BRIGHT NIGHTS

Over the years, the 3-point-line has been good to the Montana State University-Northern Lights. And in their last home game of the regular season, it was really kind.

On senior night, the Lights made 17 triples, including 11 in the first half on their way to a 92-64 blowout of Montana Western. The victory was Northern's eighth in its last 10 games in the Frontier, as the Lights improved to 8-8 in the league, and are in fourth place.

It was also a special win for the MSU-N seniors, who helped the Lights get off to a rousing start, as Adam Huse, Kavon Bey and Devin Bray all hit bombs in the opening 10 minutes. Bey and Huse combined for three in a row as the Lights raced out to a 16-4 lead and never looked back.

"It was so fun," Bray said. "Our starters started it off for us, and then after that, everybody got rolling. When one guy gets going like that, everybody starts going. So it was so much fun. It's a lot better to go out on your senior night with a win, that's for sure."

And win the Lights did. They shot a whopping 65 percent from beyond the arc, with Bay and Harris hitting back-to-back threes as Northern took a rousing 53-29 lead into halftime.

The second half was much the same. Huse and Bray each dropped another trey, while down the stretch, Harris hit another one, and, after the seniors got one last standing ovation, T.J. Reynolds got into the act by burying a corner three as the Lights celebrated a huge night in the Armory, and an even more important weekend at home as they try to secure a Frontier Conference home playoff game.

"My freshman year, we lost to Rocky on senior night," Bray said. "So this is special. To get to hug everybody, to get to enjoy this, it's very special."

The Lights were certainly special offensively. Northern shot a sizzling 66 percent from the field and an amazing 71 percent in the first half, including going 12-of-16 from three. Huse finished with 19, while McCadney and Harris each had 18 and Bey finished with 17. Northern is now 18-10 overall, ahead of their final two road games, Friday at Carroll College and Saturday at Providence.

"For all the tough times we've had early on in this season, those guys made up for it tonight, and sent themselves out of our regular season home games the right way," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said, "not going to be denied on their special night. I can't be more happy for a group of kids than I am for this group right now. They deserve it."

Lights cage Bears

The last time the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears won a game in Frontier Conference play, it was a Saturday night back in December, and it was in the Armory Gymnasium.

Two months later, the Bears were back in Havre, and needless to say, the Montana State University-Northern Lights didn't allow them to snap their conference losing streak. Instead, Northern blasted Rocky 83-59 inside the Armory Gymnasium.

The win was crucial for the Lights, who are chasing Montana Tech for a home playoff game, and they needed to play well at home. And that's just what they did.

Northern shot 58 percent and rained down 11 triples, including early 3-pointers from Mascio McCadney and Adam Huse. After a Brandon The Boy three stopped an early Northern run, David Harris got into the act with one of his own, and McCadney and Huse each hit one more in the final stretch of the first half, sending the Lights into the locker room with a 45-28.

"I have to compliment Adam, because I thought, when his threes were big when the game was still close," coach Huse said. "Then I thought Mascio, and everybody really, they jumped on board, and we really got rolling.

"I'm not surprised, though, that we played that well offensively," he continued. "I'm more surprised when we don't because I know we have really good offensive players. But tonight, our guys got going and they really kept it going. It was good to see."

Indeed. The Lights did keep going. Adam Huse opened the second half with a bomb, and would hit two more in helping Northern build a 60-39 lead. Rocky tried to put up a fight, but a steal and dunk by McCadney, then another flush from Jesse Keltner, sent Northern on another 10-0 spree. Harris and McCadney added two more treys, sending the Northern student section into a frenzy as the Lights recorded their seventh win in their last eight tries.

"This feels good," McCadney said. "Everything goes to our home crowd. They gave us so much energy tonight. I know we got off to a slow start offensively this year, but we've been picking it up lately. We pride ourselves on defense, and now we're matching that with our offense."

