State on Friday night 89-84 in the first game of the KOZE/Clearwater River Casino Tournament at Lewis-Clark State University.

The Lights made a clean sweep of the tournament by defeating Capilano College 116-66 on Saturday night.

"This is one of the most satisfying weekends I've had in coaching," said Lights head coach Shawn Huse. "The guys were really on a mission."

The weekend's performance was a stark contrast to last weekend's first road trip of the season, where the Lights struggled from start to finish. There was a focus from his team that pleased Huse.

"They seemed to be a lot more mentally prepared," Huse said. "From the time we left the hotel until we left the gym after the game ended, you could see how focused they were."

Friday night, Northern shot a solid 54 percent from the field while shutting down Evergreen's best player.

Lights guard Travis Moran held Evergreen's Mike Parker to seven points on 3-9 shooting.

"We told the team that if we had a legitimate chance, we had to slow Parker down," Huse said. "Travis and the rest of the team did that and more."

Besides Moran's quality defensive effort, Northern had four players in double figures led by Larry Morinia with 28 points. The trio of Zach McLean, Kent Douglas and Charlie Ereaux each scored 14 points. McLean added six assists while Ereaux snatched 12 rebounds.

"Zach has really impressed me," Huse said. "He hit some big free throws and a big three-pointer at key moments in that game."

On Saturday night, Northern took advantage of an inexperienced Capilano College team early, racing to a 58-38 lead. The Lights forced Capilano into 22 turnovers while only committing 10 their own.

"They're pretty young," Huse said. "They actually played Lewis-Clark State pretty tough the night before. They may have been a little tired and we really got after them."

Morinia once again led a group of five Lights in double figures with a game high 28 points and five steals. Ereaux notched his second double-double in a row with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Kent Douglas also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Moran added 18 points while Koire Rogers came off the bench to score 14 points. McLean had a season high 10 assists in the win.

"Charlie had a solid weekend," Huse said. "He really played like he was on a mission. Our bench also gave us some great minutes. Koire Rogers and Brian McGowan really contributed. It seemed like every time I looked up Brian was on hitting the floor and sacrificing his body for the team."

With the wins, Northern improved its record to 6-3 on the season while picking up some added confidence by proving it can win on the road.

"Everything seemed a lot crisper this weekend," Huse said. "The team really brought the fight to our opponents. It was a challenge because there are only eight of them, but they did."

Northern will return to action next Monday as they travel to Cedar City, Utah, to face the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.