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Lights open league play against improved Saints

The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team isn't done with its non-conference schedule. Not by a long shot. But, for one night, Northern will put that all aside, and jump into Frontier Conference play, and against its biggest rival no less.

The No. 24 Lights (7-2) open league play Saturday night against rival Carroll College (4-4). Tip time for the league opener is set for 8 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium.

MSU-N opens league play against a Carroll team which won just two games all of last season and went 1-15 in the Frontier. But Carroll has a new head coach in former Purdue standout Carson Cunningham, and the Saints are off to a much better start in 2013. But they haven't won in Havre since 2005, while the Lights come into Saturday night's contest a little road weary, but fresh off an impressive win last Sunday at Jamestown College, though MSU-N will again be without senior forward Will Perry, who was injured two weeks ago in Phoenix, Ariz. Perry was averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game for the Lights, and his loss is a blow to Northern's depth.

And all of that sets up a very intriguing Frontier opener in the Armory Saturday night.

"We've faced a lot of adversity on the road," Northern head coach Shawn Huse said. "And I'm pretty proud of how our guys have handled it, especially winning at Jamestown last weekend. But it's nice to be home. I think our guys are looking forward to playing on their home floor again, even though they understand how big of a challenge this game will be. Carroll is playing very well so far, and I kind of feel like they're playing with nothing to lose. After the difficult season they had last year, maybe expectations weren't quite as high this season for them.

"But they're playing really well right now, and seem to be getting even better every time they play."

Indeed, the Saints are better. In fact, they're already two games better than they were all of last season, and they've done it against a very challenging non-conference schedule. Carroll is also bolstered by the return of some key veterans, including leading scorers Chris McGrath (6-0) and Dennis Mikelonis (6-5), both seniors and starters from a year ago. Sophomore Jake Hollifield (6-6) and freshman Zach Taylor (5-11) have also really stepped up this season, and are part of a young, but talented Carroll roster, which has the Saints averaging 73 points per game and allowing just 70. McGrath leads the way with 15 points per game, while Mikelonis averages 15 points and seven rebounds per night.

"They (Saints) have a new coach, they are running brand new stuff, and from what they've shown so far, they are running it very well," Huse said. "They play with a great deal of patience on offense, they are very deliberate and very fundamentally sound. They will be a very big test for our defense. They also seem to be defending very well, and they do a good job on the boards.

"They have played a tough schedule, and they seem to be improving every game," Huse added. "They are a very solid basketball team and we understand we'll have our hands full."

Of course Northern will make sure the Saints have their hands full too.

The Lights are once again a stellar defensive club, leading the Frontier by allowing just 58 points per outing. Northern is also tops in the league so far in field goal defense and 3-point field goal defense, and Huse would like to see that trend continue.

Offensively, the Lights are much like Huse described the Saints, patient and deliberate. Northern will push the ball up the floor, but the Lights look for quality shots above all else. Alfie Miller leads Northern in scoring averaging 15 points per game, and he shoots better than 45 percent from beyond the arc. After Miller, the Lights are well-balanced, with Corbin Pearson, Nicholas Blount, Jesse Vaughan and Roshawn West all hovering around eight points per game.

The Lights also have depth and plenty of veteran leadership, and coming off their fourth national tournament appearance in five years, and a two-game sweep of the Saints last season, MSU-N will lean on those intangibles in what will be a huge game on Saturday night.

"We approach every game the same," Huse said. "We look at every game as a big game. But deep down, I think our guys know and understand there's a little more to this one than just a non-conference game. This is the Frontier Conference, and every game in league play is magnified at least a little bit. I think our guys understand that.

"I think our schedule has prepared us well for this game," he continued. "And our guys are excited. This is a big test for us. It's a very important game, and it's one our guys are looking forward to."

Saturday night's Frontier opener between Northern and Carroll will tip off at 8 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium. MSU-N will return to non-conference play with a Dec. 5 home against CIS West powerhouse the University of Lethbridge.

Frontier Begins

No. 24 MSU-Northern (7-2)

vs

Carroll College (4-4)

Saturday, 8.p.m.

Armory Gymnasium

Projected MSU-N Starters

G Roshawn West, 6-1, Sr.

G Alfie Miller, 6-0, Sr.

F Allan Brown, 6-1, Sr.

F Corbin Pearson, 6-6, Jr.

C Jesse Vaughan, 6-5, Jr.

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