Lights cage Bears, Skylights fall

Needing a win in the worst way, the Montana State University-Northern Lights turned to their home crowd and the friendly confines of the Armory Gymnasium Thursday night.

And it worked as the Lights toppled Rocky Mountain College, 87-83 to snap a four-game Frontier Conference losing streak. It was also Northern's second win over RMC this season.

The Lights, though, had to come from behind to do it.

Trailing 39-35 at halftime, Northern came out in the second half, outscoring the Bears 52-44 in a 20-minute shootout. The Lights wound up shooting 60 percent from the field in the second half and made six 3-pointers on their way to the much-needed victory.

Leading the way for Northern was sophomore Dae'Kwon Watson, who poured in a game-high 32 points, while Xavier Bailey added 19 and Zack Martinez scored 15. Luca Brooks led five Bears in double digits with 22 points.

The win pushed Northern to 2-6 in the Frontier as the Lights head to Providence this Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights were the victims of the revenge game Thursday night in the Armory Gymnasium,

The Skylights lost to Rocky Mountain College by a score of 77-54 in Havre Thursday in a Frontier Conference showdown. 

Northern had beaten Rocky last month in Billings, but the Battlin' Bears took the first quarter 19-13. The Skylights turned it around in the second quarter taking the quarter 21-18. Rocky come out of halftime on fire, though, and they won both quarters to take the game.

The Skylights were led by Ryley Kehr and Savannah Toms with 11 points and six rebounds each. Jalen Callender went 4-7 from the field with nine points.

The Battlin' Bears were led by Gracee Lekvold, who had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Madeline Heggem went 4-4 from the three-point line with 15 points. Morgan Baird added 15 points.

With the loss, the Skylights fell to 4-4 in the Frontier and 10-10 overall. 

The Lights and Skylights travel to Great Falls Saturday for an afternoon double-dip against the Providence Argos.