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Lights outlast Orediggers: Skylights fall in Butte

Winning on the road is never easy, especially in the Frontier Conference. So even though it wasn’t pretty, the Montana State University-Northern Lights will take the 71-63 victory it got over Montana Tech Thursday night.

Both the Lights and the Skylights took on Montana Tech in Butte as part of a Frontier Conference basketball doubleheader Thursday night.

The Northern women dropped the first game to the Orediggers 71-55, but in the nightcap, the Lights rallied in the second half to pull out an eight-point win.

The Lights, who knocked off Providence Tuesday night in Havre, found themselves trailing by four points at the end of the first half against Montana Tech. However, a strong defensive effort in the second half and a strong showing from Ryan Reeves and Caulin Bakalarski, allowed Northern to erase the deficit and build a 67-63 lead with less than a minute to go.

Tech had the ball and attempted a 3-pointer with around 30 seconds left, which would have cut the Lights’ lead to one, but it missed and Bakalarski found himself at the free-throw line. He made both free throws and on the ensuring possession, stole the ball and scored to put the final margin at 71-63.

“I am extremely proud of our guys for the character they showed when we probably shot our lowest field goal percentage of the season,” Lights head coach Shawn Huse said. “Our bench stepped up big as they mostly have all year. It’s hard when the hoop seems as difficult as No. 18 at Pro Putt. But we had guys come through when needed, and again, I could not be prouder.”

The Lights limited Montana Tech to just 40 percent shooting and 30 points in the second half. MSU-N also outrebounded the Diggers 38-31, which helped the Lights overcome 17 turnovers. Bakalarski was the leading scorer in the win with 19 points. He also had seven rebounds and two steals, both team highs. Reeves added 14 points but grabbed just two boards before fouling out.

Trent Molesworth led Montana Tech with 17 points for the Orediggers, who fell to 0-3 in the Frontier.

The Lights are now 3-1 but have five tough road games ahead.

Tech pushes away Skylights

For the Skylights, who lost earlier this week to the University of Providence, there was plenty of motivation to get a win against the Diggers, but Montana Tech, which came into the game winless in the Frontier, also had reason to be fired up.

On the road, Northern started well and grabbed an 8-4 lead after a steal and a 3-pointer by Peyton Filius. Yet, an 8-0 run from Montana Tech allowed the Diggers to grab the lead before a pair of Brandy Lambourne free throws tied the score at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.

A hoop early in the second quarter by Jacy Thompson gave the Skylights a 16-14 lead, but as it turns out, it was their last of the game. Tech responded with a 16-4 spurt to close the quarter, giving the Diggers a 30-20 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Skylights managed to get within five in the early going after a bucket by Shiloh McCormick. Yet, a couple of quick buckets by Shay Potter pushed it back to nine. By the end of the stanza, the lead was back to 10 at 47-37. A 3-point play by Thompson trimmed the lead to six points early in the fourth quarter, but another big run allowed Montana Tech to salt away the 16-point win.

Lambourne led the Skylights with 15 points in the loss. McCormick also pitched in with 13 points and seven rebounds. Potter led the way for the Diggers with a double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 boards.

“We did look a little tired, but there is no excuse. Every team in the Frontier has to make these trips,” Skylights head coach Chris Mouat said. “We got behind by double-digits and then we had to try and play faster than we wanted to and that led to the score that you saw. I would say that this is something we need to learn from, but I have been saying that a lot. We just played poorly.

“We have a night again when we shoot 28 percent from the field and 27 percent from three,” he added. “So we have got to shoot the ball better and we have to take better care of the ball. Tech was just better. There is a lot we can do. I don’t have a lot of answers right now, but there are definitely things we can focus on.”

The Lights (13-3, 3-1) and the Skylights (9-6, 1-3) will both be off until next Thursday when both teams will play on the road against Lewis and Clark State. Northern then travels to UM-Western next Saturday.

Montana Tech 71, Skylights 55

MSU-Northern 14 6 17 18 - 55

Montana Tech 14 16 17 24 - 71

MSU-N - Brandy Lambourne 3-16 8-8 15, Shiloh McCormick 4-10 5-6 13, Jacy Thompson 4-14 3-3 11, Peyton Filius 3-10 0-0 8, Kealani Sagapolu 2-4 2-2 6, Jessica Curl 1-3 0-0 2, Peyton Kehr 0-1 0-0 0, Tiara Gilham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-59 18-19.

