Northern men look to stay hot against Rocky, Western

Talk about balance. As the 2023 portion of the Frontier Conference season begins, every team in the league is 1-1. That includes the three teams that will play in the Armory Gymnasium this weekend.

Tonight, the Montana State University-Northern Lights (1-1, 12-3) begin league play in 2023 with a game against Rocky Mountain College (1-1, 9-5). The Lights are also home to host Montana Western (1-1 6-9) Saturday afternoon.

And the timing is good for Northern, which has won four in a row, as head coach Shawn Huse' team is getting balanced scoring fro the likes of Jesse Keltner, Tanner McCliment-Call, C.J. Nelson, Dae'Kwon Watson, Zackary Martinez, Myles Dalton and Immanuel Anderson, all who average between 12 and eight points per game. Northern has also been really good on defense, as the Lights allow just 61 points per game.

The Lights however, have two tough teams in front of them this week.

Rocky comes to Havre tonight, led by Kael Robinson, Maxim Stephens, Jesse Owens and Kace Kitchen, who all average in double figures for a Bears' squad averaging over 83 points per game, and the Bears are an excellent 3-point shooting team. Western meanwhile, has legs by Jamal Stephenson, who scores 14 points per night, while Kyle Kouba and Brenton Woods are also in double figures for a Bulldog squad that has struggled on the defensive end this season.

"Well, the marathon begins as we embark against two tough league opponents this weekend," Huse aid. "Both teams run a lot of things that can put you in challenging scenarios and both have weapons that can put up points in varying ways. We all have similar teams with some new additions so I assume it will be a battle just like Frontier games seem to often be. Our guys are looking forward to the challenge and are confident in who we are this year. At the same time, we respect all our league opponents and know a good prep week and sharp game-night execution on both ends of the floor, and in transition, are imperative."

Northern begins the Frontier homestand tonight at 7 against Rocky. The Lights host Western Saturday at 4 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium.