Lights split tough games at LC State tourney

The Montana State University-Northern Men’s basketball teams traveled out of state to Idaho this past weekend to take part in the Lewis and Clark State Tournament.

In the first contest Friday in Lewiston, Idaho, the Lights took on New Hope Christian College and used dominant efforts on both ends of the floor to win, going away 122-55. MSU-N turned around Saturday and took on the College of Idaho, a national semifinalist in NAIA Division II a season ago, yet in that matchup, Northern came up short, falling to the Yotes 78-58.

Despite the long trip to Idaho, Northern came out and shot the lights out Friday night, knocking down 62.5 percent of its shots from the field, as well as 60 percent from 3-point range. Kavon Bey had a stellar effort, connecting on 13-of-17 shots on his way to scoring 27 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

Adam Huse also had a big night for the Lights, finishing with 18 points after going 6-for-6 from downtown. Joining Huse with 18 points was Mascio McCadney, who had 18 points and five assists. Senior Just Dunsmore also put together a strong outing for Northern, hitting 7-of-11 shots for 17 points and also bringing down eight rebounds and eight assists. Caulin Bakalarski and Cedric Crutchfield added 10 points each, giving the Lights a total of six players that reached double figures in scoring.

Another key for the Lights was their defense. They held New Hope to 38-percent shooting from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc. Northern also forced New Hope into 16 turnovers, which were converted into 26 points. MSU-N also added 21 second-chance points, giving them 47 in those two categories compared to New Hope, which had six.

“We had a nice team effort,” MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. “We saw a lot of good things that we will need doing going forward. I was very proud of the guys for executing the way they did (Friday) after a very long road trip.”

On the next night against College of Idaho, the Lights got off to a solid start, scoring the first four points. They trailed just 13-11 after a 2-point bucket by Bakalarski at the 13:16 mark of the first half. However, College of Idaho responded with a an 11-0 run put the Lights behind 24-11. The Yotes got up by as much as 17 points before Northern rallied to get back within striking distance at halftime, as a triple by Huse made it 35-27 at the half.

In the second half, College of Idaho went on another big run, outscoring the Lights 17-6 to build a 55-33 advantage with 14:11 left in the game. The Lights wouldn’t get the deficit within single digits again and they went on to lose by 20.

Huse was the top scorer in the loss with 12 points and a pair of 3-pointers. McCadney added 10 points and six rebounds, while Dunsmore and Bakalarski both finished with 10. Nate Bruneel led College of Idaho with 19 points; Talon Pickney also contributed with 14.

The Lights, who are now 2-1 on the season, will travel to Salish Kootenai College next Saturday, before taking a road trip to Dickinson State in North Dakota Nov. 20. MSU-N will be back home Nov. 23 when the Lights will take on Portland Bible College in the Americinn Thanksgiving Classic.

Lights 122, New Hope 55

MSU-N - Adam Huse 6-6 0-0 18, Caulin Bakalarski 3-6 3-3 10, Mascio McCadney 7-11 0-0 18, Justin Dunsmore 8-11 0-0 17, Cedric Crutchfield 5-7 0-1 10, Kavon Bey 13-17 1-1 27, Kamari Burnside 3-8 3-4 9, Devin Bray 3-7 0-0 7, James Fry 2-3 1-1 6. Totals: 50-80 7-10 122.

New Hope - Knigel Key 3-9 0-0 6, Jaylen Rose 8-20 3-4 21, Geordan Sayless 2-4 1-2 5, Jebari Robinson 6-12 2-3 14, Fernando Barron 3-6 2-2 9. Totals: 22-57 8-11 55.

3-point field goals: MSU-N 15-25 (Adam Huse 6-6, Caulin Bakalarski 2-6, Mascio McCadney 4-6, Justin Dunsmore 1-3, Devin Brady 1-4, Kavon Bey 0-1, James Fry 1-1, Joe Fons 0-2); New Hope 3-17 (Knigel Key 0-6, Jaylen Rose 2-5, Jebari Robinson 0-1, Fernando Barron 1-2, Siraj Ameen 0-2, Arjen Uminga 0-1). Rebounds: MSU-N 47, New Hope 22. Fouls - MSU-N - 12, New Hope 13. Fouled out -- none.

College of Idaho 78, Lights 58

MSU-N - Adam Huse 5-10 0-0 12, Masci McCadney 4-12 0-0 10, Justin Dunsmore 3-10 3-3 10, Caulin Bakalarski 3-9 2-3 10, Cedric Crutchfield 2-4 0-0 4, Devin Bray 2-9 2-2 7, Joe Fons 1-2 1-2 3, Kamari Burnside 1-1 0-0 2, Kavon Bey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 21-59 8-10 58.

College of Idaho - Nate Bruneel 7-16 5-519, Talon Pickney 6-9 1-1 14, Jake Bruner 2-3 0-0 5, Keun Palu-Thompson 2-5 2-2 6, Matt Meyers 0-4 3-4 3, Gibson Berryhill 5-7 0-0 12, Connor Desaulniers 4-6 0-2, Justin Saunders 2-5 0-0 5, Jalen Galloway 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 30-61 11-14 78.

3-point field goals: MSU-N 8-26 (Huse 2-5, McCadney 2-5, Dunsmore 1-4, Bakalarski 2-5, Bray 1-7). College of Idaho 7-15 (Bruneel 0-3, Pinckney 1-1, Bruner 2-2, Palu-Thompson 0-1, Meyers 0-1, Berryhill 2-3, Saunders 2-2, Wadsworth 0-2). Rebounds: College of Idaho 43, MSU-N 28. Fouls: College of Idaho 11, MSU-N 18. Fouled out -- none.