Lights roll to easy wins at Rocky tourney

The competition for the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team at the Rocky Mountain College Alumni Food for the Holidays tournament could have been pretty tough, but it was lessened because of excessive homework.

The Lights were scheduled to face a solid Concordia University College Thunder squad on Friday night. However, Concordia's head coach left his top four players at home to finish some schoolwork, leaving the 10-2 Thunder undermanned against an older, more experienced Northern squad.

Youth was not served as the Lights rolled to a 116-55 win.

"It was kind of strange," said Lights head coach Shawn Huse. "They left four of their better players at home so they could shore up on some homework. Their coach wanted to use this weekend to get his young kids some playing time against good competition. Hopefully, they got that."

The Concordia coach got what he wanted and a little more, as his team faced a potent Northern offense and a stingy defense.

The Lights forced Concordia into 22 turnovers while shooting 60 percent from the field and placing five players in double figures.

"We really focused on improving defensively all weekend," Huse said. "I think we definitely made some strides in that department."

The Lights held Concordia to 26 percent shooting from the field and 11 percent from three-point range.

Northern was led by Larry Morinia, who finished with a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds. Lamar Morinia added 22 points and six assists, while Dustin Sawejka added 12 points and seven rebounds. Landen Grant and Trenton Harbaugh each added 10 points, while Zach McLean scored nine points and dished out nine assists.

"They were 10-2 coming into this weekend," Huse said. "If they weren't missing those four players, they would have been better competition."

Northern faced some slightly better competition on Saturday, but still rolled past Prairie Bible College 100-79.

The Lights shot a sizzling 66 percent from the field in the first half to roll to a 60-43 halftime lead and coast to an easy win.

Berhane Williams led a group of seven players in double figures with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

"Berhane showed glimpses of what he can bring to the floor," Huse said. "If he continues to work hard and learn, he can be an impact player in the Frontier Conference."

Sawejka added 15 points and Harbaugh finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Larry Morinia (12), Landen Grant (11), Leo Bullchild (11) and Walter Runsabove (10) also reached double figures.

Although they played somewhat lesser competition than they have in the past, Huse was pleased with the way his players competed.

"I was proud of our guys for going out there and giving a full effort," Huse said. "There wasn't any letdown. We came out focused and played with intensity."

Northern will travel to Orem, Utah, this week to take on NCAA Division I Utah Valley State on Wednesday.

Concordia University College (55)

Paul Kuperus 3-13 5-5 13; Dave Vandervelde 4-7 0-1 8; Sultan Mir 0-3 0-0 0; Jordan Mottl 6-12 4-7 16; Spencer Dorward 1-6 0-0 2; Alex Scherer 2-12 3-6 7; Vince Akinyode 1-2 1-1 3; Trevor Dreger 0-1 0-0 0; Jason Smith 1-6 0-0 2; Kris Raymond 0-1 3-3 3. Totals: 18-69 17-25 55.

MSU-NORTHERN (116)

Reid Stovall 1-3 0-0 3; Landen Grant 4-70-0 10; Trenton Harbaugh 5-6 0-0 10; Larry Morinia 11-17 5-9 27; Zach McLean 3-4 0-0 9; Leo Bullchild 2-6 0-0 9; Walter Runsabove 2-4 2-2 7; Lamar Morinia 7-8 5-5 22; Berhane Williams 4-7 1-2 9; Travis Moran 1-2 0-2 2; Dustin Sawejka 5-11 1-2 12. TOTALS: 45-75 9-13 116.

Halftime: MSUN 50, CUC 32. Three point goals: CUC 2-17 (Kuperus 2-8, Mottl 0-1, Dorward 0-1, Scherer 0-4, Kelly 0-1 , Dreger 0-1, Raymond 0-1), MSUN 17-29 (Stovall 1-1, Grant 2-4, Larry Morinia 5-9, McLean 3-4, Bullchild 1-2, Runsabove 1-2, Lamar Morinia 3-4, Williams 0-1, Moran 0-1, Sawejka 1-1). Rebounds: CUC 42 (three tied with 7); MSUN 45 (Larry Morinia 9) Assists: CUC 5 (five with 1); MSUN 33 (McLean 9). Total fouls: MSUN 50, CUC 32. Fouled out - none; Technicals - none.

PRAIRIE BIBLE COLLEGE (79)

Tim Sesink 1-4 0-0 2; Matthew Dykstra 0-3 10-10 10; Jared Martens 3-5 1-1 10; Tony Dorenbusch 10-22 11-12 34; Darryl Babe 3-8 0-0 7; Eric Nelson 2-8 0-0 4; Jordan Cavanaugh 0-1 0-1 0; Randy Stewart 3-6 6-7 12. Totals: 22-57 28-31 79.

MSU-NORTHERN (104)

Reid Stovall 3-6 0-0 6; Landen Grant 4-6 1-1 11; Trenton Harbaugh 5-9 2-4 12; Larry Morinia 5-9 1-2 12; Zach McLean 0-3 0-0 0; Leo Bullchild 4-5 1-2 11; Walter Runsabove 2-7 0-0 6; Lamar Morinia 3-8 2-2 10; Berhane Williams 8-14 2-4 18; Travis Moran 1-2 1-2 3; Dustin Sawejka 4-7 7-9 15. Totals: 39-76 17-26 104.

Halftime: MSUN 60, PBC 43. Three point goals: PBC 7-17 (Dykstra 0-1, Martens 3-4, Dorenbusch 3-7, Babe 1-4, Stewart 0-1), MSUN 9-27 (Stovall 0-1, Grant 2-4, Larry Morinia 1-5, McLean 0-1, Bullchild 2-2, Runsabove 2-7, Lamar Morinia 2-7). Rebounds: CUC 27 (Dorenbusch 7); MSUN 53 (Williams 15, Harbaugh 10) Assists: CUC 9 (Dorenbusch 3); MSUN 31 (McLean 8, Moran 6). Total fouls: CUC 23, MSUN 28. Fouled out - Sawejka, Dykstra; Technicals - none.