Lights, Skylights get first taste of Frontier basketball

It’s not quite December yet, but, tonight marks the biggest night of the season thus far for the Montana State University-Northern men’s and women’s basketball teams. That’s because, tonight, Frontier Conference play begins.

And while both the Lights (6-1) and Skylights (3-3) will each only play two conference games before 2019, those two games are big ones, as they come on the road against nationally ranked conference rivals.

The trip starts tonight in Billings with Northern visiting Rocky Mountain College. After a travel day, Northern will be in Helena Saturday night to battle Carroll College.

For the Skylights, both games will be tall orders as Northern is still without a couple of key players in Hailey Nicholson and Tiara Gilham, while a young Northern team, led by sophomores Peyton Kehr and Sydney Hovde, is still trying to find its way a bit.

“These are two tough opening conference games against nationally ranked opponents,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. “The biggest priority for us right now is taking care of the basketball. We have had too many unforced turnovers and simply need to execute better on the offensive end. We also need to be solid and disciplined on the defensive end and on the boards in both games. Both Rocky and Carroll run good things on offense, and both are strong rebounding teams.”

Tonight’s game against the Battlin’ Bears, ranked No. 24 in the NAIA will be a good test for Northern’s defense, because RMC (6-1) is loaded with offensive weapons, and veteran returning players.

Averaging 79 ppg and allowing just over 40 per night, Rocky is a complete team, led by four double-digit scorers in Justyn Juhl, Alyssa Big Man, Alecia Chamberlain and Markaela Francis. Brooke Jones is another star scorer for the Bears, who has missed time with injury, while RMC also boasts a talented and deep bench.

“Rocky brings a lot of experience back from a year ago and they have a lot of different kids who can hurt you,” Mouat said. “They have three kids averaging in double figures right now, but are getting good production from a bunch of kids. Justyn Juhl has been red-hot from the three all season long, and Alyssa Big Man and Alecia Chamberlain are both having big years. Rocky does a great job of playing inside-out basketball and they have shot it very well from the three-point line as a group. On the defensive end they are always a well-prepared, physical team.”

While the Skylights will have their hands full in their conference opener against the Battlin’ Bears, so too will the Lights, who are coming off a huge win over Oregon Tech last Saturday night.

In Billings, head coach Shawn Huse’ club will take on the 14th-ranked team in the country in host RMC, a team that was picked to win the Frontier title this season.

Rocky comes into tonight’s game at 6-1 on the season, and they boast the Frontier Preseason MVP in Jared Samuelson, who led the Frontier in scoring a season ago. But, Samuelson isn’t alone either, as RMC leans heavily on returning veterans Satchel McDonald, Austin Payne and Danny Betcher to help them average a whopping 98 points per game. Former Box Elder standout Brandon The Boy is also giving the Bears good minutes off the bench this fall.

“They have shown so far this year that much of what they do starts with their post play,” Huse said of the Bears. “It will take a great effort to manage that, as well as their transition, driving, and perimeter attack. We will need to be sharp with our execution on both ends of the floor ... if we are going to have more points on the board than Rocky, in the end.”

The Lights have shown they have the capability of being sharp, too. Northern averages 94 points per game, with a balanced offense. Six Lights, including Mascio McCadney, Justin Dunsmore, Adam Huse, Devin Bray, Caulin Bakalarski and Kavon Bey average 10 or more points per game, so, there’s no question, the Lights have the firepower to battle the Bears, and the rest of the Frontier.

“It’s a big week,” Huse said. “But every week in the Frontier Conference is.”

Tonight’s games between Northern and Rocky start with the women’s game at 5, followed by the men’s game at 7 inside the Fortin Center in Billings. Northern will head to Helena to take on Carroll College in a Frontier doubleheader on Saturday. For more on the Fighting Saints, see Friday’s Havre Daily News.