MT - Shay Potter 10-13 5-5 25, Kourtney Coverdell 2-9 4-4 10, Monica Landdeck 3-9 2-2 9, Hannah Sparks 0-2 6-8 6, Kaylynn Coverdell 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylee Zard 4-4 2-2 10, Mesa Williams 2-6 2-2 6, Sammy McGree 2-5 1-1 5, Bailey Ambruster 0-1 0-0 0, Mollie Peoples 0-1 0-0 0.Totals: 23-53 22-25.

3-Pt Field Goals - MSU-N 3-11 (Brandy Lambourne 1-3, Shiloh McCormick 0-3, Peyton Filius 2-4, Peyton Kehr 1-3), Tech 3-17 (Kourtney Coverdell 2-8, Monica Landdeck 1-3, Hannah Sparks 0-1, Kaylynn Coverdell 0-1, Mesa Williams 0-1, Sammy McGree 0-1, Mollie Peoples 0-1). Rebounds: Tech 37 (Shay Potters 11) MSU-N 37 (Shiloh McCormick 7). Fouls: MSU-N 17, Tech 15. Fouled out -- none.

Montana Tech 71, Skylights 55

MSU-Northern 14 6 17 18 - 55

Montana Tech 14 16 17 24 - 71

MSU-N - Brandy Lambourne 3-16 8-8 15, Shiloh McCormick 4-10 5-6 13, Jacy Thompson 4-14 3-3 11, Peyton Filius 3-10 0-0 8, Kealani Sagapolu 2-4 2-2 6, Jessica Curl 1-3 0-0 2, Peyton Kehr 0-1 0-0 0, Tiara Gilham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-59 18-19.

MT - Shay Potter 10-13 5-5 25, Kourtney Coverdell 2-9 4-4 10, Monica Landdeck 3-9 2-2 9, Hannah Sparks 0-2 6-8 6, Kaylynn Coverdell 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylee Zard 4-4 2-2 10, Mesa Williams 2-6 2-2 6, Sammy McGree 2-5 1-1 5, Bailey Ambruster 0-1 0-0 0, Mollie Peoples 0-1 0-0 0.Totals: 23-53 22-25.

3-Pt Field Goals - MSU-N 3-11 (Brandy Lambourne 1-3, Shiloh McCormick 0-3, Peyton Filius 2-4, Peyton Kuhr 1-3), Tech 3-17 (Kourtney Coverdell 2-8, Monica Landdeck 1-3, Hannah Sparks 0-1, Kaylynn Coverdell 0-1, Mesa Williams 0-1, Sammy McGree 0-1, Mollie Peoples 0-1). Rebounds: Tech 37 (Shay Potters 11) MSU-N 37 (Shiloh McCormick 7). Fouls: MSU-N 17, Tech 15. Fouled out -- none.

Lights 71, Montana Tech 63

MSU-N - Devin Bray 2-2 2-2 7, Anthony Harper 3-6 0-0 6, Gabe Porter 2-9 2-2 7, Charles Proter 3-4 0-0 6, Ryan Reeves 4-6 6-8 14, Caulin Bakalarski 6-11 6-6 19, Justin Dunsmore 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Huse 2-6 0-0 4, Cayeveoon Jones 3-5 2-2 8. Totals: 25-53 18-20.

MT - D. Collins 2-6 2-4 6, J. Miles 4-11 4-4 12, T. Molesworth 8-18 0-0 17, C. O'Neil 2-4 4-4 8, D. Pannabecker 1-4 0-0 2, J. Chapman 5-12 0-0 11, I. Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, C. Dummer 0-2 0-0 0, T. England 2-2 0-1 4, K. Guldseth 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 25-62 10-13.

3-PT FG: MSU-N 3-18 (Devin Bray 1-2, Anthony Harper 0-1, Gabe Porter 1-5, Caulin Bakalarski 1-4, Justin Dunsmore 0-2, Adam Huse 0-3, Cayeveoon Jones 0-2), Tech 3-16 (D. Collins 0-1, J. Miles 0-3, T. Molesworth 1-5, D. Pannabecker 0-1, J. Chapman 1-4, C. Dummer 0-1, K. Guldseth 1-1). Rebounds; MSU-N 38 (Caulina Bakalarski 7) Tech 31 (D. Collins 5). Fouls: Tech 21,MSU-N 17: Fouled out - C. O'Neil, Ryan Reeves.

 

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