Playoff Time: Lights on a roll

Maybe the fourth game will be the one that matters most. That’s what the surging Montana State University-Northern Lights are hoping for when they open the Frontier Conference Playoffs tonight in Billings.

The Lights (19-11) have won four straight games coming into tonight’s fourth meeting of the year with the Rocky mountain College Battlin’ Bears at the Fortin Center. And while Rocky (17-13) took two of three from the Lights during the regular season, tonight, the Bears will be seeing a much different MSU-N squad. Tipoff is set for 7 in Billings.

“I told the guys all the way back in January, when we lost those games on our floor, that we would be seeing these teams again,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “And if we just stuck with it, kept working, kept fighting, we would still have a chance to be successful when we get to the end of the season. And our guys have done that. They’ve battled, they’ve done everything we’ve asked, and here we are, with an opportunity to make some noise in the postseason.”

And the Lights, who moved all the way into a tie for fourth with the Bears in the final regular season standings with four straight victories to close the season, certainly have a chance to make some noise. In fact, they are arguably the most dangerous team in the playoffs given how they’re playing right now.

In their last four games, Northern is shooting better than 50 percent from the 3-point-line, as seniors Warren Edmondson and Trevail Lee, as well as junior Tyler Chandler have really found their range. The Lights are also getting strong inside play from the likes of David Straughter, who is averaging almost 19 ppg over his last six, as well as Ryan Reeves and K.J. Rech. Add in the strong play of Badhasa Margarsa, and William Walker and Dylan Tatarka off the bench, and the Lights are indeed a different team than the one that lost an overtime home game to the Bears back in January, and again in the Fortin Center three weeks ago.

But, as good as Northern is playing, Huse also knows just how good the Bears can be, even though they enter the playoffs on a four-game losing skid.

“They have played us tough every time,” Huse said of RMC. “We’ve had some pretty entertaining games. They have weapons on offense. They can really get hot from the perimeter, and they can get hot in transition. So they’re a tough team to defend for 40 minutes. They also are playing a lot of zone right now, so you know going in you’re going to have to shoot it well to be successful.”

The Bears, who lost to Northern in an overtime classic in December, before beating the Lights the last two teams, are led by senior Rob Nyby, who paces the Frontier in scoring at exactly 20 points per game. Joe Stulc, Chad Kananan and Taylor Longo add to RMC’s perimeter firepower, and even though RMC isn’t the tallest team in the league, the Bears do play strong inside and on the glass.

However, even though tonight’s showdown for the right to keep the season alive is in Billings, the Lights are brimming with confidence after knocking off nationally ranked rivals Carroll College and Lewis-Clark State, as well as blowing out UGF and Montana Tech to finish the season. And, with how well Northern is playing, the Lights certainly don’t fear a postseason road game against RMC, or anybody else.

“These guys have hung in there, and fought hard to get better,” Huse said. “I feel like there’s nobody we can’t beat in this league when we’re playing the way we’re capable of. This team, right now, can still do some damage in this league, and it doesn’t matter if it has to be on the road. We’re playing our best basketball of the season right now, and we’re excited about the challenges going forward.”

Tonight’s game between Northern and RMC tips at 7 in Billings. The winner will advance to Friday night’s semifinals, traveling to either top-seeded LC State or second-seeded Carroll. In the other quarterfinal game tonight, UGF is on the road to take on third-seeded UM-Western in Dillon.