McCadney and Huse were huge. Huse five threes and scored 24 points, while McCadney hit four bombs and poured in 22. Harris went a stellar 7-for-9 from the floor and added 19 points, while Bey chipped in with 12.

On the other end of the floor, the Lights held RMC, which has lost 13 straight games in league play, to just 22 percent from beyond the arc, while also forcing the Bears into 13 turnovers. Darius Henderson scored 21 points and Grant Wallace added 17 for Rocky, but for most of the night, the Lights were just too much for the struggling Bears.

"I think, as well as we shot it, as fun as it was to see us get up and down the floor like that, I'm still most proud of our defense," coach Huse said. "Rocky is a good offensive team. They can score the ball, so for us to hold them down the way we did tonight, that says a lot about our effort and our determination defensively. Fortunately, it was also one of those nights where our offense was just as good as the defense."

Lights are 8-8 in Frontier, 18-10 overall; Next Up: at Carroll Friday

Lights 83, Rocky 49

RMC - Grant Wallace 7-10 2-2 17, Brandon The Boy 2-5 0-0 5, Clayton Ladine 1-10 2-3 4, Christian Beeke 1-1 0-0 2, Sam Vining 3-6 0-0 7, Kelson Eiselein 0-3 0-0 0, Kalvin Bowen 0-3 3-4 3, Josh Eckmann 0-2 0-0 0, Darius Henderson 9-15 2-2 21, Scott Malokie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 9-11 59.

MSU-N - David Harris 7-9 3-3 19, Mascio McCadney 7-9 4-6 22, Adam Huse 9-14 1-1 24, Jesse Keltner 2-4 0-0 4, Kavon Bey 5-12 2-2 12, Devin Bray 0-2 0-0 0, TJ Reynolds 0-2 0-0 0, Cedric Crutchfield 1-1 0-0 2, Eddie Harmon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 10-12 83.

Halftime: Northern 45-30. 3-pt FG:Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 4-18 (Wallace 1-1, The Boy 1-2, Ladine 0-4, Vining 1-2, Eiselein 0-2, Bowen 0-1, Eckmann 0-2, Henderson 1-4), Montana State University- 11-24 (Harris 2-3, McCadney 4-5, Huse 5-9, Bey 0-2, Bray 0-2, Reynolds 0-2, Harmon 0-1). Rebounds: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 29 (Ladine 10), Montana State University- 26 (Keltner 6). Fouls Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 13, Montana State University- 11. Fouled out: Vining.

Lights 92, Western 64

MW - Derrek Durocher 2-5 5-6 11, Connor Burkhart 4-8 2-2 10, Carter Kearns 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Haverfield 2-6 0-0 6, Cedric Boone 2-8 4-5 8, Cole Lake 0-2 2-2 2, Brian Howell 4-9 1-1 9, James Jones 2-3 2-2 6, Davonte Eason 1-1 0-0 2, Max Clark 4-11 2-2 10. Totals 21-53 18-20 64.

MSU-N - David Harris 7-9 1-1 18, Mascio McCadney 7-9 1-2 18, Adam Huse 7-10 0-0 19, Jesse Keltner 1-3 1-2 3, Kavon Bey 7-10 0-1 17, Devin Bray 2-5 0-0 6, TJ Reynolds 2-3 2-2 7, Cedric Crutchfield 1-2 0-0 2, Eddie Harmon 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-53 5-8 92.

Halftime: Northern 53-29. 3-pt FG:Montana Western 4-17 (Durocher 2-5, Haverfield 2-3, Boone 0-3, Lake 0-1, Clark 0-5), Montana State University- 17-26 (Harris 3-5, McCadney 3-4, Huse 5-7, Bey 3-3, Bray 2-4, Reynolds 1-2, Harmon 0-1). Rebounds: Montana Western 20 (Burkhart 8), Montana State University- 23 (Harris 5, Keltner 5, Crutchfield 5). Fouls Montana Western 7, Montana State University- 15. Fouled out: none.